Dissociation and pain perception : an experimental investigation

textDissociative symptoms and abnormalities in pain perception have been associated with a range of disorders. We tested whether experimentally induced increases in state dissociation would cause an analgesic response, and whether this effect would be moderated by participants' history of trauma and dissociative experiences. Participants (n=120) were classified based on their histories of traumatic and dissociative experiences: No trauma or dissociation (NN), trauma without dissociation (TN), or trauma with dissociation (TD). All participants were randomized to a dissociation induction condition via audiophotic stimulation or a credible control condition and were compared on prepost changes in subjective pain and pain tolerance in response to a standard cold-pressor test. Unexpectedly, dissociation induction did not lead to greater pain tolerance or reduced self-reported pain. However, increases in state dissociation significantly predicted increased immersion time and decreased subjective pain.Psycholog

Dissociative experiences in the general population in the Netherlands and Belgium: a study with the Dissociative Questionaire (DIS-Q)

p. 180-184This article describes the results of the first European study on the prevalence of dissociative experiences in the general population of Belgium (Flanders) and the Netherlands. Dissociative experiences were assessed with a new self-reporting dissociation questionnaire (DIS-Q). The DIS-Q has been administered to a representative sample of the Dutch and Flemish population (N=374). The results show that dissociative experiences are quite common in the general population, and that their frequency is declining with age. About 3 percent of the population (the majority men) reports serious dissociative phenomena, and 1 percent shows scores as high as patients with multiple personality disorder. These findings suggest that dissociative disorders are seriously under-diagnosed by mental health professionals

Hearing voices, dissociation and the self: a functional-analytic perspective

Item does not contain fulltextIn the current paper, we review existing models of the aetiology of voice hearing. We summarise the argument and evidence that voice hearing is primarily a dissociative process, involving critical aspects of self. We propose a complementary perspective on these phenomena that is based on a modern behavioural account of complex behaviour, known as Relational Frame Theory (RFT). This type of approach to voice hearing concerns itself with: the functions served for the individual by this voice hearing; the necessary history, such as trauma, that establishes these functions; and the relevant dissociative processes involving self and others. In short, we propose a trauma-dissociation developmental trajectory in which trauma impacts negatively on the development of self, through the process of dissociation. Using the RFT concept of relations of perspective-taking, our dissociation model purports that trauma gives rise to more co-ordination than distinction relations between self and others, thus weaking an individual's sense of a distinct self. Voice hearing experiences, therefore, reflect an individual's perceptions of self and others, and may indicate impairments in the natural psychological boundaries between these critical related concepts. One clinical implication suggested by this model is that therapeutic 'intervention' should understand the behaviours associated with a sense of self that is fragile and threatened by others. Relations with self and others should be a key focus of therapy, as well as interventions designed to enhance a coherent distinct sense of self.20 p

Beyond the impasse : reflections on dissociative identity disorder from a Freudian–Lacanian perspective

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a widely contested diagnosis. The dominant posttraumatic model (PTM) considers early life trauma to be the direct cause of the creation of alter identities and assumes that working directly with alter identities should be at the core of the therapeutic work. The socio-cognitive model, on the other hand, questions the validity of the DID diagnosis and proposes an iatrogenic origin of the disorder claiming that reigning therapeutic and socio-cultural discourses create and reify the problem. The author argues that looking at the underlying psychical dynamics can provide a way out of the debate on the veracity of the diagnosis. A structural conception of hysteria is presented to understand clinical and empirical observations on the prevalence, appearance and treatment of DID. On a more fundamental level, the concept of identification and the fundamental division of human psychic functioning are proposed as crucial for understanding the development and treatment of DID

An Ontological Solution to the Mind-Body Problem

I argue for an idealist ontology consistent with empirical observations, which seeks to explain the facts of nature more parsimoniously than physicalism and bottom-up panpsychism. This ontology also attempts to offer more explanatory power than both physicalism and bottom-up panpsychism, in that it does not fall prey to either the ‘hard problem of consciousness’ or the ‘subject combination problem’, respectively. It can be summarized as follows: spatially unbound consciousness is posited to be nature’s sole ontological primitive. We, as well as all other living organisms, are dissociated alters of this unbound consciousness. The universe we see around us is the extrinsic appearance of phenomenality surrounding—but dissociated from—our alter. The living organisms we share the world with are the extrinsic appearances of other dissociated alters. As such, the challenge to artificially create individualized consciousness becomes synonymous with the challenge to artificially induce abiogenesis

Psychiatric Symptoms and Dissociation in Conversion, Somatization and Dissociative Disorders

Objective: Conversion, dissociation and somatization are historically related in the long established concept of hysteria. Somewhere along the way they were separated due to the Cartesian dualistic view. The aim of the present study was to compare these pathologies and investigate whether symptoms of these pathologies overlap in their clinical appearance in a Portuguese sample. Method: Twenty-six patients with conversion disorder, 38 with dissociative disorders, 40 with somatization disorder, and a comparison group of 46 patients having other psychiatric disorders answered questions about dissociation (Dissociative Experiences Scale), somatoform dissociation (Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire), and psychopathological symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory). Results: Dissociative and somatoform symptoms were significantly more frequent in dissociative and conversion disorder than in somatization disorder and controls. There were no significant differences between dissociative and conversion patients. Conclusions: Conversion disorder is closely related to dissociative disorders. These results support the ICD-10 categorization of conversion disorder among dissociative disorders and the hypothesis of analogous psychopathological processes in conversion and dissociative disorders versus somatization disorder

Who done it, actually? Dissociative identity disorder for the criminologist

Through the analysis of clinical examples, the paper explores how decisions are made by a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), the notions of choice and ‘competent reasoning’, and the practical and ethical ways for interviewing a person with DID. Abstract Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is examined in this paper from the perspective of its relevance to the criminologist. As this psychiatric condition is linked to severe and prolonged childhood abuse, accounts of DID patients inevitably involve reports of serious crimes, in which the person was the victim, perpetrator or witness. These reports can thus contain crucial information for criminal investigations by the police or for court proceedings. However, due to the person’s dissociation, such reports are often very confusing, hard to follow, hard to believe and difficult to obtain. They also frequently state that the person had ‘no choice’, a thorny notion for the criminologist (as well as for the clinician). Through the analysis of clinical examples, the paper explores how decisions are made by a person with DID, the notions of choice and ‘competent reasoning’, and the practical and ethical ways for interviewing a person with DID

Dissociation and Sexual Abuse: A Stuy of 95 Students

The current study investigated the connection between dissociative behaviors and childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual abuse. Dissociative behaviors were measured using the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Putnam and Bernstein, 1985). Although research drawing a connection between such dissociative disorders as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Multiple Personality Disorder are cited, this study fails to find any significant correlation between DES scores of subjects and histories of sexual abuse. The investigator continues on to discuss alternative explanations for the discrepancy between this study and the findings of those studies cited

The Link Between Dissociation, Eating Disorders, and Self-Harm

Many researchers and psychological professionals believe that there is a link between eating disorders and self-harm, though this has been less widely researched than other correlations such as that between eating disorders and substance abuse. Various studies have also indicated a relationship between these two variables and dissociation independently; however, there does not seem to be a comprehensive study covering the correlations between all three variables. The researcher for this study aimed to test the correlation between eating disorders and self-harm and collect new information on the link between all three to further the available data on this topic. Data were also collected and analyzed in order to determine if certain eating disorders are more highly associated with self-harm and dissociation. A correlation was found between all three variables, and anorexia and bulimia were more closely associated with self-harm than binge eating or healthy eating. The data also indicated that those with anorexia and bulimia were more likely to have dissociative experiences than those without eating disorders. It is hoped that the correlation found between dissociative experiences and eating disorders and self-injury will serve as an impetus for future experimental research to determine if this link is causal or merely correlational