Dissociative Experiences Scale (survey)

Page 1 of 1 [ 8 posts ] 

lissy983
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 30 Oct 2010
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 142

03 Nov 2010, 1:02 pm

I took a screening test online it’s called Dissociative Experiences Scale.

I was recently told that I dissociate in stressful situations. I don't deny that much of my stimming is to dissociate and feel safe from stimulation. I guess the fact I was told this by someone who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder made me question just how far I go to dissociate and whether I do it just because I can. None of my questions were answered by this quiz. But I am curious how people I consider to be ‘like myself’ score.
~Thanks,
Melissa
counsellingresource. com /quizzes/des/index . html



buryuntime
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Dec 2008
Age: 88
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,662

03 Nov 2010, 1:22 pm

This quiz is nonsensical. What do they mean "some people"? I'm sure I could answer ALWAYS because there is bound to be some person who experiences this ALWAYS, but I can't prove this. Am I supposed to replace these some people with myself or am I supposed to think some people experience this? How is this related to my own experiences?



SuperApsie
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 11 Sep 2010
Age: 51
Gender: Male
Posts: 482
Location: Athens, Greece

03 Nov 2010, 2:40 pm

Yeah another fancy syndrome that I have :!:

But come on...

Quote:
17. Some people find that when they are watching television or a movie they become so absorbed in the story that they are unaware of other events happening around them.


The test is really dull, and I believe nobody on this planet can afford to have such level of conscientiousness... I'm scared to become testophobic :bounce:

Quote:
29. Some people find that when they enter the bathroom, they are not in their house.


That would be something relevant.


_________________
I came, I saw, I conquered, now I want to leave
Forgetting to visit the chat is a capital Aspie sin: http://www.wrongplanet.net/asperger.html?name=ChatRoom


Apple_in_my_Eye
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 May 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,420
Location: in my brain

03 Nov 2010, 3:25 pm

Wow, I see a lot of problems with using that on ASC people. I think dissociation can happen (especially in terms of 'acting') to ASCs, but also that normal ASC experiences could easily be misinterpreted as dissociation. I suppose it could be argued that those ASC experiences are dissociation, but I don't think that's the case for all.

I also don't get the "some people" part -- I'm interpreting that as "I experience...".

Quote:
"2. Some people find that sometimes they are listening to someone talk and they suddenly realize that they did not hear part or all of what was said."

Central auditory processing disorder and/or receptive lanugage problems could also cause that.

Quote:
"8. Some people are told that they sometimes do not recognize friends or family members."
I don't know the official stats, but I've seen many people on the spectrum report having varying degrees of prosopagnosia (difficulty recognizing faces).

Quote:
"10. Some people have the experience of being accused of lying when they do not think that they have lied."
Non-standard non-verbal communication can cause that. I.e. lack of eye contact.

Quote:
"19. Some people find that they sometimes are able to ignore pain."
Weird pain processing does not seem uncommon at all in ASCs.

Quote:
"20. Some people find that that they sometimes sit staring off into space, thinking of nothing, and are not aware of the passage of time."
Spacing out seems really common w/ASCs.

Quote:
"22. Some people find that in one situation they may act so differently compared with another situation that they feel almost as if they were two different people."
For people on the spectrum trying putting up an 'act' or 'mask,' yeah it'll feel like that. But there's a reason for it. Assuming it's dissociation and curing it won't work out the way that is expected (could be disaserous to the person's life).

I will say that having to do to much of that for too long would lead me to feeling dissociated (in an uncomfortable, bad way).



lissy983
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 30 Oct 2010
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 142

03 Nov 2010, 3:57 pm

I guess I have my answer. The scores have become irrelevant to me now that I have seen your reactions were the same as mine. I’m still not quite sure what I was looking for but I do feel some relief that I wasn’t the only one terribly perplexed by the quiz. Thanks for sustaining the agitation.



wavefreak58
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Age: 68
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,419
Location: Western New York

03 Nov 2010, 4:53 pm

I am willing to bet that the 'some people' phrase was specifically chosen for how people react to it. Wording in psychological screening test are often very carefully chosen. This particular phrasing allows someone to slip into an observational modality. Rather than thinking "does this happen to me", they would be able to think "does this happen to other people". A person with a dissociative disorder would not necessarily think that such weird experiences are abnormal and would think that what happens to them (I found myself in a place not knowing how I got there) also happens regularly to others. Hence they would likely score higher. A normal person would perhaps be confused by the wording and answer based on evaluating their own experience, hence scoring lower.



buryuntime
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Dec 2008
Age: 88
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,662

03 Nov 2010, 5:20 pm

wavefreak58 wrote:
I am willing to bet that the 'some people' phrase was specifically chosen for how people react to it. Wording in psychological screening test are often very carefully chosen. This particular phrasing allows someone to slip into an observational modality. Rather than thinking "does this happen to me", they would be able to think "does this happen to other people". A person with a dissociative disorder would not necessarily think that such weird experiences are abnormal and would think that what happens to them (I found myself in a place not knowing how I got there) also happens regularly to others. Hence they would likely score higher. A normal person would perhaps be confused by the wording and answer based on evaluating their own experience, hence scoring lower.

That is very presumptuous on the quiz maker's part. If I were given this in an official setting I would have probably marked ALWAYS for everything and then be diagnosed with who knows what.



wavefreak58
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Age: 68
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,419
Location: Western New York

03 Nov 2010, 9:13 pm

buryuntime wrote:
I were given this in an official setting I would have probably marked ALWAYS for everything and then be diagnosed with who knows what.


It is no presumptuous. These things are DESIGNED to reveal such things. Given in an official setting, they would probably already know you have Asperger's and would have effected their conclusions. And it is a screening test, not a diagnostic one. If you had marked always on every question they would have followed up with something more definitive.