Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Case Study

Dissociative Identity Disorder, previously referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder, is a psychological illness that has raised a lot of controversy and led researchers to question its validity. This disorder has been recorded as early as the 1800’s, but has recently been given more attention to by clinical researchers because of its diagnosis rates. The brain is a very complex organ and certain traumas can lead to the occurrence of this illness. Dissociative identity disorder is an illness in which individuals develop two or more very different personality states. In this paper, I will explain the causes of dissociative identity disorder, outline the symptoms, and elaborate on the

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder, is a disorder characterized by having multiple personality states. Within these altered states, a person with DID will have different personal and autobiographical characteristics which distinguish the different personality states from one another. According to Susan Nolen-Hoeksema (2014), DID is one of the most controversial disorders in clinical psychology. The reason for this is many people are critical of the validity of DID as an actual disorder. There have been cases where people would claim to have altered personalities, but were in fact malingering for attention or to avoid punishment for crimes. Also, many of the symptoms of DID overlap with the criteria associated with Schizophrenia (Hoeksema, 2014). Therefore, many psychiatrists today are reluctant to diagnose people with DID because they believe their symptoms could be attributed to another disorder, and many people are critical of DID being an actual disorder is the first place. This reluctance and disapproving thought towards DID is what this paper will focus on. The aim of this paper is to prove DID is a legitimate disorder by showing the neuroanatomical and psychobiological differences between altered personality states in people diagnosed with DID. These show that there are biological differences which cannot be attributed to faking or malingering of symptoms and therefore prove DID to be a genuine, diagnosable disorder.

Dissociative Identity Disorder or also commonly known as Multiple Identity Disorder in which a person has a variety of personalities within him. DID is a very rare disorder as there is less than two hundred thousand cases reported throughout the United States. It is also likely that people with Dissociative Identity Disorder develop this throughout their childhood after facing a series of traumatic events. This

Due to its complexity and skepticism there is minimal information in regards to dissociation, dissociative disorders, and the effects of trauma throughout the core development years of childhood. Within recent years the awareness, and study of DID from a clinical standpoint have increased and diagnosing criteria has been outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and is as follows: (Pais, 2009)

Most individuals with DID have experienced physical or sexual abuse. The abuse is usually during childhood, and some individuals with DID also show signs of posttraumatic stress symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, and startle responses. It’s likey that an individual with DID can also have PTSD. Aggressive, self-harming, and suicidal behavior tend to be link to individuals with DID. Some DID individuals can have symptoms that are criteria of moods, substance-related, sexual or sleep disorder.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a condition where there are two or more distinct identities that are and will become present in an individual. These personalities can and will eventually take control of the individual, many people consider having dissociative identity disorder an experience of being possessed. The individual can and most likely will experience memory loss that is more extensive than ordinary everyday forgetfulness (Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder). Around two percent of people will experience dissociative disorder, women are more likely than men are to be diagnosed with DID. "Almost half of adults in the United States experience at least one depersonalization/derealization episode in their lives, with only 2% meeting the full criteria for chronic episodes” (Dissociative Disorders).

Often people living with DID are depressed or even suicidal and self-mutilation is common in this group. Approximately one-third of individuals affected complain of auditory or visual hallucinations. While the causes are unknown, statistics show that DID occurs in 0.01 to 1 percent of the general population ("NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | NAMI: The National Alliance on Mental Illness,"). DID is a serious mental illness that occurs across all ethnic groups and all income levels. It affects women nine times more than men. In addition to experiencing separate identities, individuals living with DID may also experience many other symptoms ("Dissociative identity disorder - children, causes, DSM, functioning,

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is the “severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual” (psychologytoday,2018,1). Dissociative Identity Disorder was first diagnosed in the late 1800s by Doctor Jean-Martin Charcot. This disorder affects about 1 percent of the United States population. This disorder is more common in females than it is in males. For example, Britney Spears has suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder since 2008. Some of her alter egos include, “The British girl, other alter egos include the weepy girl, the diva, and the incoherent girl” (Ranker, 2018, 1). Therefore, many people have this disorder without anybody even knowing

Psychotherapy is what’s primarily used for those who suffer from DID, the treatments usually involve uncovering and mapping the alter egos or parts; treating the traumatic memories and fusing the egos together to consolidate the new personality.

Dissociative Identity Disorder, previously known as “multiple personality disorder”, is a mental disorder in which a

In the U.S., Canada, and Europe, approximately 90 percent report experiencing childhood abuse. The disorder may first occur at any age. Individuals with DID may have PTSD symptoms such as, nightmares and flashbacks. Several studies suggest that DID is more common among close biological relatives of people who also have the disorder than in the general population. As this disorder has grown more common, the diagnosis has become controversial. Some believe that because DID patients are highly suggestible, their symptoms are at least partly prompted by therapists suggestion of the disorder. Brain imaging studies, however, have supported the idea of identity transitions.

There have been many critiques of the theory that DID is medically induced and the conclusions reached by researchers has often stated that even though some developing symptoms of DID can be created from therapeutic advice, there is not any evidence that suggests that the disorder itself could be created. Therefore, the theory fails to explain several reported cases of the disorder. It has also been acknowledged that the definitive assumption is false because it

The definite cause of DID is unknown, but one main cause of the disorder is believed to be severe and prolonged trauma experienced during childhood, including emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. Symptoms of DID can include: an inability to remember large parts of childhood, sudden return of memories, as in a flashback and/or flashback to traumatic events, episodes of feeling disconnected or detached from one's body and thoughts, hallucinations, changing levels of functioning, from highly effective to nearly disabled, depression, anxiety, alcohol and/or drug abuse, headaches, and eating disorders. DID is a serious mental illness that occurs across all ethnic groups and all income levels, but has been proven to affect women nine times more than men. Research has shown that the average age for the initial development of alters is 5.9 years old. Statistics show that DID occurs in 0.01 to 1 percent of the general population (Mayo, 2014).

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a severe condition in which two or more personalities are present in and take control of an individual. (Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)) DID is characterized by fragmentation, the breaking of identities, instead of the growth of the personalities. DID is the failure to link aspects such as memory and consciousness in a single self. (Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)) The alters’ personality such as, name, age, gender, and vocabulary differ from those of the primary identity. (Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)) Each identity may exhibit its own distinct history, self-image, behaviors, and

Imagine waking up in a new house, town, city, even state and not knowing how you got there. Now add onto that thought of forgetting almost a year of your life because someone else, or something, has taken over your body. That is just a look into dissociative disorders in general. Dissociative Disorders are ‘extreme distortions in perception and memory” (Terwilliger 2013). Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), or previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder, is often the most misunderstood dissociative disorder of them all. It has always been somewhat of a mystery. Seeing videos of the disorder can really give you an insight on what happens with the person who suffer from it. Almost everyone in the