Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
There is no specific definitive test, like a blood test, that can accurately assess that a person has dissociative identity disorder. Therefore, practitioners conduct a mental-health interview that gathers information, looking for the presence of the signs and symptoms previously described. Professionals usually gather facts about the individual's childhood and ask questions to explore whether the symptoms that the client is suffering from are not better accounted for by another mental disorder, dissociative or otherwise. Other types of dissociative disorders include depersonalization disorder (feeling detached from themselves or surroundings), dissociative amnesia (memory problems associated with a traumatic experience), dissociative fugue (abandonment of familiar surroundings and memory lapse for the past), and dissociative disorder, not otherwise specified (episodes of dissociation that do not qualify for one of the specific dissociative disorders just described). As part of the assessment, mental-health professionals also usually ask about other mental conditions and ensure that the person has recently received a comprehensive physical examination so that any physical conditions that may mimic symptoms of DID are identified and addressed.
Dissociation, a major symptom of DID, is known to occur in a number of other
mental illnesses. For example, an individual with this disorder may seek to
relieve overwhelming memories of trauma by engaging in the self-mutilation that
tends to be found in those with borderline personality disorder. Also, feelings
and behaviors that may appear to be caused by dissociation, but are not, make it
all the more difficult to distinguish DID from other conditions. Somatization
disorder, psychogenic amnesia, psychogenic fugue, conversion disorder, and
schizophrenia are just a few such disorders. Rape and other adult trauma victims
have been found to be quite vulnerable to developing dissociative symptoms. The
controversy about whether DID exists, as well as the overlap of symptoms it has
with a number of other conditions, sometimes results in misdiagnosis.
DID often co-occurs with other emotional conditions, including posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and a number of
other personality disorders, as well as conversion disorder. DID is sometimes feigned by individuals
who may be seeking attention, as in Munchausen's syndrome. It has also been
appropriately diagnosed as well as feigned in individuals involved in the
criminal justice and civil or family court systems (for example, forensic cases). Adding to the diagnostic difficulty is that people like pedophiles and other sex offenders, as well as people with antisocial personality disorder, may legally stand to gain from having DID. While some of those individuals may feign the diagnosis in an effort to benefit legally, others genuinely suffer from significant dissociative symptoms, as well as full-blown DID. In cases where there may be an ulterior motive for being diagnosed with DID, studies show that using a structured interview tool may be the best way to determine if the person truly suffers from this condition.
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychiatric condition, can develop after any catastrophic life event. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, sweating, rapid heart rate, detachment, amnesia, sleep problems, irritability, and exaggerated startle response. Treatment may involve psychotherapy, group support, and medication.
Schizophrenia is a disabling brain disorder that may cause hallucinations and delusions and affect a person's ability to communicate and pay attention. Symptoms of psychosis appear in men in their late teens and early 20s and in women in their mid-20s to early 30s. With treatment involving the use of antipsychotic medications and psychosocial treatment, schizophrenia patients can lead rewarding and meaningful lives.
Suicide is the process of intentionally ending one's own life. Approximately 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and 10 million to 20 million attempt suicide annually.
Child abuse falls into four categories: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. There are certain risk factors that predispose a child to being abused and an adult to abusing a child. Risk factors for children are age, children with learning disabilities, adopted and foster children, children with congenital abnormalities, and a past history of abuse. Parental risk factors include young or single parents, those who suffered abuse themselves, adults with substance-abuse problems or psychiatric disease, and those who didn't graduate from high school.
Childhood depression can interfere with social activities, interests, schoolwork and family life. Symptoms and signs include anger, social withdrawal, vocal outbursts, fatigue, physical complaints, and thoughts of suicide. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
Sleepwalking is a condition in which an individual walks or does other activities while asleep. Factors associated with sleepwalking include genetic, environmental, and physiological. Episodes of sleepwalking may include quiet walking to agitated running. Conditions that may have similar symptoms of sleepwalking, but are not include night terrors, confusional arousals, and nocturnal seizures. Treatment of sleepwalking generally include preventative measures. Medication may be prescribed if necessary.
Mental illness is any disease or condition affecting the brain that influence the way a person thinks, feels, behaves, and/or relates to others. Mental illness is caused by heredity, biology, psychological trauma and environmental stressors.
About 5 million children and adolescents in the U.S. suffer from a serious mental illness such as eating disorders, anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, pervasive development disorders, elimination disorders, learning disorders, schizophrenia, tic disorders, and mood disorders. Symptoms of mental illness include frequent outbursts of anger, hyperactivity, fear of gaining weight, excessive worrying, frequent temper tantrums, and hearing voices that aren't there. Treatment may involve medication, psychotherapy, and creative therapies.
Children's health is focused on the well-being of children from conception through adolescence. There are many aspects of children's health, including growth and development, illnesses, injuries, behavior, mental illness, family health and community health.
Depression in the elderly is very common. That doesn't mean, though, it's normal. Treatment may involve antidepressants, psychotherapy, or electroconvulsive therapy.
There are many forms of sexual assault, including rape, attempted rape, child molestation, sexual intercourse that you say no to, inappropriate touching, and vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Sexual assault can also be anything that forces someone to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention, such as voyeurism, exhibitionism, incest, and sexual harassment.
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