Psychosis, Multiple Personalities, Or Dissociation?

[Sandstone]

How much did you go into the OCD side? There are versions of OCD that include intrusive images, and that could be what you are experiencing.

The ICD 10 defines it as
"Obsessional thoughts are ideas, images, or impulses that enter the patient's mind again and again in a stereotyped form. They are almost invariably distressing and the patient often tries, unsuccessfully, to resist them. They are, however, recognized as his or her own thoughts, even though they are involuntary and often repugnant" ICD-10 Version:2016

 

[Gs172003]

How much did you go into the OCD side? There are versions of OCD that include intrusive images, and t...

Are they not repetitive? Hers sound like they change. Or is that a stereotype

 

[Deleted member 37343]

How much did you go into the OCD side? There are versions of OCD that include intrusive images, and t...

Yes. The lady said I had Pure O OCD, though I do have physical compulsions. Thing is with those compulsions, I don't do it really to relieve my thoughts. It doesn't really help except give me something to do. What makes it a compulsion is that I have to keep going until it just feels 'right.' I guess.. An example would be [Kind of gross. Sorry.] peeling my toenails off and chewing my fingers raw until they bleed.. Obviously I don't want to do that. It hurts like heck, but I can't stop until I think it feels right or it looks right. Not necessarily smooth or clean.. Just whatever I deem fit at the time.

 

[Deleted member 37343]

Are they not repetitive? Hers sound like they change. Or is that a stereotype

Some of my thoughts are repeated thoughts, but they do change and I get new ones. It only repeats in that very moment that I'm getting one. Where it's constantly replaying a millisecond clip and it will either continue doing that or expand on the idea for a few hours until it changes to another thought..

 

[Deleted member 37343]

Are they not repetitive? Hers sound like they change. Or is that a stereotype

But they are of the same theme. Morbidity, death, blood, loss, grief, losing control, etc.

 

[Gs172003]

Dead Link Removed


There is nothing on here about losing touch with reality. You might want to get another opinion.

 

[Gs172003]

This is more detailed

What is OCD?

 

[Gs172003]

I'm tryingto help you get the best care you can get and I pray that you get it.

 

[Deleted member 37343]

Thank you for the link :) I will check it out now.

No I don't always experience losing touch with reality when I get intrusive thoughts. 80% of the time I am still able to tell where I am and what I was doing, but I just have these images playing out in my head at the same time.

The only times I ever really lose touch with reality would be when I go through a sort of dissociative or some psychotic episode I guess. It'll last for a few hours, sometimes a days but rarely, and I'll either go blank faced, watch what I see(hallucinations), or when I believe other people are robots, watching them.

The other time would be when the intrusive thoughts become very powerful and although this is not rare, it is not very common either.

 

[Gs172003]

Thank you for the link :) I will check it out now.

No I don't always experience losing touch with real...

My gosh...hours?? Days?? Bless your heart

 

[BlueOrange]

From what I explained, the tester also said I was dissociating, but he was so quick to say that, that I'm really not sure to be honest.

Dissociation is easiest to spot if it happens quickly and suddenly - if you see it happen and recognize it, then it's possible to form the assessment very quickly and accurately. Your symptoms (as you describe them) don't sound like they'd be very hard to spot. The challenge is to diagnose accurately.

It seems pretty clear that the personality who is discussing these symptoms is being impacted by something that disturbs the connection to reality. There are two basic possibilities:
- The personality is being disturbed by one or more other 'parts' of the same mind ('other personalities' is a reasonable way to think of this), which is physically normal (think of it as a 'software corruption'). This would be a 'dissociative' diagnosis (PTSD, DID, Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified...)
- The personality is being disturbed by a physical abnormality (this of this as a 'hardware fault'). This would be a 'schizophrenia-type' diagnosis (Schizophrenia, Schizoid Personality, Bipolar with Psychosis...).

To some extent, your therapists will need to choose between treating the hardware and the software. Getting that choice wrong is likely to delay and/or complicate your recovery. Hence the importance of sharing all the information that you have with them.

In terms of 'just PTSD', your symptoms do seem more severe than most PTSD sufferers. This doesn't rule out PTSD as the most accurate and useful diagnosis; it does, however, suggest that it's important to consider alternatives.

 

[joeylittle]

@Nimali - when your vision is overtaken by the 'overlay' of a non-reality (like the way you describe the clip of the burning building) do you have a sense that something inside you made it start, or is it like someone in charge of reality (not you) flicks a switch and you are suddenly put into the position of having to watch it happen?

The only times I ever really lose touch with reality would be when I go through a sort of dissociative or some psychotic episode I guess. It'll last for a few hours, sometimes a days but rarely, and I'll either go blank faced, watch what I see(hallucinations), or when I believe other people are robots, watching them.

When this happens, same question - did someone else flip a switch or did something happen inside you?

The other time would be when the intrusive thoughts become very powerful and although this is not rare, it is not very common either.

The way you describe this, I'm assuming the experience is that you know your mind/brain/memory is where the thoughts are coming from, and they overwhelm you from the inside out. Is that accurate?

(forgive me - I think you've answered these questions elsewhere in the thread, kind of, but the way you wrote these statements made me want to ask again...)