Avoid Avoidance Analysis

However, he cautioned that failure to treat DID could make it severe. They concluded by saying that DID personality was not evil but a psychological state which needed treatment.

DID is not completely understood but within the psychological community it is well accepted that it often stems from extreme, recurring abuse during childhood developmental periods. Studies, such as “Prevalence of dissociative disorders in psychiatric outpatients” in the American Journal of Psychiatry, have shown that “About 71% of clients with DID have experienced childhood physical abuse and 74% sexual abuse” (qtd. in Jacobson et al. 308). Although this phenomenon isn’t responsible for all of the occurrences of DID in the human population the fact that it plays a part in a majority of cases offers much insight about the illness. This disorder is essentially a coping mechanism for the sufferer because the alter(s) allow the person to separate their thoughts, feelings, and memories relating to traumatic experiences from their normal conscious awareness. Through this information it can be determined that the alter(s) serve the purpose of filling an emptiness in a person.

Several models exist to explain the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder, among which post-traumatic model (PTM) and the socio cognitive model (SCM) tops the list. The PTM suggests that DID develop as a reaction after experiencing a traumatic event usually child abuse, neglect or childhood terrorism or prostitution and became persistent in memories (Gleaves, 1996). The SCM, on the other hand, brief that DID develop as a result of media influences while internalizing everything being watched and also by the expectations or demands of a therapist (Spanos, 1994). Since Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is mostly related to early-life trauma so a discussion of the pros and cons of PTM model will be done. Some therapists believe

In order to evaluate the onset of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) it is important to define such a disorder. American Psychiatric Association, 1994 states that “dissociative identity disorder is characterized by the existence within the person of two or more distinctly different identities or personality states that from time to time take executive control of the person's body and behaviour, with accompanying amnesia”. The two overriding models that will be analysed and which have been the driving force as pre-cursors for DID is the posttraumatic model (PTM), that is, the idea individuals dissociate their personalities as a result of childhood trauma and the socio cognitive model (SCM) (Boysen and VanBergen, 2013). SCM is the notion that an individual consciously and unconsciously portray themselves as having multiple personalities as result of cultural influences rather than a product of trauma (Boysen and VanBergen, 2013). Since DID is a topic which has been under much scrutiny surrounding the lack of systematic research (Mersky and Piper, 2004), both approaches to a degree can be concluded as onsets for DID, however PTM is the more widely accepted model having far greater empirical evidence (Boysen, 2011). Therefore, this essay will evaluate both models and critically explain

Diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (DID) accounts for an estimated 1% of the general population and up to 20% of inpatient and outpatient psychiatric populations (Brand & Loewenstein, 2010). DID can also be triggered and manifested in individuals which is why trauma is especially prevalent in individuals diagnosed with DID; about 71% have experienced childhood physical abuse and 74% sexual abuse (Foote, Smolin, Kaplan, Legatt, & Lipschitz, 2006). Due to trauma being so prevalent in DID many individuals with dissociative disorders suffer from a multitude of psychiatric issues that may include

Individuals with avoidant personality disorder fear that others will reject them, that they will fail, and that others will criticize their efforts (Funder, 2013). Further exasperating the issue and causing them to avoid

Although there is no “cure” for DID, long-term committed treatment can be helpful. If not treated properly, DID can worsen over the years and can last a lifetime. Trust is the most vital issue in treatment and many patients have a hard time trusting anyone. Patients long to be loved and to love because they were often deprived of that as children (Cohen, Giller & W., 1987). DID patients must be cared for and treated in a loving environment with a therapist that is supportive and patient (Cohen, Giller & W., 1987) One of the primary focuses is to help patients learn to control and contain symptoms. Control helps patients no longer see themselves as victims of the past but as survivors of their situations (Waseem & Aslam, 2016). Treatment

A number of studies performed on narrow sections of the population have indicated that avoidant personality disorder in particular can be connected with emotional abuse, including sexual abuse, verbal abuse, and neglect, as well as a lack of parental encouragement or involvement in the child’s life (195-197). The other Cluster C disorders were more strongly associated with different types of dysfunctional childhoods; dependent personality disorder can be linked with a childhood marked by strict rules and controlling parents (201), while people diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder “might have experienced childhood events that instilled a sense of inadequacy and a need to be perfect” (199). While these indications are far from conclusive, the apparent link between emotional deprivation and abuse as a child and the development of avoidant personality disorder later in life supports the cognitive perspective of the origins of this disorder (195). If a person grows up believing they are not worthy of praise from others, they may learn that they can avoid rejection by avoiding people; then, when they abstain from social interaction, this “belief [becomes] strengthened because [they do] not encounter new

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a rare dissociation of self in which an individual exhibits two or more distinct and alternating identities. In other words, two or more personalities− each with its own unique traits and individuality− seem to control an individual’s behavior at different times. Therefore, it is possible for an individual to be outgoing and enthusiastic one moment, apathetic and shy the next.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D), also known as Multiple Personality Disorder, is a mental disease and illness portrayed by at least two distinct personalities usually caused to avoid the victim/host of this illness from reflecting to old traumatic events/memories (Thomson, 1990). There are at least 200,000 cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder each year with women nine times more likely to be recipients of this disorder. A study by Nissen (cited by Gillig, P. M., 2009) states biological abusive relationships are to take into major account for the development of D.I.D. Whenever a drastic event happens in a person’s life, during those times our brains release cortisol and norepinephrine which have an influence on the brain. They influence the part of the brain that controls all our memories and where they are stored. Also, studies show after taking a picture of someone’s brain during a memory of a traumatic event, there is a decrease in the Broca’s Area, which helps translate your experiences into words to speak, and increases the area of the right hemisphere of your brain, which controls the emotion and visual stimulus. The memories/events are stored into a different part of your brain where it manifests itself into its own identity. Thus, when your mind is visited by these horrific memories, your brain copes with this by creating its own identity and personality to fit or protect itself from the event that

DID appear to be a very complex disorder. People with DID tend to have personal histories of recurring , overpowering , severe and often life-threatening traumas. Thus ,the cause of DID is still unknown and widely disputed . The strict dissociation that characterizes the patients with DID is recently understood to outcome from a set of causes :

Clinicians who are not dubious of the validity and existence of DID tend to attribute the aetiology to early childhood trauma (Giling, 2009). In support of this, Gabbard(2014) is of the view that dissociative identity disorder develops as a response to the trauma that is encountered during one’s childhood environment. This response can be classified as a form of defence mechanism “to a threat that suspends the integration of mental systems and altered consciousness (du Plessis and Visser, 2014 p. 271)

One of the main explanations provided by Durand and Barlow regarding the etiological factors seen for DID to develop is the presence of some traumatic event. In their words “[a]lmost every patient presenting with this disorder reports to their mental health professional being horribly, often unspeakable, abused as a child” (2016, p. 190). Similarly, Rosky asserts that the second factor for DID to develop is that individuals had experienced unbearable situations that overwhelms the adaptive capacities of a person (1992, p. 298).

When most people think of mental disorders, many tend to think of depression, bipolar disorder, or even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The one thing these three disorders have in common is they all can be associated with a disorder called Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). A person with MPD “behaves as if under the control of distinct and separate parts of the personality at different times” (Bull). As research has advanced on the studying of MPD, researchers have deemed the official diagnostic name as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Although a great deal of research has been done, the exact cause of DID/MPD is still unknown. Current ideology states that dissociation in someone is generally caused by childhood abuse or trauma. Abuse and/or trauma may contribute to the development of Multiple Personality Disorder (Passen).

As with any psychological disorder, the cause behind it can lead to the solution. Some of the leading causes behind DID are trauma and repression of memories. Both of these create a barrier between the emotions and the mind, allowing room for the formation of separate identities that now have to deal with the issues respectively.