Disociative Reactions
As the term implies, "dissociative reaction" is a condition characterized by a disunity of one part of the individual's personality with the other. The neurotic may block out certain aspects of life as an escape from anxiety and stress. Not uncommon is the behavior of sleepwalking, called somnambulism, where a mild dissociation takes place. Here the'individual gets out of bed and goes through various acts, almost as if looking for something specific. The sleepwalker may wander from room to room, or leave the house and go for a short walk. On command from some authoritative voice, the person will stop that he or she is doing, or even return to bed spontaneously. If questioned closely without awakening, the sleepwalker may only mumble something that is probably related to some daytime event or conflict. Sleepwalking is common in children, who like adults walk in connection with dreams. These dreams are almost always forgotten, are the sleepwalking episodes themselves.
Less common is dissociation through amnesia, the loss of memzy commonly involving one's name and address or other facts about e's personal life. The individual may still be able to function ,rmally in routine ways to provide the simple necessities of life. Actually, amnesia is an attempt to escape from oneself.
Amnesia is a psychological flight from reality. Sometimes amnemay be accompanied by an actual physical flight whereby a person ay wander off for days or even weeks. The person may be discovered others or "wake up" without help, unaware how he or she got there. Such episodes are called fugues, from the Latin word meaning "to flee." Although there are records of fugues lasting for long periods of time, they frequently last only for days. The national police network or missing persons often locates such people. The search may be helped by giving a description of the individual's skills. During a fugue the person retains both basic skills and knowledge.
The most extreme form of dissociation is multiple personality. Altough very rare, it has been dramatized so effectively that many pIp believe it is quite common. Robert Louis Stevenson's famous story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shows a dual personality of which one is selfish, the other generous; one aggressive, the other quiet. As the story, so in actuality an individual may at different times be two entirely different people. Not always, but usually, one personality is completely unaware of the other.
A true clinical case, also widely dramatized, is The Three Faces of Eve. Here we find the struggle between Eve White-sweet, retiring, dignified, and motherly-and Eve Black-vain. irresponsible, and mischievous-both inhabiting the same body. Eve White is unaware of Eve Black's existence, but not the reverse. During the months of psychotherapy a third personality, Jane, appears. It is she who is able to reveal the trauma of early childhood that had produced the dissociation of personality in the first place. Jane finally helps to banish both Eve White and Eve Black, leading to the symhesis of all three into a normal, integrated personality.
