I thought dissociative was

when you feel like you arent in your body, you have no control over it, like you're viewing yourself from the outside? or like reality feels like a dream.

idk about different personalities (I was diagnosed with dissociation disorder) idk if its just my moods changing or these different personalities. how do you know?

here in america (USA) there are many different forms of dissociation...

normal dissociation that everyone does...

spacing out, feeling numb, feeling like they are not in their body, and other things too like daydreaming, ......

then there are the different dissociative disorders. recognized here in america are....

http://forums.psychcentral.com/disso...s-dsm-5-a.html

that said not all of those mentioned above are ......Always.....called dissociation.

its like hearing voices...thats one symptom that many mental disorders have right...

a person who is has bipolar, depression, PTSD and many other mental disorders too will sometimes have that same symptom.

physical problems too can have the same symptoms that mental disorders do.

the line in the sand well that all depends upon many factors whether what symptom you have is called dissociation or not, like your own health, your own mental problems, what life, religions, culture you are in....all kinds of things have to be looked at when a doctor has to decide whether a persons symptom is called dissociation or not...

let me give you an example...I felt not inside my body. I thought my dissociation problem right. but my doctors are really good, they listened to me and then we did lots and lots of tests, and trying this and that treatment. this went on for a long time until one day the tests finally answered the question of whether my being outside my body was dissociation. it wasnt for me it was multiple Sclerosis a A medical disease that attacks my own body and makes my brain tell me I am not in my body. Im on special meds that help slow down the problems and helps me to stay more aware of being in my body.

another time I was going through some really hard stuff and I started feeling disconnected and like watching outside my body. after many tests and talking with my treatment providers this situation was called dissociation..

see what I mean two situations, same person and same symptoms that turned out to be two different diagnosis.

only your treatment providers can say whether what you are going through is dissociation or not.

if you think you may have a dissociation problem the best thing you can do is contact your own treatment providers. they can give you special tests that can rule in and out any mental, physical and normal things that have the same dissociation symptoms. and then tell you whether what you are feeling is a dissociation problem or not.

Thanks for the info! I'll look more into it, but I'm pretty sure my doc diagnosed me with it. It happens very frequently...

what kind of tests?

mostly tests that you cant find online and depends on what a persons symptoms are...the tests you find online are yrs outdated and many that a person can find shortened versions of online are no longer used.

example if hearing voices is the symptom a person is having then any mental and physical health problems that carry that same symptom has to be looked at...blood tests to rule out drugs, alcohol, prescription medication over dosage (all of which can cause a person to hear voices) eeg's because things like cancer, epilepsy, and other brain problems can cause a person to hear voices, .... there is many tests a person goes through when being diagnosed with mental and physical health problems. some take a long time and others are just quick talk with the psychiatrist and answer questions orally, computerized tests, ....

short version what ever a persons symptoms are thats what the testing process addresses, a diagnosis is made and a treatment plan also.

if you think you have a dissociative disorder and would like to be tested talk to your treatment provider or call any psychiatrist who can tell you what their testing process is. They wont be able to tell you exactly what tests and which version of the tests they will be giving you as part of the mental evaluation due to mental evaluations are not meant to be "studied for". they are a situation of you just answer as to what is going on with in your self...

example

question do you hear voices?
one person may answer yes and another may answer no

there is no right or wrong answer, every thing is individualized. some dissociatives hear voices and some do not.

the best thing to do is talk with your treatment providers or a psychiatrist in your off the internet location.

forgot to add the testing professional will also need to know what meds you are on if any, or if you have been prescribed med whether or not you have been taking them. sometimes dropping off medications can cause a person to have the same symptoms that dissociation problems have, I remember when one time I just decided I was going to stop taking my meds, I started having all kinds of dissociation problems, when the blood test came through the psychiatrist asked me why the test did not find a trace of my prescribed medications. then told me I would have to be back on my meds for at least 3 months before he could diagnose my dissociative like symptoms because the reason I was prescribed them was bipolar disorder and depression both of which can cause a person to have dissociative like symptoms when off their meds. plus he had to rule out bipolar , depression and other reasons for the symptoms. I went back on my meds and the dissociative like symptoms that were in question stopped being a problem.