life & style // no. 16 theotherpress.ca

 

Dissociative
disorders

> Not as rare as you might think

Rebecca Peterson

 

Staff Writer
« Wi. the psychologist
said, “You're not
psychotic.”

I was back in the hospital
two weeks after an episode of
the Great Mystifying Brain
Thing I'd been struggling
with all my life sent me to
the emergency room. My
memories of that night are hazy
at best, nonexistent at worst.
Technically, the episode had
started the day before, and had
just worsened exponentially
over the 24-hour period until I
couldnt tell up from down, real
from not-real.

It wasn't an anxiety or
panic attack, as I'd been told
it was a few times before. I
knew what those felt like. No,
this was different. And most
frustratingly, most terrifyingly,
no one seemed to know what
was wrong with me.

The psychologist mentioned
above diagnosed me with
Borderline Personality Disorder,
one in a string of diagnoses I’ve
received over the years—clinical
depression, OCD, PTSD, GAD,
maybe ADHD, enough letters
to make an alphabet soup of
mental health problems. The
GAD (generalized anxiety
disorder) seemed to have been
the only thing anyone could
agree on asa definite diagnosis.
However, it did not explain
the “episodes,” nor some of the
other uncomfortable aspects
of my mysterious, unspecified
disorder.

Borderline almost made
sense, but only because it was
the first diagnosis I'd received
that addressed the feeling I
didn’t realize had a name:
dissociation.

Dissociative disorders
affect the mind’s perception
of concepts such as memory,
awareness, identity, and reality.

Essentially, it makes these
abstract concepts harder, if not
impossible, to process. This

can be extremely distressing

to experience, and episodes

can last anywhere from a few
moments, to a few days, and can
continue on and off for years.

The most infamous
dissociative disorder out there
is dissociative identity disorder,
more commonly known as
multiple personality disorder.
However, there are several
disorders that fall under this
umbrella as well: dissociative
amnesia, dissociative fugue,
and depersonalization disorder.
These were once thought to
be relatively rare conditions;
recently, however, psychologists
have found that the symptoms
of dissociative disorders occur
as frequently as anxiety and
depression. The idea that
dissociative disorders are rare
has led to many people being
misdiagnosed over the years
as being bipolar, or having
OCD, ADHD, schizophrenia,
psychosis... the list goes on and
on. Some of these misdiagnoses
are actively dangerous.
Antipsychotic medication, for
example, can have some serious
long-term side effects, and
obviously shouldn't be taken if it
isn’t needed.

You can experience
dissociative symptoms and not
have a dissociative disorder the
same way you can experience
anxiety and depression and not
suffer from them clinically. The
symptoms include a warped
perception of reality, a sense of
disconnect from one’s body, and
memory loss in extreme cases.
However, a proper diagnosis can
go a long way to helping figure
out a treatment plan.

Knowing what’s wrong in
the first place is half the battle.
“Dissociation,” to me, is a far less
terrifying term than “Mystifying
Brain Thing.” If nothing else, it’s
a place to start.

Brittney MacDonald
Life and Style Editor

 

What you'll need:

* 5 6” x 6” images of the side of the
companion cube. Use Google to find
the image, and then go to Staples and
get them to print them out. Be sure
to have the images printed on poster
board—it’ll be a bit more expensive,
but the lamp will be more durable.

* 5 6” x 6” squares of black poster board

* Heat resistant glue

* Ascalpel or box cutter

* A black Sharpie or black paint

* A pendant lamp kit, which you
can find at IKEA or Canadian
Tire for fairly cheap

 

Geek DIY: Companion
Cube lamp

Yu first step is to glue the black squares

to the blank side of the companion cube
images. Make sure you leave ample time for the
glue to dry, and that you use a glue that won't
melt or fall apart when exposed to the heat of

the lamp.

Once this is done, take the picture that
you intend to be the top of your lamp, and
carefully trace the base of the cord from
your pendant lamp kit over the image of the
heart. If you don’t know what the base of
the cord is, it’s the round thing that fits into
the top of the lamp. The kit will most likely
have a diagram of it. | would advise not using
scissors because of the round shape. Instead
use a scalpel or a box cutter, which will be
easier to manoeuvre around the edges.

Next, you'll want to construct the lamp
shade. Glue all sides of the companion cube
together, leaving the bottom open. Make
sure the image with the hole in it is on top
so that you'll be able to fit the bulb in.

Next, feed the cord through the hole in
the top you made, screwing the light bulb
into the inside. From there, all you have
to do is hang it up and flip the switch!

Image via ournerdhome.com