I hope you have already recorded your score for the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) before reading this follow-up blog.
If you haven’t yet taken the DES, please do so before reading any further.
Information about the DES can be found here:
Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES)
To explain the scoring of the DES, I’m going to quote some material from Dr. Colin Ross’s book “Dissociative Identity Disorder”.
This information can also be found online at Rossinst.com .
Dr. Ross also provides a lengthy discussion about dissociation in the general population, charts, graphs, and comparative information with the DDIS, SCID-D, SCL-90, and MCMI.
The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a 28-item self-report instrument that can be completed in 10 minutes, and scored in less than 5 minutes. It is easy to understand, and the questions are framed in a normative way that does not stigmatize the respondent for positive responses. A typical DES question is, “Some people have the experience of finding new things among their belongings that they do not remember buying. Mark the line to show what percentage of the time this happens to you.” The respondent then slashes the line, which is anchored at 0% on the left and 100% on the right, to show how often he or she has this experience. The DES contains a variety of dissociative experiences, many of which are normal experiences. … The DES has very good validity and reliability, and good overall psychometric properties, as reviewed by its original developers (Carlson, 1994; Carlson & Armstrong, 1994; Carlson & Putnam, 1993; Carlson et al., 1993). It has excellent construct validity, which means it is internally consistent and hangs together well, as reflected in highly significant Spearman correlations of all items with the overall DES score. The scale is derived from extensive clinical experience with an understanding of DID. In the initial studies during its development and in all subsequent studies, the DES has discriminated DID from other diagnostic groups and controls at high levels of significance, based on either group mean or group median scores. In most samples, the mean and median DES scores for DID subjects are within 5 points of each other.
…The higher the DES score, the more likely it is that the person has DID. In a sample of 1,051 clinical subjects, however, only 17% of those scoring above 30 on the DES actually had DID (Carlson et al., 1993). The DES is not a diagnostic instrument. It is a screening instrument. High scores on the DES do not prove that a person has a dissociative disorder, they only suggest that clinical assessment for dissociation is warranted. This is how we report DES scores in our consults, as within or not within the range for DID, and as consistent or not consistent with the clinical and DDIS diagnosis of DID. DID subjects sometimes have low scores, so a low score does not rule out DID. In fact, given that in most studies the average DES score for a DID patient is in the 40s, and the standard deviation about 20, roughly about 15% of clinically diagnosed DID patients score below 20 on the DES…..
The DES is the only dissociative instrument that has been subjected to a number of replication studies by independent investigators. We found in our original replication (Ross, Norton, & Anderson, 1988) that it discriminated DID from other groups very well, with scores similar to those found by Bernstein and Putnam (1986), and this pattern has persisted in all subsequent research….
The DES can predict who will not, and who may have a dissociative disorder with high accuracy. As well, the DES taps into the dissociative component of general psychopathology… The DES is not just picking out a dissociative anomaly that is unconnected to anything else.
Because of the properties of the DES, and its extensive research base, It is the best self-report instrument for measuring dissociation available….
In other words, most trauma survivors that are clinically diagnosed with DID score in the 40’s on the DES, but survivors with DID can certainly score lower than 20 and higher than 69.
Scores over 30 will indicate a high likelihood of the person having dissociative identity disorder.
Basically, the higher the score, the more likely the person has DID. The DES is not an official diagnostic tool, but it can certainly help to screen for people with dissociative disorders.
In my personal opinion, for dissociative people, the DES score will be somewhat dependent on who in the system takes the test. The parts that have more denial and dissociation from the rest of the system will likely score lower than others in the system that are more aware of the others inside. Also, I would guess that the DES score might vary with the different stages of therapy and treatment.
In any which way, the DES can be very helpful in your therapy process, and I strongly encourage you to discuss your scores in detail with your therapist.
Various questions in the DES may have specific personal importance for you and can provide good foundational material for processing the ways your dissociation affects your life. The DES can give you an excellent starting place for talking about how life is for you as a dissociative person.
It can be helpful to take repeated DES tests over the course of your treatment, so you can record the changes over time. Hopefully, your dissociative scores will decrease as you progress through your therapy process.
- Which questions do you most relate to?
- If you have scored higher than 60% on any question, does your therapist understand that this experience is so common for you?
- Did you hear or sense internal arguing about how to answer any of the question?
- Were you surprised to see any of the questions?
- Which questions asked you about dissociative experiences that you have not yet told other people that you experience?
- Do you find the DES to be upsetting? Comforting? Frightening? Confusing? ………. ? Fill in the blank: ___________________
Be brave. Stay courageous.
Keep learning!
I wish you the best in your healing journey.
Warmly,
Kathy
To learn more about Dissociative Identity Disorder, watch the following short, educational videos:
Copyright © 2008-2018 Kathy Broady MSW and Discussing Dissociation
Did was a suspected diagnosis as a kid but none of the therapists helped me. One of the therapists as a teen tried to “talk” to my alters but nothing happened. As an adult I don’t sense alters but after recent sexual abuse
that has been going on for 2 years i began dissociating and have dissociative symptoms. When highly anxious/faced w triggers/ feel threatened I panic, have racing thoughts and then shut down and leave my body.
I have been diagnosed w ptsd. I might just have pstd w dissociative features.
Hi SV. I am just jumping back in here at DD so maybe I have missed some of your backstory here. I took this test a few times too and got different results each time. I am not sure who was taking the test each time to be honest so maybe that is why the different results for me. But the idea that things are changing for the good is a really encouraging sign!
i just took this and i scored 35. so several years ago i believe i took this test and i scored I think between a 6 and a 7. i scored way higher, i remember talk about this test on another Did forum and wow i do think i was doing way less good and doing very very bad when i was scoring that high, so i am glad it is lower. i was not able to keep appointments. I was having tons of memory fugue and winding up in strange places and not feeling like i knew myself at all. so yes it was a bad place and i am in a somewhat better place now. and very grateful for that. still there were a few high numbers but don’t remember now what they were. one thing that happens a lot is i completely forget parts of the day. i am scared to read notes I’ve written cause they seem very foreign and that well is scary. sometimes i do remember though. but other times nothing.
“Glass wall sensation” ???? Is that in reference to looking at “outsiders”, or to “seeing Insider parts” as if through a “glass wall”?, or “watching” yourself when a “part” has triggered to the surface???…….then there are the times when a “part” has triggered to the surface and “I” am “watching myself watch Outsiders”…..(Man I sound confusing!!)……
I am familiar with the “glass wall” feeling…..just not sure which angle is related to “schizoid”…….Guess I need to “research” schizoid “glass wall” info…..Maybe I am a “bunch” of stuff….who knows…just “me” trying to figure out “who” “I” am…….fun…….
Hi MissyMing,
I certainly wouldn’t presume to answer all your questions. Perhaps drawing a map of yourself would be helpful.
By “glass wall sensation” I was referring to a sense of separation between myself and the outside world which I used to have all the time, which can actually feel as if there is a pane of glass, so that I see and hear and act in the world, but it doesn’t feel real, it doesn’t reach me, emotions are muffled.
I know from communicating with some others that they are familiar with and recognise this sensation also, but I don’t know if people have published on this.
I’m sure there is information on schizoid personality type, (from Barbara Ann Brennan for instance). I understand it as someone who is somewhat detached, less physical, more mental, and with a tendency to fly away.
Thanks for your reply, Fieldmouse…..sometimes I feel like I have been living this “stuff” forever….and yet feel like I haven’t even gotten to “square one” in understanding yet……I guess there are all kinds of angles of “glass walls”…..didn’t realize it until we started asking you…..thanks for the direction of Ms. Brennan….will have to check it out……
MissyMing
02/20/19
There’s so much in all these comments. Some people think others are attention seeking (happens a lot), others worry that they themselves are lying (I had that worry too).
Others worry because their state is different to what others are saying. That’s a big one because everyone has a different biography and different damage has been done.
In a way CPTSD is the town square where we can all meet up, and complex trauma causes damage and developmental damage, one example being dissociation.
As Dr Ross points out dissociation is one feature of what he rather coldly calls psychopathology. I suppose in the same way as someone in a car accident suffers somatopathology.
I will have a look at Dr Dells work which sounds very useful. Detachment is also a form of dissociation, that is long-term or lifelong dissociation, and surely is related to schizoid personality, or the glass-wall sensation that schizoid personalities have. In my case detachment from life was induced on day one. In my life the damage was great, and compounded by breakdowns (breakages) but I have scored but 18.6 on the DES and the diagnostic category which is closest to what I experience is DID-NOS. Also I only score 1/10 on the ACEs scale because it is designed on a very specific modus operandi which is not the modus operandi of the group I was in.
(Comment reposted – originally posted as a reply to Me + We and Hayden, but it didn’t show up)
Hi Fieldmouse,
Well said indeed! I really like your comment – “In a way CPTSD is the town square where we can all meet up” – so true and wonderfully said. As I have said time and again, there is no one-size-fits-all in DID. We are all unique although we share similarities in the symptomology of how we have dealt with childhood trauma and abuse. But clearly, we all bring our own unique selves and stories into the mix.
I understand the need to try and standardize a method for determining a particular outcome or not. Certainly the various questionnaires are a guide to try and understand the potential that someone has the markers for DID. No test can possibly be inclusive or detailed enough to get at the real truth just as the DSM-5 is periodically revised and continually criticized for what it lacks in diagnostic understanding.
What I am heartened by is the fact that DID is recognized by the DSM-5 in the first place and that the psychological/psychiatric community is trying to come up with diagnostic tools to help in the identification of DID folks. For so long this has been a misunderstood condition if not outright neglected and rejected. I am thankful for those who are trying to do credible research and who are raising the dialogue about DID to a more comprehensive, inclusive and accepting discourse.
Questionnaires, like the one above, help us to initiate our own dialogue and hopefully point us to the potential of our own dissociative existence. In a modest way, they help us to caste off preconceptions and misinformation about DID as well. With this understanding, we can learn to ask questions and seek professional assistance. Ultimately, in my mind, it requires a trained professional to give us the final diagnosis but it helps if we are informed about the potential for a diagnosis of DID before we engage in such actions.
Just my thoughts.
ME+WE
02/17/19
We are really confused and feel sort of dumb b/c after reading this post we still don’t understand how to score this.
Are we supposed to total and average our answers for a score? Or does each individual question stand on its own as a score to give an indication of what is going on?
Our answers ranged from 0 to 80 with most being a 10 or 20.
Help, please.
Hi ME+WE,
Thanks for the kudos and the response.
When i was writing the previous message my sister came in so i typed it while i got distracted.
Hope it still made sense.
Someone from the outside world told us prior to going to this traumacenter the umbrella organisation is co-led by someone who is known in the c*lt.
This made us fear the traumacenter itself cause it was unsafe to us to share the true intent/content of the trauma.
They looked at us with piercing eyes trying to solve “the mystery” of my diagnosis.
Didn’t feel comfortable sharing any information about anything else then what was utterly needed for them to know.
Yes we did get abused, yes we endured physical abuse…but no details, no exchange of anything that could possibly hurt us.
In fact never told names, and even the ongoing abuse i didn’t tell them cause there wasn’t enough trust to work with them.
Then i got back to a mental health center in my region and got transferred again to a “long stay” department with a need for high care.
Before i got enlisted to this long stay department i fled the center(didn’t live there though) and found a therapist who finally did look at me/us without prejudice of DSM needs as the sole base of the treatment.
They got ALL of my files from 26 years of mental health care.
They read and spit through it as much as they could, but didn’t perform any SCID-D or DES-Q because my files where too obvious.
And we’ve applied for help with the help of an alter who wrote by her own name and emailaccount.
Then when we got to the therapist the therapist asked “do you want to tell me you have a dissociative disorder?!?”.
I instantly blushed and replied “if you say so…”.
After about three months of reading, getting used to them and seeing the symptoms they came with the diagnosis.
They told me i had DID, which was written down back when i was a child but it got moved from my status.
After i’ve left the trauma center i never had anyone tell me it’s unsafe to tell someone about my traumatic experiences anymore.
Only internal conflict about trusting people, but thats inherent to having DID i think.
Having the DES-Q done…all it implies is if someone is capable of introspective feelings of dissociative symptoms.
Some people with DID score relatively low, but still have a pretty severe case of DID.
Having DID doesn’t mean the DES-Q always scores high(or in between certain scores).
Usually the higher someone scores the DES-Q the higher the likability of having a dissociative disorder.
But then some people with DID have amnesia for dissociative symptoms because the system was designed this way.
In the past i’ve had periods in which i thought live was only able to be lived for certain hours a day, that daylight, clocks and people could shift from one place to another(changes in time or place).
Never thought this was an dissociative symptom.
So i don’t doubt my T’s diagnosis! They’re great!
Hey DK,
The diagnosis of DID is kinda controversial, but there seem to be too many people to just overthrow the idea of dissociative disorders being fake.
I feel it’s a spectrum just like mooddisorders and autism is a spectrum.
Mild symptoms can be distracting and obnoxious, but severe symptoms can truely be a huge burdon upon someones live.
In fact i don’t care if the diagnosis is DID or would be called DDNOS.
Fact is you have dissociative symptoms that need to be adresssed.
All that is truely in need to know is how severe the dissociation is and what your main diagnosis is in order to fit you a good treatment.
The diagnosis doesn’t tell people how severe someone experiences a dissociative symptom.
o,and 67 more recently. I want to get an official diagnoses but some people don’t even believe DID is real. My old T thought I had DDNOS. Not sure. Feeling confused for sure.
Thanks, Selah. I know you are right The current T won’t address any DID stuff b/c we haven’t shown any parts to hear in obvious way. (Though we remember a few times different alters appeared, but overlooked).
We are still waiting a little bit longer. to decide the best course of action.
Best, DK
Hey DK,
It is a pity to have a T that doesn’t see you switching personalities.
How do you look at this T at this moment?
Best wishes,
Selah
11-1-2019
I scored 68 a few months ago,and 67 more recently. I want to get an official diagnoses but some people don’t even believe DID is real. My old T thought I had DDNOS. Not sure. Feeling confused for sure.
The moment the trauma center tested me i was told someone from the c*lt was involved into the center and was able to read all my files and tell them to the c*lt in order for me to get troubles for telling.
It made me score the DES-Q how i really observed at that moment how my dissociative experiences where showing to my knowlegde, but i never had any test done truthfully cause i pulled all diagnostic testing upside down.
They told me my DES-Q came back this high it wasn’t usually seen with people with DID.(I think i scored an overal rate of something between 70 and 80)
Only later to be told by my curent T’s i DID have DID and scores this high where possible for people with DID.
Wow Selah … that is super scary (i.e., that someone from the c*lt was involved at the center that you were at). Kudos to you for just getting through that experience. Strange interpretation of your results. I would certainly trust your current T’s diagnosis. Sure does speak volumes to why folks have such trouble getting a proper diagnosis and help.
Thank you for sharing this.
ME+WE
04/10/2018
I really struggle with my diagnosis and sometimes I think my therapist is nuts and I’m super suggestible. I’ve wondered off and on for years whether I have DID or not, but I’m basically aware now —well there’s a lot of internal conflict about this today— I’m aware on most levels I’ve been told I have DID, sometimes I believe it and sometimes I don’t. I don’t experience myself as different people though, I don’t hear a lot of internal dialogue it’s actually usually radio-silence where I have no thoughts at all and I feel like there’s nothing going on in my life and I have nothing to talk about at all. I don’t know, I’m just having a lot of conflict about whether I have DID or just pronounced ego states or I’m acting and I’m having a lot of trouble trusting my therapist as the liklihood of ritual abuse/indicators has been brought up while I have no memory of anything like this ever happening to me and it sounds like some crazy conspiracy theory shit to me-us- lol. I’ve gone through long periods of functioning where I don’t show symptoms and I think if I just stop focusing on this idea that I have DID and stop therapy, I can go back to everything being manageable.
Oh, I scored 66.8, then 63.6, but am I exaggerating?
Does anyone else have this kind of experience? There’s a lot of self-punishment for lying to my therapist about having DID and trying to get attention or make excuses for myself involved.
Hi hayden,
Please understand me when I say that I chuckled when you asked: “Does anyone else have this kind of experience?” That is because I could hear a loud and resounding “YES” shouted around the world from the folks in our community reading your posting here. WOW … have we ever had this kind of experience!
My first alter appeared in therapy four years ago. I am 63 years old now so you can do the math … hahaha. What a shock to be told that I had “two distinct ego states” – that is how my T initially described what happened. I had already spent six months lying to her — well, at least that is what it felt like to me. I was hearing myself speak about things that I had no memory of. I knew the basic outline of the traumas that I was talking about but the details coming out of my mouth were totally foreign to me. And yes, I would go away from sessions thinking that one day my lies would catch up with me and my T would throw me out of her office. Then I thought, “wow … maybe I am in the wrong profession. Surely my genius is in acting.” I was confused and scared that I was really a lying, attention-seeking, nut case.
Then my first alter came out and the world turned upside down. What started coming out seemed impossible. These new traumas did not make any sense at all because I had absolutely no memory of them. And I was an old woman. Why now? Then I fussed and worried that the lying, attention-seeking, nut case me was really getting out of hand and I was going to be put away somewhere if I did not get control of things. But, new alters began to appear over time and different dimensions of my life started to be revealed. Then I thought that this must all be false memories. When a new alter would make themselves known to me, I would wait months before I told my T. Ya … a whole bunch of denial that went on for a long time. To be honest, I still have fleeting doubts. Maybe I just want to wake up and find that this has all been a dream.
So … to answer your question hayden, “yes, I have had the kind of experience that you have described.”
There is not a one-size-fits-all in DID hayden. Your journey of discovery will be unique to you. We do have a lot of similarities as DID folks that we can share and help one another with. But do not doubt yourself if some things do not seem to fit you. Maybe they never will. Or, maybe these are things for you to discover along the way.
The most important thing for you to do (in my mind) is approach getting to know your insiders, your system and the things that they have to tell you with an open, welcome and loving heart and mind. Some of what you are going to learn is going to be hard to hear and sorting out your system may feel overwhelming and confusing. This gets easier with time. Not all of your insiders will present to you at once. They will come along when they feel the time is right. And, not everything that they have to share with you will come all at once. Like building any relationship, you will need time, patience, active listening and a willingness to work things out.
The second most important thing for you to do (in my mind) is keep reading here hayden. Kathy (and now Laura too) has written a huge collection of blogs that will give you the straight, honest and compassionate truth about DID. This can be your go-to resource when you have questions about what is happening with your system – oh, and you will have questions – lots of them. This is also a great place to come to talk with other DID folks. We understand what DID is all about and we are here to offer a welcoming space, sincere understanding and support, and maybe a word or two that can help.
ME+WE
04/07/2018
Thanks so much for your reply. I really struggle with this sporadically. Today I’m fine, I know I have DID and it’s actually something I like about myself. lol I really enjoy a lot of my parts. Yesterday, I had to go to the Dr and I was doing some rapid switching and vacillating between there being a lot of noise and just being totally blank. I appreciate getting some feedback, knowing I’m not alone in this, and being reminded: “more will be revealed”. 🙂 <3
There’s so much in all these comments. Some people think others are attention seeking (happens a lot), others worry that they themselves are lying (I had that worry too).
Others worry because their state is different to what others are saying. That’s a big one because everyone has a different biography and different damage has been done.
In a way CPTSD is the town square where we can all meet up, and childhood complex trauma causes damage and developmental damage, one example being dissociation.
As Dr Ross points out dissociation is one feature of what he rather coldly calls psychopathology. I suppose in the same way as someone in a car accident suffers somatopathology.
I will have a look at Dr Dells work which sounds very useful. Detachment is also a form of dissociation, that is long-term or lifelong dissociation, and surely is related to schizoid personality, or the glass-wall sensation that schizoid personalities have. In my case detachment from life was induced on day one. In my life the damage was great, and compounded by breakdowns (breakages) but I have scored but 18.6 on the DES and the diagnostic category which is closest to what I experience is DID-NOS. Also I only score 1/10 on the ACEs scale because it is designed on a very specific modus operandi which is not the modus operandi of the group I was in.
I am diagnosed with DID and scored 90
I got well over 100… maybe I’ve done it wrong
Uh-oh–I took this and thought I was reporting too low on most of the questions. But then ended up with 76. Well–at least all/most of the parts are talking to each other. That’s some good news. But I didn’t think we were dissociating so much as that any more.
Hi, I was diagnosed some time ago, but I can’t relate to people on this website…
They are way too out there for me…. I can’t go on a website and start speaking as alters, that’s just looking for attention, I thin k.
Isn’t this a thing of secrecrecy????
So confused..
Sorry
AmandA
Hi Amanda,
Welcome to Discussing Dissociation. And… believe me, you are not alone. There are many folks who have DID and don’t talk openly in public about it, or don’t allow their insiders to post separately.
Some of the comfort in letting your insiders present as themselves is determined by how safe you feel and how welcomed and supported they are in your system to speak out loud to others. That can be related to all kinds of situations about how comfortable you are with having insiders, and how comfortable your system as a whole is re: speaking with your own insiders, and how safe or comfortable you are with other people seeing or recognizing or conversing with your insiders.
There’s no right or wrong way — it depends a lot on your individual circumstances.
I don’t see it as a negative way of getting attention. Some of those insiders will genuinely need some attention, and it can become a real thing of beauty when they get to come out and enjoy life. But safety is the top of the priority, and if it doesn’t feel safe, then you or your insiders certainly don’t have to talk openly. At least not in public. They’ll certainly need to be allowed to talk openly in your therapy and in your healing work because hearing their individual voices and addressing their individual needs are crucial to your healing.
Of course, there can be an element of secrecy about DID, and that can be a good, or not so good thing. Really depends on the circumstances. Some secrecy is an issue of privacy, and safety, and in that sense the “secrecy” can be good or helpful or protective. In other situations, the “secrecy” can feel more shame-based, or denial-based, or terror-based, for example, and all of those emotions can be big indicators of other problems in life, of course.
There’s lots to learn here. Feel free to keep reading and to participate as you feel comfortable to do so. 🙂
Warmly,
Kathy
The internet under another name and e-mail address feels pretty secret to me.
I’m just started working with a trauma / dd therapist because know that my personal dissociative experiences are more than simple ptsd. I’ve been in therapy for my “mood swings” and ptsd for over 15 years and in general for nearly 30 years. My childhood traumas were complex and started preverbally, extending through early adulthood.
I’ve self administered the MID several times over the last 6 months (seeing if it will change). The results have come back ddnos or did with ptsd each time. My “defensiveness” validity score was extremely high – over 100. I meet the criteria for avoidant personality disorder but my therapists believe that those symptoms are caused by my traumas.
All this said, my DES score is 17. Well within the range of normal and dissociation.
Reblogged this on MadeleineMaya.
Reblogged this on Trauma and Dissociation and commented:
If you dissociate often then have you used the Dissociative Experiences Scale screening tool to check for whether a dissociative disorder is likely?
This post contains information about diagnosing dissociative disorders and explains what the scoring of the DES means.
Take the DES first here:
An additional screening tool for Derealization only is on Dr Marlene Steinberg’s excellent website http://www.strangerinthemirror.com/questionnaire.html
The DSM5 – Paul Dell’s excellent paper A new model of DID gives alternative criteria which can be extremely helpful and really puts the focus on dissociative symptoms in general rather than emphasizing the identity alteration of DID. It’s linked to from the bottom of this page – skip to around page 10 to see his proposed criteria http://www.dissociative-identity-disorder.net/wiki/Denial
The DSM5 made minor changes to the DID criteria (from what I remember I think they were being able to self-report symptoms or have others report them rather than have them observed by a professional (as with any other mental health diagnosis) and the other key change was clarifying that amnesia could be for present or past experiences (or both) which made it clearer that people with co-consciousness are not excluded from a DID diagnosis (co-consciousness of course is part the process of healing from DID).
Thanks for the blog Kathy.
The DES can be taken online here http://www.facebook.com/TraumaAndDissociation/app_227198570629068
Several diagnostic tests exist for dissociative disorders (not just screening tools like the DES), including the SCID-D which must be done by a trained professional and includes observations made by the person conducting it. The Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS) and MID (Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation) also exist and assess all dissociative disorders not just DID.
If you are struggling with denial or finding the DES scores hard to follow then the SCID-D is more thorough and could well help clarify things for you.
For depersonalization alone there is also a screening test developed by Dr Marlene Steinberg which can be taken on her “Stranger in the Mirror” website.
Reblogged this on Discussing Dissociation and commented:
Hello Today, Everyone. As a follow up to yesterday’s reblog about the DES, Dissociative Experiences Scale, this post is about how to score the DES.
Uummm i scored 50 what should i do?
I believe you are right about some people scoring differently during different stages of recovery. The first time I took this (three years ago, I believe) I scored about 50. This time I scored about 41, but I know that the percentage of my time that is spent in dissociative states is less now than it used to be. I believe that is as much because I have less stress now (as I have worked through so much trauma) and so don’t rely on the old coping mechanisms as much. I am going through some integration and awareness that I didn’t have before, but that is not what makes me score lower on this test (I believe.)
Thanks for this
~S
I found the exact same dollwise, also there is a task force working on changing the diagnostic criteria for the DSM V which is do to be published I believe in 2010. I cant remember when the current DSM was put in place, but now the academic evidence is far greater to support a change that reflects a more accurate picture of dissocative disorders. I believe they experts are also calling for ptsd to be taken out of the anxiety disorders and put is dissociative disorders. However I think that the DSM reflects the views of the times, and now the scientific evidence is more abundent than ever to support DID.
Even the experts differ in their opinions and approach depending on what theoretical framework they agree with, its interesting in that I have found a few letters or articles in various journals that they are taking digs at each other. One particular expert or researcher definately took a dig at Dell for his article on the mid and why it was accurate etc. What I liked about Dell’s study on the MID was that yes the P values and confidence interval were good and all the other stats, etc but he also highlighted the study’s shortcomings and gaps. A lot of studies will highlight theh stats that seem to reflect that the result is statistically significant, but when you look closer, you see that the Numbers needed to treat is not enough, or odds ratio or they dont even mention what the confidence interval is, or the exclusion and inclusion criteria is flawed in the sense there are confounding variables not statistically corrected for.
What I also like about the MID, is that Dell captures the subjective experience very well.
Through work I have access to all the reputable journals and evidence out there, and love going through all that stuff, my T thinks its good, but she said that I use it as a coping skill or to stay somewhat detached (ya so, your point is ?? :)!!!).
Apparently my emotional IQ lags behind my intellectual IQ, and I have to trust her to apply the literature to our case (see Im brutal, I will go through a journal article she recommends I read or pull one on my own and go through and highlight and comment etc and then email it to her), she is actually so cool with all of this and to be honest very flatter when we have a conversation about MAO, serotonin etc and snaptic pruning etc,. I love the fact that it doesnt bother her that I understand this stuff and she treats me that same way…but as she said the emotional side of things I need to work on..jes ya think ! :).
rdrunner – I totally agree with you. I found the Dell MID far more informative and target specific in terms of current understanding of dissociative processing.
The DES was developed to go along with the DSM evaluation of DID, and the DSM criteria just do not take into account alot of things that are specific to DID in its clinical presentation. I read articles somewhere on this but cant recall where, but they included alot of the controversy over the DSM having caved to academic pressure vs clinical experience.
I must say, having taken both, that the Dell MID has helped me in alot of ways, for one thing it picks up current PTSD symptomology, and noone had realized before how much of this I do experience.
Its validity scales are very helpful, as are the graphs which help you see how your answers compare with diagnosed DID populations, Control Populations, etc.
I believe the Dell MID also better captures the particular and discreet aspects of how exactly I experience dissociative processing, moreso than I found the DES to. I have found its educational value far more comprehensive and useful in being able to know what I need to work on. It also got me over alot of my skepticism and confusion over what exactly I am dealing with here.
I do think a primary flaw of the DES is its alignment with the DSM viewpoints, vs clinical manifestations and discreet presentation which just is more a hallmark of all this.
So anyway, I entirely agree.
I reckon I only score in the low thirties, if that.
Cuz there’s times where I function just fine and don’t feel dissociative at all.
And I don’t have all the symptoms say 30% of the time, I might have some some of the time and others not.
Also, I have much of what I beleive is called co con and so I am not usu surprized by unknown clothes etc.
So what am I? Who knows and who cares.
I don’t fit in no pigeon holes.
I just am who I am.
And I like to be accurate, these test are not accurate.
They fluffy and ambiguous.
I got enuf fluff and ambiguity in this brain.
Ones
we scored 70 overall, so that means most of our answers were over 60, right? cuz it’s averaged, right?
Dont mean to be difficult here,but the problem with the DES first of all it is old and doesnt not necessarily reflect what we know about dissociation today ie,conversion and somatization, derealisaton, not enough questions to fully address all of those. I also question its internal validity as internal consistancy is very different than internal validity, but I would have to see P values etc to make an accurate assessment on it. Again when looking at the percentage mentioned in terms of results, is it really and truly externally valid. oh I am thinking maybe that for dissocation its fine but not necessarily for DID.
Take a look at the Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociaton(MID)by Paul Dell, there are alot more questions and to score it is way more complicated due to validity scales and you need to software of program to do it. Anyway Dell has some interesting articles on the development of this diagnostic tool, I forget what journal I got it in, anyway I think the most important thing to remember is that any of these tools have to be used with clinical judgement etc.
Sorry if I am coming across as argumentative, dont mean to be, I just get too excited about the science and research side of things :).
I just tried to take this which was hilarious bc different parts were giving different answers so I’d end up with like 3 different numbers circled and no consensus. I like how specific it is, though.
We empathize. Doctor visits are challenging for the same reason: “please rate your pain.”
How many answers can we give?
Or the eye doctor: “This one? Or this one?”
Both?
Hope it’s okay to suggest a humorous diversion: James Veitch did a 5-minute routine on health forms like this: https://youtu.be/iaPbUvPOkD8. 4/7/18
bahaha! loved the vid. Yesterday was literally a doctor day for me. So relatable!
hahaha … good one T.Clark. I so chuckled when I read the part about the eye doc. I was there a couple of weeks ago — an issue with a glaucoma condition so the stress level was high and no matter what I did the inside kids would not settle down. Then two technicians had me read an eye chart projected on the wall. How could I tell them that one of my 31/2 year old girls was in charge of my vision and she does not know her letters yet? I begged one of my older insiders (the one who went to school) to come out and do the eye test. Finally he did briefly but, given that he has dyslexia, he read the letters backwards (i.e., from the last letter to the first). I was just sssssoooooo relieved I could read anything!!!
ME+WE
04/08/2018