Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 93%
Simulated
The hospice nurse notices that, following the death of his wife of 50 years, a surviving husband's affect is anxious, and he reports a feeling of detachment from his body, stating. 'I feel like I am seeing myself from outside of my body.' The caregiver knows that this client is displaying the characteristics of the dissociative disorder of:
Correct answer
D
Rationale
Dissociative fugue involves sudden, unexpected travel away from home or one's customary place of activities, accompanied by an inability to recall one's past. It is usually associated with amnesia for personal information and is not characterized by depersonalization symptoms. DID involves the presence of two or more distinct personality states or identities within an individual, which alternate and take control of behavior. Each identity may have its own unique way of perceiving and interacting with the environment, which differs from the symptoms described in the scenario. Dissociative amnesia involves the inability to recall important personal information, usually related to stressful or traumatic events. While depersonalization symptoms can occur in dissociative amnesia, the hallmark feature is memory loss rather than the feeling of detachment from one's body. Depersonalization disorder is a dissociative disorder where individuals feel detached from themselves, as if they are observing their own thoughts, feelings, sensations, or actions from outside their body. This can lead to a sense of unreality or detachment from the environment or one's own experiences. It is often triggered by stressful events or trauma, and it can occur in individuals experiencing grief or loss, such as the surviving husband in this scenario.