Frequently, in the past, people with psychological illnesses have been diagnosed as having depression, post traumatic stress syndrome, or eating disorders, when in fact their real illness is a dissociative disorder. Part of the reason is that their underlying problem often shares symptoms with other illnesses. But dissociative identity disorder (DID), depersonalization disorder, dissociative amnesia or dissociative fugue have also not always been recognized as a genuine disorders. This has changed in recent decades, but in the meantime, treatments for anxiety and other disorders don’t address the real problems of dissociative disorders, thus resulting in no improvement.
People may think of an illness involving multiple personalities when they hear about a “dissociative” disorder, but the term actually covers the four different disorders, which again are dissociative amnesia, fugue (where the person wanders away to start a new life with no memory of the past), dissociative identity disorder (or DID, the one involving multiple personalities), and depersonalization. These are not anxiety disorders, though it’s true that amnesia and fugue frequently result from some kind of trauma, and DID usually develops from ongoing childhood trauma that prevents the child from integrating their personality normally while growing up.
All current treatments for a dissociative disorder will involve psychotherapy to varying degrees, but the disorder involving amnesia will often begin with hypnosis, attempting to restore blocked traumatic memories or recover the person’s real identity. Drug products like Pentothal may also be used to help restore memories. With DID, psychotherapy is almost the only therapy, sifting through the person’s traumas in the past and helping to resolve the different personalities together. However, if the person’s behavior becomes too aggressive or bizarre, then admittance to a mental health treatment center may also be required. Depersonalization is usually resolved entirely with psychotherapy treatments.
It may take considerable work, not to mention time, to see results in treating a dissociative disorder. Treating dissociative fugue can sometimes bring quick recovery, but resolving traumatic amnesia or depersonalization can take longer. And even with the best treatments, dissociative identity disorder has been known to recur sometimes, though the likelihood becomes less as the person ages. Looking at these success rates, people might become discouraged about getting treatment. Yet these disorders show so many symptoms of other problems like depression, or eating or anxiety disorders, that the underlying illness does need to be treated if the person is to have any chance at recovery.
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