Psychological Perspective Psychology

Multiple Personality Disorders (MPD), or what has been re-classified, Dissociative Idenitfy Disorder (DID), is a deliberating and frightening illness for the DID individual; as well as their friends and family. The meaning of DID (Dissoiative Idenity Disorder) usually means that a person has more than two self-states or identities, which often times appear like entirely different personalities. When one is under the control of one identity, the person usually is unable to remember some of the events, but is able to keep other personalities in control.

The reasons for this are various and highly disputable. Many experts in the medical field are scared to treat DID patients or admit them to their hospital due to the reputation that this disorder holds. These, “emotional reactions to the diagnosis of DID stem(med) from anxiety evoked by the disorder’s “bizarre, unsettling clinical presentation,”1 similar to some clinicians’ emotional reactions to psychiatric emergency patients” (Gillig, P. M., 2009.). Furthermore, “Another reason for the heated controversy surrounding the diagnosis of DID is the dispute over the meaning of observed symptoms: Is DID a disorder with a unique and subtle set of core symptoms and behaviors that some clinicians do not see when it is before their eyes?3 Or is it willful malingering and/or iatrogenically caused symptoms created by the other clinicians who think something is there that is not? (Gillig, P. M., 2009.). In fact, “In 1993, Lauer, Black, and Keen(...)concluded that DID had ‘no unique clinical picture, no reliable laboratory tests, could not be successfully delimited from other disorders, had no unique natural history and no familial pattern.’ ”(Gillig, P. M., 2009.). Another dilemma centered around this disorder is that people abuse it in court. Getting themselves off of certain charges by pleading innocent by reason of insanity. These people are essentially getting off scot-free while

Why do some people develop DID. For some cases when people experience DID it is because the person has been through traumatic trauma in their childhood. And making more than one personalities in their mind is their only way to cope with this kind of trauma towards them. It like having you pulled back while the other personalities take over. Over 90 % of reports have been made in the US among child abuse which could cause DID. A person can develop simi- systems on DID like nightmares, flash-backs, or startled responses. Several studies say that DID is more common to close siblings who also have the disorder than in the general

Avoidance is not only a central aspect of DID, but it is also a barrier to treating DID. While the development of DID may be adaptive in children, it is less adaptive in the long-term (Maiese, 2016), especially as a central goal of treatment is to fuse together a person’s identities (Pollock, Macfie, & Elledge, 2016). Avoidance prevents this fusion of identities as a person with DID needs to be able to resolve their painful issues, including their traumatic memories, which is especially avoided (ISSTD, 2011). Furthermore, the treatment process itself can be overwhelming for some people who are especially avoidant (Kluft, 2012), such as for those with avoidant personality disorder (Baars et al., 2011). Indeed, avoidance goals have been linked

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.

Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID for short, is also known as Multiple Personality Disorder. It is a way of dealing with anxiety. David G. Meyers (2014) skeptics have asked questions on whether or not this disorder is real. People may be loud and wild with friends but more enclosed and quiet around family members which doesn’t mean they have that personality disorder. The ways to understand dissociative identity disorder is through its symptoms, the roles it plays, and the ways it can be treated.

The general treatment approach for this disorder is to one, get these people into treatment because people with this disorder cannot recovery on their own. Next, it is important to recognize what disorder this person actually has. There is mutually amnestic pattern, in which there is no awareness of the other personalities and mutually cognizant pattern where they are only aware of one another one. These two are less common. Then there is also one-way amnestic relationship, in which some personalities are aware of others. After this, treatment can proceed, which will begin by recovering memories since this disorder is usually caused by severe trauma during the early childhood. This can be done through psychodynamic therapy where past traumatic events are brought to the surface, hypnotic therapy where therapists hypnotize patients and guide them to recall the forgotten events, or drug therapy where drugs are used to help reduce symptoms. During this time it is important to watch out for sucidallity because bringing up these past traumas can sometimes become too much to handle. From there, video taping or recording can take place to help them recognize the presence of the other personalities. Once they are recognized it is important to integrate all of the subpersonalities, which is a continuous process. Some risks that come along with working with a person with DID, is one how they can become suicide as described above. Some personalities can also be violent or

The change happened between the late 80’s and early 90’s because of the panic and connotations associated with the former name. They wanted to clear up the public misconception that individuals with this disorder had multiple personalities. When in contrast they really have one fragmented personality that dissociated. A person with DID has problems with integrating their fragmented personality not that they are eight different people.

It is very important to know that DID is not a psychotic disorder, commonly mistaken as “split personality” disorder (Zimbardo, 2006). Furthermore, we should also know the difference of DID and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). DID is usually misdiagnosed as PTSD because they have resemblance. But come to think of it, DID is “an organization of negative emotions that are assigned to different sub personalities” (Haddock, 2001). While DID can be an involuntary acts of mental escape in order to help alleviate negative emotions, PTSD is more likely direct and voluntary form of emotional

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 :

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

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).

As I watched the movie “Sybil” many thoughts came to mind. At first I was not quite sure what a multiple personality disorder was all about which made me believe she was acting it all out. The transitions into different personalities happened so quick and sudden. I always thought that the individual was able to recall what happened while they were another personality. I also learned that there is no limit to how many personalities a person is allowed and most were residing from childhood experiences. I can honestly say I know more about DID after watching this movie than I did

Often DID is considered a coping mechanism to escape overwhelming, severely traumatic, or abusive experiences, however this is not listed in the DSM-V criteria for diagnosis. The American Psychiatric Association categorizes DID in the DSM-V as a dissociative disorder including “problems with memory, identity, emotion, perception, behavior and sense of self” (2016). Dissociative identity disorder’s symptoms include the presence of at least two distinct identities, also called “personality states,” that alter behavior, thinking, and memory, which can be either self-reported or observed. The inability to recall information or “ongoing gaps in memory about everyday events, personal information and/or past traumatic events” is often experienced (2016). The DSM-V simultaneously acknowledges the wide spectrum and variances within the disorder while highlighting the severity of these symptoms as potentially damaging to any combination of mental, physical, or social functioning. The American Psychiatric Association notes “the disturbances must not be a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice,” thus establishing cultural sensitivity. It is important to include that dissociative identity disorder was originally called multiple

This disorder is when someone's personality is separated into two more distinct personality states/alters are present and take over/ control of the individual. People believe this is a type of possession or an example of it. The person with DID experiences memory loss when the alters take over that is to extreme for doctors or therapists to explain. This very rare disorder affects about 1% of people (⅓) and is mostly caused by childhood trauma or abuse. Such as extreme trauma, sexual, or emotional abuse.