Might trigger, talk of a*u*e.

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I am wondering what the difference would be between a dissociative disorder and
unintegrated self states

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Hi Miss Charlotte,

Just my thoughts, by the way. I could be way off. Everyone's experience is different, no wrong or right.

With that said, I'm not so sure there is a difference between the two and if there is, it's probably where it falls on the dissociation spectrum. Could be considered DDNOS. (dissociative disorder not otherwise specified)
The last paragraph is interesting!

The combination of PTSD-DDNOS is the most frequent diagnosis in survivors of childhood abuse. These survivors experience the flashbacks and intrusion of trauma memories, sometimes not until years after the childhood abuse, with dissociative experiences of distancing, "trancing out", feeling unreal, the ability to ignore pain, and feeling as if they were looking at the world through a fog. (Ross, 1989)

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According to Ego States Theory, we all start out life as a collection of unintegrated ego states, such as "Happy baby", "Hungry baby", "Scared baby", "Mad baby", and "Sleepy baby". We observe normal infants making abrupt switches between these ego states according to their current circumstances, and there seems to be little continuity of memory from one such ego state to the next.

We observe normal parents sponsoring integration of ego states in normal youngsters. The preschooler who falls and hurts himself while playing undergoes a switch from the "Happy child" ego state to the "Scared and painful" ego state, and seems to have no idea that his suffering is a temporary condition.

Mother provides reassurance along the following lines: "You're OK now, even though it hurts; you were happy a few moments ago, and you'll be happy again in another few minutes!"

We can later observe the same child in grade school getting hurt, starting to switch ego states, and then reassuring himself that he'll feel better soon, thereby maintaining his own ego integration. In adulthood, the fabric of ego integration is usually so tightly woven that it takes a catastrophe to cause dissociation of ego states.

Some children, however, don't have a "normal" childhood with the support of well-integrated parents. Suppose father is alcoholic: he may come home drunk and rape the little girl, and the next day he may not remember what he did. Mother may be physically or psychologically absent from what's going on with her daughter, so father is her only source of comfort. The child may be unable to get help for a variety of reasons, including her fear of father, fear of losing her father, and a sense that what's happening is inevitable. She faces an endless series of irreconcilable realities.

Her best defense may be to maintain two distinct ego systems, one of which deals as best she can with father the rapist, the other with everyday living. The defense of dissociation permits the child to avoid thinking about the abuse so she can have as normal a life as possible.

When this sort of childhood starts early and goes on a long time, the ego states may accumulate very different memories, emotions, and behaviors. They may even have different names for themselves: one name representing the angry, hurt, sexually aware part, and the other designating the innocent child in her public persona.

A child growing up in a very sick family system faces a large number of insoluble problems, and dissociation may become the preferred way to deal with virtually every conflict the child faces. Thus, a system of dissociated ego states may arise, one of which does well in school, another is very athletic, a third feels a great deal of rage, a fourth can function sexually, and the fifth goes to church and prays a lot - thus fully expressing all the family values in one person without having to resolve any of the conflicts that divide the family.

John M Rathbun M.D.