As a first step, your doctor or other health care professional may suggest that you have a health exam to rule out possible physical causes of your symptoms. Dissociative disorders treatment may vary based on the type of disorder you have. You’re at greatest risk of having a dissociative disorder if you’ve had long-term physical, sexual or emotional abuse during childhood. Dissociative identity disorder usually also includes bouts of amnesia and often includes times of confused wandering. But some symptoms might be noticed during childhood.

Schizoid personality disorder most often begins when a person is a young adult. Infants and young children need a stable, caring environment and their basic emotional and physical needs must be Dissociative Drugs List consistently met. While it’s not known with certainty if reactive attachment disorder can be prevented, there may be ways to reduce the risk of its development.

Schizoid personality disorder

These may help with mental health symptoms that are part of dissociative disorders. Although the names may sound alike, schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders are all different types of mental health conditions. With appropriate treatment, children who have reactive attachment disorder may develop more stable and healthy relationships with caregivers and others. In some people, these bouts turn into ongoing feelings of depersonalization or derealization that may get better or worse at times.

To feel safe and develop trust, infants and young children need a stable, caring environment. Reactive attachment disorder is a rare but serious condition in which an infant or young child doesn’t establish healthy attachments with parents or caregivers. Some people may be more likely to experience depersonalization and derealization than others. The cause of depersonalization-derealization disorder is not well understood. Bouts of depersonalization-derealization disorder may last hours, days, weeks or months.

Depersonalization/derealization disorder

• People with schizoid personality disorder typically only seek treatment for a related problem, such as depression.
• If stress or other personal issues are affecting the way you treat your child, seek help.
• Sometimes dissociative disorder symptoms occur in a crisis with severe or impulsive behavior.
• You may feel as if you have two or more people talking or living inside your head.

The main treatment for depersonalization-derealization disorder is psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy. This form of therapy involves talking about your disorder and related issues with a mental health professional. Testing and diagnosis often include a referral to a mental health professional to make a diagnosis. Your doctor can refer you to a mental health professional who can help you or your child recover and learn healthy coping skills. Having a dissociative disorder increases the risk of complications and having other mental health conditions. Other shocking, distressing or painful events also may cause dissociative disorders to arise.

Depersonalization symptoms

These symptoms may make it hard to do well in school, at work, in social situations or in other areas of life. A child whose needs are ignored or who is met with a lack of emotional response from caregivers does not come to expect care or comfort or form a stable attachment to caregivers. For instance, when a baby cries, the need for comfort, a meal or a diaper change must be met with a shared emotional exchange that may include eye contact, smiling and caressing. It’s important to have your child evaluated by a pediatric psychiatrist or psychologist who can determine whether behaviors indicate a more serious problem. Reactive attachment disorder usually starts in infancy. But lasting and returning bouts of these symptoms can cause problems at work or school, or in other important areas of your life.

If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, we will only use your protected health information as outlined in our Notice of Privacy Practices. Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. People with these symptoms need care more urgently and in an emergency department at a hospital when safety becomes a concern. You may feel like you’re possessed by other identities.

Many people have a passing experience of depersonalization or derealization at some point. Your health care or mental health professional is likely to ask you several questions. In some cases, you may be referred right away to a mental health professional.

Treatment

The experience and feelings of the condition can be hard to describe. During these bouts, you know that your sense of not being connected to your body or your surroundings are only feelings and not reality. Short experiences of depersonalization or derealization are fairly common. Depersonalization-derealization disorder can be serious and may get in the way of your relationships and work. Feelings of depersonalization and derealization can be very disturbing. Generally, treatment includes talk therapy and medicine.

What to expect from your doctor

This condition is more common in people who experience trauma, such as violence, abuse or other kinds of extreme stress. You may feel like you’re living in a dream. Be ready to answer these questions to save time to talk about what’s most important to you. Over time, your therapist may help you talk more about the shocking, distressing or painful events you went through.

• A bout of dissociative amnesia usually occurs suddenly.
• If you or a loved one has less urgent symptoms that may be a dissociative disorder, contact your doctor or other health care professional for help.
• Mentally escaping in this way may help you get through a shocking, distressing or painful time.
• Treating dissociative disorders can be difficult, but many people learn new ways of coping and their lives get better.

If you have schizoid personality disorder, you may be seen as keeping to yourself or rejecting others. Schizoid personality disorder is a condition where a person shows very little, if any, interest and ability to form relationships with other people. Without proper treatment, reactive attachment disorder can continue for several years and may have lifelong consequences. Various theories about reactive attachment disorder and its causes exist, and more research is needed to develop a better understanding and improve diagnosis and treatment options.

Or you may be able to contact mental health services directly. Dissociative disorders usually start as a way to cope with shocking, distressing or painful events. These identities sometimes include differences in voice, gender, mannerisms and even such physical qualities as the need for eyeglasses.

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The stress of war or natural disasters also can bring on dissociative disorders. The disorders most often form in children who go through long-term physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Sometimes dissociative disorder symptoms occur in a crisis with severe or impulsive behavior.

Depersonalization-derealization disorder

Some signs can occur in children who don’t have reactive attachment disorder or who have another disorder, such as autism spectrum disorder. Treatments for reactive attachment disorder include learning how to create a stable, nurturing environment and providing positive child and caregiver interactions. Symptoms of depersonalization-derealization disorder may be related to childhood trauma or other experiences or events that cause severe emotional stress or trauma. Passing feelings of depersonalization or derealization are common and are not always a cause for concern. Depersonalization-derealization disorder is rare in children and older adults.

Dissociative disorders

A bout of dissociative amnesia usually occurs suddenly. The main symptom of dissociative amnesia is memory loss that’s more severe than usual forgetfulness. Depersonalization involves a sense of separation from yourself or feeling like you’re outside of yourself. Times of stress can worsen symptoms for a while, making them easier to see.

But a blend of your surroundings and genes passed down to you may play a role in developing the disorder. Children typically learn over time to properly understand social cues and take action. But they can have similar symptoms, such as not being able to make social connections or show a full range of emotions.

Children who are physically, emotionally or sexually abused are at increased risk of developing mental health conditions, such as dissociative disorders. Medicines are mainly used to treat mental health conditions that occur along with schizoid personality disorder, rather than the disorder itself. There’s little research on signs and symptoms of reactive attachment disorder beyond early childhood, and it remains uncertain whether it occurs in children older than 5 years. But when these feelings keep occurring or never fully go away, and they make it hard for you to function, it’s likely depersonalization-derealization disorder. Also called psychotherapy, talk therapy is the main treatment for dissociative disorders. Less often, the disorders form in children who’ve lived in a home where they went through frightening times or they never knew what to expect.