Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Case Study

Dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, is a mental illness that is greatly misunderstood, much like many other mental illnesses. Nicholas Spanos, Professor of Psychology, hypothesized Multiple Personality Disorder as a defense against childhood trauma that creates “dissociation” or a split mental state. The trauma sustained during childhood is so substantial, that the individual creates different identities to cope with it (Spanos, 1994). The disorder first showed up in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1978 in the DSM-III, but the name was changed to Dissociative Identity Disorder in the DSM-IV (Dunn, 1992).

In chapter 15 of Exploring Psychology, the author discuss the basics of psychological disorders. Within this assignment, the psychological disorder of my choosing is Dissociative Identity Disorder. The commonality of the disorder is rare. Although we’ve disassociated ourselves in some form or the other with our ability to daydream, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is more severe and is usually linked to trauma. Formerly the disorder was known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Individuals who suffer from this disorder usually have more than one aspect of themselves or personalities, whom he or she is completely unaware of. Sufferers of the disorder have to deal with a variety of symptoms such as memory loss, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, black-outs, impulsiveness, and perception of being detached from the self. The severity of the trauma is usually extreme, repetitive, and long-term. The individual may have an extensive history of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse.

Dissociative identity disorder is called a multiple personality disorder up until 1994 when they changed the name to give us a better understanding of the condition. Some people believe that patients with DID can become easily hypnotized and their symptoms are iatrogenic, "meaning they have arisen in response to therapists' suggestions. Brain imaging studies, however, have corroborated identity transitions in some patients." Usually a primary identity will carry the individual's name and is passive, dependent, guilty, and depressed. When an

Treatments to help cope with this disorder include psychotherapy. Also labeled as “talk therapy”, psychotherapy allows the patient to verbalize their issues with a qualified counselor or therapist. Being able to express the trauma also allows the individual to cope, heal, and get past the events that haunt them. There are no medications for the treatment of dissociative disorder but a doctor may prescribe anti-psychotics, anti-anxiety, or antidepressants to help cope while under counseling.

Psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, and non-verbal therapy seem to be the most effective treatment methods for DID (Kaplan par. 11-12). No immediate results are expected from these treatments. for the management of dissociative identity disorder is a long-term course of action. Psychotherapy is when the patient and psychiatrist talk through the patient’s thoughts and emotions without the. use of medicine. This method could go along with hypnotherapy, which is used to retrieve memories that may be in the subconscious of the patient or in the memory of the alters within the patient. Nonverbal therapy consists of art and play therapy, which is more of an indirect, nonetheless creative and helpful, way of expressing the patient’s feelings. The underlying purpose of each treatment method listed is to find out what traumatic event took place in the. patient’s childhood to spawn the alters. Needless to say that this part of therapy is the hardest. Once the patient comes to terms with what happened, one can no longer rely on the alters to protect him/her from the past nor the emotions accompanied by. those memories. What exactly happens to the alters once the patient’s therapy is complete? The different personalities do not go away, they are simply “integrated into the host personality” (Prerost par. 14). The host adopts certain characteristics from his/her alters and uses those traits to protect him/herself without dissociating. This way, the host becomes one with the alters without losing time or control of one’s body. According to Kaplan, “60% of patients who undergo treatment maintain stable integration” (Kaplan par.

Dissociative identity disorder is a condition of mystery that is not clearly understood because of its way of presenting in a patient. In this research article there will be in depth analysis of the condition that is so publically recognized by Hollywood but at times ignored by medical professionals. There will analysis of demographics and who is affected more; male or female will also be looked at closely. There will also be a review of what factors predispose individuals to Dissociative Identity Disorder, how it is diagnosed and how it being treated. The usual signs and symptoms will also be discussed and medical and surgical interventions.

The opposing side of Dissociative Identity Disorder claims DID is not a real condition and should be taken out of DSM-V for reasons concerning patients faking their symptoms, patients misdiagnosed and the treatments used on them. The first evidence used to show DID is not a real condition says patients diagnosed are faking their symptoms. David H. Gleaves of Texas University, author of The Sociocognitive Model of Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Reexamination of the Evidence, claims, “Individuals who are diagnosed as having DID are generally attention seeking and it is obvious in the clinical presentation” (43). The opposition believes patients may want to fake their symptoms for a diagnosis to avoid being identified as insane by others around them. It has been said DID symptoms are easily recognized, but patients diagnosed may show symptoms that are difficult to follow. Inexperienced clinicians still diagnose these patients as having Dissociative Identity Disorder. Inexperienced clinicians may also not recognize that some of these symptoms are linked to other disorders that they may be less familiar with. “Dissociative symptoms have been found to discriminate patients with DID from those with a variety of other disorders, including schizophrenia, eating disorders, panic disorder, borderline personality disorder, partial complex seizures, and simple posttraumatic stress disorder” (Gleaves 44). Dissociative Identity Disorder is a disorder that doctors can diagnose patients with if they are unsure what else this could be. This can be unbeneficial to the patients who are misdiagnosed because they are not actually receiving the correct treatment they need for the condition. Gleaves also states the treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder can create or worsen the disorder by clinicians putting thoughts into the patient’s head.

Dissociative identity disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder) is thought to be a complex mental condition that is likely brought on by numerous variables, including serious injury amid early adolescence generally compelling, repetitive physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment. The greater part of us have encountered mild dissociation, which resemble wandering off in fantasy land or losing all sense of direction at the time while taking a shot at an undertaking. In any case, dissociative personality issue is an extreme type of separation, a mental procedure which delivers an absence of association in a man 's musings, recollections, emotions, activities, or feeling of character. Dissociative character issue is thought to originate from a blend of components that may incorporate injury experienced by the individual with the confusion. The dissociative viewpoint is thought to be a method for dealing with stress - the individual actually separates himself from a circumstance or experience that is excessively brutal, traumatic, or difficult to absorb with his cognizant self.

Dissociative identity disorder, which was formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is a disorder that a person seems to experience at least two or more personalities. Dissociative identity disorder is usually the effect of severe trauma during a person’s early childhood. This trauma is usually repetitive physical, sexual, or emotional abuse to a child. The children that are the receiving end of this abuse tend to use this dissociative aspect as a coping mechanism. Some people who suffer from dissociative identity disorder also may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. The different personalities of a person with dissociative identity disorder, have their own race, sex, and age. They

Dissociative identity disorder has always fascinated me. The rare disorder has fewer than 200,000 cases per year. Unfortunately, my fascination with the disorder started because of my great grandmother who suffered from it. The horror stories my grandmother and mom would tell me were unbelievable. I remember in her final years of her life she seemed very empty. No life left in her at all. I can only hope for most people it didn't end for them in any way similar. There is a very common misconception about the disorder. I hope to gain more knowledge from my research on the condition. I will be discussing causes, symptoms and treatments for this disorder.

There are four disorders associated with dissociative disorder: dissociative amnesia, dissociative identity disorder, dissociative fugue, and depersonalization disorder. All of the disorders have common symptoms of memory loss, mental problems, sense of being detached, perception environment is distorted, and a blurred identity. These disorders usually develop as a way to cope with a traumatic event such as abuse. Therefore, children are at the greatest risk for dissociative disorders [ (Staff, Dissociative Disorders, n.d.) ]. People with dissociative disorders have a tendency to hide their symptoms from others. The dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is the presence of two or more identity states that control the individual’s behavior. Each identity is different from the other. At least one of the identities is a child or teenager who is happy or who is frightened. There are protector identities that can be aggressive toward anyone that poses a threat. They avoid dangerous situations. Some identities have names like “Sara,” or describe a trait like, “Shadow.” Most of the sufferers of DID are females although there have been high rates found in male sex offenders [ (Hansell, 2008) ].

Dissociative Identity Disorder, also known as Multiple Personality Disorder has intrigued a wide variety of individuals from psychiatrists, Hollywood directors and even teenagers dreaming of treating the disorder such as myself. DID, as abbreviated, is sometimes thought of as fake, this disorder has been proven an actual disorder and is described in the DSM-5. This paper will include a description of Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID, an exploration into the typical course of the disorder, the prevalence rates, and differential diagnoses. In addition, the correct treatment of the disorder including psychotherapy treatments and psychotropic medication will be discussed.

The mind is a powerful thing. It can change a person’s way of seeing the world, tasting, feeling, smelling, and hearing. It has the ability to change every sense that we use to experience the world around us. Dissociative Identity Disorder is where a person has another split identity within them. This disorder changes the way the patient perceives the world in the way that each identity is different. One identity may exhibit a strong leadership characteristics and people skills whereas another identity will exhibit great cowardice and lack any type of social prowess. Dissociative Identity Disorder can drastically affect the mental status and even the psychobiology of a person diagnosed with the disorder.

A wide range of individuals suffers from various psychological disorders. These psychological disorders can impact an individual’s performance in life. For example, it can corrupt an individual’s thought process. Psychological disorders can be classified through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The DSM helps identify what disorder a client is going through and how to treat it. One psychological disorder that should be looked at is dissociative disorders; a more common dissociative disorder is dissociative identity disorder. Dissociative disorders are when there are disturbances in the brain’s functioning that can cause the individual to make it hard to identify themselves, gain memories, and have consciousness (Schacter, Gilbert, Nock, & Wegner, 2017). Since dissociative disorder affects the brain area there are treatments that can help a client that suffers from a dissociative disorder through psychotherapy and/or cognitive therapy.

The current state of understanding individuals with dissociative disorder is indifferent. Because In the 1970 the diagnosis of dissociative identify disorder grew dramatically after the publication of the Sybil, in 1973(.Gleaves.1996). in the 1970’s there were more cases. Because of the high number of DID cases that were being developed form the professional that the diagnosis were culture-specific and it was caused by the American society because of the child abuse and other trauma related events. The likelihood to be misdiagnosed with (DID) is very high because of the similar symptoms that it has with other disorders.