Dissociative Identity Disorder: Multiple Personalities

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

The phenomenal ability of humans is that we are able to change aspects of our personality by role-playing. Personality shifting is common and something we do everyday from having to go to work and be the boss to coming home and being part of the family. This is one reason why skeptics doubt Dissociative Identity Disorder as a real psychological disorder. Another reason for the skepticism is due to its short history which date back to 1791. The first official report of Dissociative Identity

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).

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a severe psychological disorder characterized by at least two or more distinct personalities or different identities. The different personality states are said to occur spontaneously and involuntarily and function more or less independently of each other. The person suffering from the disorder also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. Many people who experience this type of behavior are unaware that they have more than one personality because they can not remember anything that is happening while one of the mind alters are

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a mental disorder where an individual experiences two or more distinct personalities. When an individual is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, one personality has dominant control of an individual. This personality controls how a person may act and how they live everyday life. A person diagnosed with this disease may or may not be aware of their alternate personalities. Each personality is contrasting of each other with distinctive likes and dislikes. They can differ in eyesight, prescriptions, language, and education levels. Many people who suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder have experienced severe childhood trauma. Many Psychologist and others argue

A common myth today is that patients with Schizophrenia have split personalities. While the roots of the word “schizophrenia” are Greek for split mind, being diagnosed with Schizophrenia is not the same as having multiple personality disorder. Paranoid Schizophrenia, one of the more well known subcategories of the disorder typically involves hallucinations, either auditory or visual. A Schizophrenic patient could reply to a voice, or acknowledge a visual hallucination, giving the impression of a second

Dissociation is defined as “a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person 's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity” (Grohol, 2016). The Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more separate, distinct identities or personality states are present in an individual. In other words, a person has, what seems like, actual distinct and contrasting people in their head and these “alters” are able to take control of an individual’s mind and body at any time and act as a completely different individual. Each alter is capable of having its own set of likes, dislikes, talents, memories, and personal experiences. The alters’ usually have a specific name, age, gender and possibly race. According to Psychology Today (2014), the alters’ characteristics are typically very different from the primary identity, including their history, self-image, vocabulary, knowledge and predominant mood. The primary identity tends to be passive, dependent, guilty and depressed. A person with DID experiences extensive memory loss which is typically more extensive than what would be experienced by ordinary forgetfulness. For instance, if an alter were to take over, once the individual is back in control of his or her own body, they typically report not remembering anything that was done or said. Some individuals report feeling “familiar” with the conversations or experiences that were had by the alter, but as if they had only overheard

Patients with dissociative disorder often feel as though they have been detached from their own speech and behavior; some even report hearing voices. These voices often result in a train of thought and strong emotions that the patient cannot control. Patients have reported they even feel the physical aspect of their body change, such as their body type and age (“Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder”). Because patients dissociate under certain circumstances, identities can have completely different memories. When an alter surfaces, the dominant personality describes “blacking out” until further

According to the (American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders pg 519) Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of the individual’s behaviour

Psychiatrics describe “Multiple Personality Disorder [often referred to as MPD][as] a chronic and recurrent emotional illness. A person with MPD plays host to two or more personalities. Each identity has its own unique style of viewing and understanding the world and may have its own name” (“Multiple Personality Disorder”). Renamed as Dissociative Identity Disorder in 1994 by the American Psychiatric Association, this disorder has been believed to be a myth by many, especially with the idea of its rarity (Lilienfeld). However, as psychiatrics have described, the disorder includes multiple personalities which have proven to be genuine and real, not a myth. Furthermore, with the information collected, research shows that about 20,000 cases have been recorded between 1980-1990 in the United States alone. The individuals who

Dissociative personality disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is an illness that is characterized by two or more distinct sub-personalities that repeatedly take control of the patient’s conscience and behavior. Each unique personality may exhibit behavior patterns, memories, and social relationships exclusive to that personality. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, the occurrence of DID is in one percent of the population of the United States (National Alliance of Mental Illness, n.d.). There is a rough estimate of 316 million people in the United States according to the census in 2013. Rendering to this statistic, 3.16 million people have Dissociative Identity Disorder in the United States.

The arguable claim that I am using in this paper is whether or not Dissociative Identity Disorder is an actual disorder, or if it is an extreme bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. I will be using three main points to prove that this disorder is real. One being comparing people who are suffering from bipolar illness and people with dissociative identity disorder, and sharing their differences and ways to tell them apart. I will also be doing this with schizophrenia, which will be another main point. Finally, I will use the information many different scientists have gathered to prove the realness of this disorder.

Dissociative Identity Disorder/Multiple personality is a mental disorder, comorbidity of psychosis, childhood trauma and dissociation (1). It’s a complex chronic disorder characterized by the identification of multiple severe psychological syndromes of unexplainable and recurrent amnesia, the ongoing coexistence or the alternating of two or more subjectively independent identities, and depersonalization. (1,5) Dissociative Identify Disorder in majority of the occasion transpire as a mechanism for the patient to cope with post traumatic stress of childhood abuses but not apparent until adulthood. (4) Therefore, those two are inevitably linked through interviews and experiment on patients diagnosed with DID (2,4).

Dissociative Identity Disorder, commonly referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder, exists as a bizarre mental disorder in which a person acquires two

This research paper aims to explore the mental disease known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), previously known as multiple personality disorder. I explore the meaning, symptoms, and effects of DID. My research describes those diagnosed with DID and the probable reasons of why they have the disorder. This study also explains the many different treatments and the effects those treatments might have on a person that has the disorder. I include a research study done on someone diagnosed with DID, the method used to help treat her, and the results of her treatment. Lastly, I state my opinion on DID and the methods I believe with help people prevent, treat, and cope with