Dissociation is a state of acute mental decompensation in which certain thoughts, emotions, sensations, and/or memories are compartmentalized because they are too overwhelming for the conscious mind to integrate. This subconscious strategy for managing powerful negative emotions is sometimes referred to as "splitting", as these thoughts, emotions, sensations, and/or memories are "split off" from the integrated ego. This use of the word "splitting" here should not be confused with references to splitting mentioned with regard to borderline personality disorder or family relations theory. Personification of thought (Greek Εννοια) in Celsus Library in Ephesos, Turkey Thought or thinking is a mental process which allows beings to model the world, and so to deal with it effectively according to their goals, plans, ends and desires. ... For other uses, see Emotion (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sensation and perception psychology. ... In psychology, memory is an organisms ability to store, retain, and subsequently recall information. ... In math, splitting means partition. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is defined within the fields of psychiatry and clinical psychology as a mental condition characterized primarily by emotional dysregulation, extreme black and white thinking, or splitting (believing that something is one of only two possible things, and ignoring any possible in-betweens), and chaotic relationships. ...

The French psychiatrist Pierre Janet (1859-1947) initially coined the term splitting in his book L'Automatisme psychologique. There, he emphasized its role as a defensive mechanism employed in response to psychological trauma. While he considered dissociation an initially effective defence mechanism that protects the individual psychologically from the impact of overwhelming traumatic events, a habitual tendency to dissociate would likely be a marker of a more pronounced psychopathology. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that studies and treats mental and emotional disorders (see mental illness). ... Pierre Marie Félix Janet, (May 30, 1859 - February 24, 1947) was a pioneering French psychologist in the field of dissociation and traumatic memory. ... Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. ... It has been suggested that User:A Kiwi/Ego defense mechanisms be merged into this article or section. ... Psychopathology is a term which refers to either the study of mental illness or mental distress, or the manifestation of behaviors and experiences which may be indicative of mental illness or psychological impairment. ...

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition considers symptoms such as depersonalization, derealization, and psychogenic amnesia to be core features of dissociative disorders. However, in the normal population mild dissociative experiences are highly prevalent, with 60% to 65% of the respondents indicating that they have had dissociative experiences at least some of the time. ^[1] Due to the epidemic of medical errors, readers are cautioned to be aware that the American Psychiatric Association isnt immune to this. ... The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The poopDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the handbook used most often in diagnosing mental disorders in the United States. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... In psychiatry, depersonalization (or derealization) is the experience of feelings of loss of a sense of reality. ... Psychogenic Amnesia is a form of amnesia popularized by popular culture, particularly film. ... Dissociation is a psychological state or condition in which certain thoughts, emotions, sensations, or memories are separated from the rest of the psyche. ...

Attention to dissociation as a clinical feature has been growing in recent years as a concomitant to knowledge of post-traumatic stress disorder, and as neuroimaging research and population studies show its relevance. Dissociation most often makes the news with regards to soldiers' responses to wartime stress, rape victims with amnesia for details, and in occasional criminal trials where the question of whether a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) can be responsible for his or her actions. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a term for certain severe psychological consequences of exposure to, or confrontation with, stressful events that the person experiences as highly traumatic. ... Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function, or pharmacology of the brain. ... Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is defined in the DSM-IV-TR as a condition where a single individual evidences two or more distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment. ...

Perhaps the most widely-known form of dissociative disorder is DID, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). While MPD is the most severe form of dissociative disorders, it is not accepted by all mental health professionals as genuine (see Multiple personality controversy). Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is the current name of a condition formerly listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as multiple personality disorder (MPD) and multiple personality syndrome. ...

Psychoactive substances can often induce a state of tempory dissociation. Substances with dissociative properties include ketamine, nitrous oxide, tiletamine, DXM and PCP.^{[citation needed]} A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behaviour. ... Ketamine is a general dissociative anesthetic for human and veterinary use. ... R-phrases S-phrases Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... Tiletamine, 2-ethylamino-2-(2-thienyl) cyclohexanone Tiletamine is a dissociative anesthetic chemically and pharmacologically related to other anesthetics in this family such as ketamine and phencyclidine. ... Dextromethorphan (DM or DXM) is an antitussive drug that is found in many over-the-counter cold and cough preparations, usually in the form of dextromethorphan hydrobromide. ... Phencyclidine (a contraction of the chemical name phenylcyclohexylpiperidine), abbreviated PCP, is a dissociative drug formerly used as an anesthetic agent, exhibiting hallucinogenic and neurotoxic effects. ...

See also

• Altered state of consciousness
• Dissociative amnesia
• Emotional detachment
• Fugue state
• Recovered memory therapy

An altered state of consciousness is any state which is significantly different from a normative waking beta wave state. ... Amnesia is a condition in which memory is disturbed. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... In the field of psychology, a fugue state is usually defined by the term dissociative fugue. ... Recovered memory therapy (RMT) is a psychotherapy that was developed in the 1980s as a way to recover “lost” childhood memories of abuse, as well as other memories of neglect and abuse. ...

References

1. ^ Waller, N., Putnam F., & Carlson, E. (1996). Types of dissociation and dissociative types: A taxometric analysis of dissociative experiences. Psychological Methods 1:3, 300-321. [1]