user579: Many spiritual teachings ask the followers to develop detachment towards worldly objects and events. Certain meditation techniques ask the followers to be a mere spectator to one's thoughts and get emotionally detached. Few spiritual people report having spiritual experiences like out-of-body or having seen a deity in their dreams or in daylight. 
My question is, how do a follower of spiritual practice differentiate between a spiritual experience and a mental or neurotic disorder like ' dissociative disorder'?

user-1: In the book Saints and Madmen, David Lukov puts it this way - "The mystic swims in the same waters where the madman drowns."  I think that's a pretty good barometer.  When the types of things you mention happen to people engaged in spiritual practice, there is [usually] a sense that they have some sort of control over the experience.  At the very least, they know that what they are doing is the product of their practice and can be attributed to rational cause.  For the insane, I don't think there is the same sense of control or causality.  

user254: Conventionally, the people who are concerned (for example a family member or doctor) may consider a mental state to be "disordered" if:

It's persistent
You're unable (not to mention "unwilling") to behave conventionally or skillfully

Wikipedia - Mental disorder (definition) says,

For a mental state to classify as a disorder, it generally needs to cause dysfunction.
According to DSM-IV, a mental disorder is a psychological syndrome or pattern, which occurs in an individual, and causes distress via a painful symptom or disability, or increases the risk of death, pain, or disability; however it excludes normal responses such as grief from loss of a loved one, and also excludes deviant behavior for political, religious, or societal reasons not arising from a dysfunction in the individual.[

So, for example, if instead you continue to ...

Have friends
Talk lucidly
Obey the law
Do your work (e.g. pay your bills)
Take normal care of your physical health

... then you're less likely to be considered as having a "mental disorder".

I think that this description of the 'two truths' doctrine implies that the two extremes, "conventional reality" and "ultimate reality" (which can seem like a dichotomy) might be better understood as "skillful means" and "wisdom" ... i.e. ideally a person might be able to manifest either and/or both (not just one or the other).

user295: Giving too much importance or attachment to any experience either actual or delusional will lead to metal instability and perhaps delusion. So if you experience something then congratulations, this is great, but leaving it aside continue your practice. Reason being distinguishing real and delusional experiences is very difficult can can be futile in some instance, hence not worth giving too much importance to. I would personally err in the side of caution can consider many of such experiences as just mind playing tricks. When you stop paying attention after some time then these experiences may pass away. Best is you continue the practice giving less importance of trying not to read into too much on what you experience.

user43: If you suffer and make others suffer, that's a disorder. If you are happy and make others happy, that's a good result. Although sometimes it has to get worse before it can get better.

579: <p>Many spiritual teachings ask the followers to develop detachment towards worldly objects and events. Certain meditation techniques ask the followers to be a mere spectator to one's thoughts and get emotionally detached. Few spiritual people report having spiritual experiences like out-of-body or having seen a deity in their dreams or in daylight. </p>

<p>My question is, how do a follower of spiritual practice differentiate between a spiritual experience and a mental or neurotic disorder like ' dissociative disorder'?</p>
 -1: <p>In the book Saints and Madmen, David Lukov puts it this way - "The mystic swims in the same waters where the madman drowns."  I think that's a pretty good barometer.  When the types of things you mention happen to people engaged in spiritual practice, there is [usually] a sense that they have some sort of control over the experience.  At the very least, they know that what they are doing is the product of their practice and can be attributed to rational cause.  For the insane, I don't think there is the same sense of control or causality.  </p>
 254: <p>Conventionally, the people who are concerned (for example a family member or doctor) may consider a mental state to be &quot;disordered&quot; if:</p>
<ul>
<li>It's persistent</li>
<li>You're unable (not to mention &quot;unwilling&quot;) to behave conventionally or skillfully</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorder#Definition" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia - Mental disorder (definition)</a> says,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For a mental state to classify as a disorder, it generally needs to cause dysfunction.</p>
<p>According to DSM-IV, a mental disorder is a psychological syndrome or pattern, which occurs in an individual, and causes <strong>distress</strong> via a painful <strong>symptom</strong> or <strong>disability</strong>, or increases the risk of death, pain, or disability; however it excludes normal responses such as <strong>grief</strong> from loss of a loved one, and also excludes <strong>deviant behavior</strong> for political, religious, or societal reasons not arising from a dysfunction in the individual.[</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, for example, if instead you continue to ...</p>
<ul>
<li>Have friends</li>
<li>Talk lucidly</li>
<li>Obey the law</li>
<li>Do your work (e.g. pay your bills)</li>
<li>Take normal care of your physical health</li>
</ul>
<p>... then you're less likely to be considered as having a &quot;mental disorder&quot;.</p>
<hr />
<p>I think that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praj%C3%B1aptiv%C4%81da#Two_truths_doctrine" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this description</a> of the 'two truths' doctrine implies that the two extremes, &quot;conventional reality&quot; and &quot;ultimate reality&quot; (which can seem like a dichotomy) might be better understood as &quot;skillful means&quot; and &quot;wisdom&quot; ... i.e. ideally a person might be able to manifest either and/or both (not just one or the other).</p>
 295: <p>Giving too much importance or attachment to any experience either actual or delusional will lead to metal instability and perhaps delusion. So if you experience something then congratulations, this is great, but leaving it aside continue your practice. Reason being distinguishing real and delusional experiences is very difficult can can be futile in some instance, hence not worth giving too much importance to. I would personally err in the side of caution can consider many of such experiences as just mind playing tricks. When you stop paying attention after some time then these experiences may pass away. Best is you continue the practice giving less importance of trying not to read into too much on what you experience.</p>
 43: <p>If you suffer and make others suffer, that's a disorder. If you are happy and make others happy, that's a good result. Although sometimes it has to get worse before it can get better.</p>
