Dissociative disorders.

The wide spread of mental illnesses leads this group of pathologies to a new level of studying clinical features. Because of this, an active evaluation of the effectiveness of therapy of patients with mental illness is currently underway.

If we talk about the specific diseases of human mental activity, then one of the most interesting and colorful (in terms of symptoms and clinical picture) are dissociative disorders (or conversion).

Such disorders manifest themselves as somatic and mental symptoms. Somatic often resemble manifestations of neurological diseases (there is an imitation of paresis, paralysis or loss of function of other organs).

Dissociative disorders occur, usually after a psycho-emotional conflict. As a result of excitation of the nervous system, there is a conversion (substitution of some diseases by others) and dissociation.

Medical specialists of a number of countries divide dissociative disorders into conversion ones (manifested by somatic symptoms) and dissociative (for which the psychiatric symptomatology is characteristic). However, according to the IBC of the tenth revision, the two data of the group are combined into one.

The main feature that distinguishes dissociative disorders from other diseases of mental activity is that the etiology of this group of diseases is not any somatic or neurological diseases. This feature is used as a diagnostic criterion for dissociative disorders.

However, there are some difficulties in diagnosis. First, complications arise at the initial stage of differentiation of mental illness and truly somatic. The second obstacle - in the correct diagnosis - is the clarification of the "consciousness" of the symptoms. That is, whether these symptoms are true (unconscious) or whether they are simulated (conscious).

It turns out that truly dissociative symptoms are not intentional and willful, but these symptoms manifest themselves according to the views that the patient has about the disease.

Distinguish dissociative disorders of the following types: motor, sensory and disorders with mental symptoms. All of them have their own peculiarities of the clinic and their peculiarities in treatment.

The concept of "dissociative personality disorder" is somewhat similar to the above. Disorders of this kind are characterized primarily by mental symptoms, somatic manifestations either are not detected, or are detected to an insignificant degree.

The very term "dissociation" indicates the disconnection of something single. Dissociative personality disorders are a condition in which the patient's consciousness is divided into several separately existing forms. That is, the patient acts as a person with a multiplicity of personality. This disease is manifested during the "change of personalities". So, with the change of personality, there is a change in mood, speech, movement, character (often opposite). Watching a few personalities of such a person from outside, we can say that these are completely different people.

Dissociative identity disorder is one of the forms of psychic dissociation. For this disease are characteristic - depersonalization and derealization. Depersonalization is a process of disturbing the perception of one's own reality by the person himself (the patient seems to perceive himself as being distorted). Derealization is characterized by a distorted perception of all those around. It is difficult for such a patient to understand that the people around him really exist.

Dissociative disorders in psychiatry are extremely serious diseases that are difficult to treat. Even with successful treatment, mental activity is rarely fully restored.