Yes, doctors and mental health professionals can effectively treat dissociation, and many people experience significant improvement or full recovery with proper treatment. The "fix" is generally not a quick cure, but rather a long-term process of managing symptoms and addressing the underlying causes, which are often related to past trauma.
Not everyone will stop experiencing dissociative symptoms completely. But treatment can help you feel more in control of your life and your identity. Some people find that being able to dissociate is comforting and may not be ready to stop dissociating completely.
[1] The result in such extreme cases is often a highly fragmented sense of life and self-identity that can lead to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
This page offers some practical suggestions for helping you cope with dissociation, such as:
Symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (criteria for diagnosis) include: The existence of two or more distinct identities (or “personality states”). The distinct identities are accompanied by changes in behavior, memory and thinking. The signs and symptoms may be observed by others or reported by the individual.
Dissociation is the brain's natural response to overwhelming stress, involving changes in brain regions, neurotransmitters, and hormones. While it's a short-term survival mechanism, chronic dissociation can lead to challenges in daily life.
Unable to perform the activities of everyday life, they usually require treatment from a mental health professional. A nervous breakdown may last for days, weeks, months—even years. Because it's usually longer in duration, it takes more time and energy to recover from, as well.
Mental illnesses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder may cause similar symptoms to a dissociative disorder. The effects of certain substances, including some recreational drugs and prescription medications, can mimic symptoms.
Short-term dissociation
They can happen to us all sometimes. For example, during periods of intense stress or when we're very tired. Some people also find that using drugs like cannabis can cause feelings of derealisation and depersonalisation. Dissociation is also a normal way of coping during traumatic events.
Some people with dissociative disorders have seizures. These can vary from fainting to something more like an epileptic seizure.
Individuals with these symptoms of dissociation feel like their surroundings are unreal. It might seem foggy or dreamlike, as if they're looking at it through a veil. Objects and people around them might look distorted, such as being colorless or flat.
Experiences of dissociation can last for a short time (hours or days) or for much longer (weeks or months). Dissociation may be something that you experience for a short time while something traumatic is happening. But you also may have learned to dissociate as a way of coping with stressful experiences.
Dissociation is not a form of psychosis. These are two different conditions that may easily be confused for each other. Someone going through a dissociative episode may be thought to be having a psychotic episode, and in some cases, dissociation may be the initial phase to having a psychotic episode.
Also called psychotherapy, talk therapy is the main treatment for dissociative disorders. This form of therapy involves talking about your disorder and related issues with a mental health professional. Look for a therapist with advanced training or experience in working with people who have had trauma.
Having a dissociative disorder increases the risk of complications and having other mental health conditions. These may include: Depression and anxiety. Post-traumatic stress disorder.
We can notice if a client may be dissociated if we look out for the following cues: If the client feels in a fog. The client consistently asks therapist to repeat the questions. The client feels as though they are a long way away.
Dissociation can feel frightening because it often involves feeling detached from your body, thoughts, or surroundings. This can be sudden and unsettling, making it hard to feel in control. But it's important to remember that support is out there.
Dissociation can occur in response to traumatic events, and/or in response to prolonged exposure to trauma (for example, trauma that occurs in the context of people's relationships). Dissociation can affect memory, sense of identity, the way the world is perceived and the connection to the physical body 3.
A person dissociating might have trouble conversating with another person or listening to the person while they talk. However, a person who is dissociating can still interact with other people and hold a conversation. Sometimes, they might just appear spaced out.
The most commonly diagnosed personality disorders are borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Another personality disorder that primary care practitioners sometimes find difficult to diagnose and treat is narcissistic personality disorder.
Someone dissociating might seem like they're daydreaming, ignoring you, or spacing out. They could appear disconnected from conversations or surroundings and may seem different from their usual self.
Societal conditions associated with overstimulation or understimulation may precipitate and maintain oppression among individuals and communities by inducing dissociation. Distortion of reality and the flooding of everyday awareness with irrelevant information by mass media is a type of community-wide overstimulation.
According to recent studies, Emotional Trauma and PTSD do cause both brain and physical damage. Neuropathologists have seen overlapping effects of physical and emotional trauma upon the brain.
Moreover, because half of all mental health disorders start by age 14, teens are in a high-risk group, and early intervention can make all the difference for their future. Connecting your teen to mental health treatment also puts them in a better position to thrive in college or their career.
Passing feelings of depersonalization or derealization are common and are not always a cause for concern. But ongoing or serious feelings of detachment and distortion of your surroundings can be a sign of depersonalization-derealization disorder or another physical or mental health condition.