Imagine one day you wake up to find yourself in an unfamiliar place at early dawn; it would probably be a scary experience. That was Sybil’s reaction, a character in a novel, when she found herself in a restaurant in Philadelphia after she fainted in college. Confused, she returned home to find people referring to her as someone else. In this famous novel, Sybil was diagnosed with Dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D.). It is a mental disorder that falls under the dissociation spectrum, and was known previously as the multiple personality disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association (2013), it is a severe condition of identity disruption characterized by two or more distinct personality states. D.I.D. is a rare disease that has higher prevalence in the teenagers and adults, about 0.1% to 1% in US, than in children and elderly. Sybil’s story is based on the true story of commercial artist Shirley Ardell Mason. This character lived with her doctor and her sixteen alter egos until she died from breast cancer in 1998 (Schreiber, 2016). As a prominent case of D.I.D., Shirley Mason’s story helps shed light on this disorder, but what are the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of such disorder.
Causes
Although the main cause behind dissociative identity disorder is complex, psychiatrist have reached a consensus on the theory that D.I.D. patients’ identities get fragmented, rather than proliferating out of nowhere. This fragmentation process usually occurs after going
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
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 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
Dissociative identity disorder can be diagnosed with, “the presence of two of more distinct identities or personalities states (each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and self), b. at least two of these identities of personality states recurrently take control of the person’s behavior, c. inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness, d. the disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or general medical condition”, (Levy & Swanson. 2008. Clinical Assessment of Dissociative Identity Disorder Among College Counseling Clients. p. 11). Physicians argue that the evidence that the patient presents is real, they are looking for something more, or rather dig deeper to diagnose each separately as its own issue. Psychiatrists also argue that criminals may “get off” due to the individual’s alters playing a role in the diagnoses’ everyday life.
According to “Healthy Place”, 89% of people who suffer from Dissociative identity disorder (or Multiple Personality Disorder) are misdiagnosed (B.J.). Therefore, Dissociative identity disorder is labeled as “The Hidden Epidemic,” because it is never diagnosed as it really is, but hidden by other illnesses (Slack pg. 43). Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is often triggered with traumatic events like experiencing severe abuse. People with Dissociative identity disorder can come to a realization that they are diagnosed if they start having symptoms such as self harm, mood swings etc. Some people think it is some other disorder or disease, but majority do not know what DID is or of they are diagnosed with it. Although DID is incurable, there
According to an article in Psychology Today, Dissociative Identity Disorder has been a controversial topic for years among the mental health professions and society. Some believe that this disorder is an "offshoot" of another illness like Schizophrenia. Others believe that a better description for this illness would be "Borderline Personality Disorder."
Dissociative identity order Dissociative identity disorder is a fairly new diagnosis in the world of psychology, appearing first in the DSM-II as hysterical neurosis. Now, it has grown into a single disorder under an entire dissociative subtype (Spiegel et al., 2011). Of these diagnoses, dissociative identity disorder is one of the more controversial with much evidence supporting that, under the right psychological influence, certain individuals can fall into a state that resembles dissociative identity disorder. Psychologists are not in complete unison on what even causes DID making the diagnosis that much more challenging. Generally, there are three main areas where most psychologists look to diagnose DID: post-traumatic model, socio-cognitive model, and the biological model.
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.
Dissociative Identity Disorder, popularly known as multiple personality disorder, is the most talked about disorder and also the most controversial diagnosis that evokes myriads of responses. It is a very severe mental health condition that originates in early childhood because of severe trauma that a child experiences. This eventually creates two or more distinct personas used as a defense mechanism against that trauma (Barreda-Hanson, n.d.). Some people characterize it as someone being possessed because it is unwanted and involuntary (APA, 2013). The involuntary personalities develop separately and later on in adulthood help deal with stress by calming the main personality (Cherry, 2005). People with
Imagine living with a mental disorder that even your doctor refused to believe was real. For those living with Dissociative Identity Disorder, this is an unfortunate reality for far too many. Within the population, 1%-3% meet the criteria for DID, making the disease as common as other more familiar disorders like Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder (Gray). If the latter are easily identifiable, then why are both the public and certain mental health professionals reluctant to accept DID? Dissociative Identity Disorder is an authentic disease that can usually be prevented within the person’s childhood, can make the person’s life extremely difficult, and is frequently mistaken for other diseases with similar symptoms.
Counselling is thought to be the best way to handle this disorder as well as something called supportive care which is mainly focused on making the patient feel more comfortable (Dissociative Identity Disorder, 2018). Additionally, The condition usually persists without treatment. (And) It is believed to affect about 2% of the general population and 3% of those admitted to hospitals with mental health problems in Europe and North America. DID is diagnosed about six times more often in females than males. The number of cases increased significantly in the latter half of the 20th century, along with the number of identities claimed by those affected ((Dissociative Identity Disorder, 2018). With the small amount of diagnosed DID patients, linkage of this disorder to people already suffering from mental illnesses, and inconsistent symptoms, it is easy to see why this is such a highly disputed disorder in the medical
Dissociative Identity Disorder has been defined as multiple personality disorder. This disorder is the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that take control of behavior. Dissociative Identity Disorder reflects a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory, and consciousness. (Frances, 1994) Each personality state may be experienced as if it has a distinct personal history, self-image, and identity, including a separate name. (Frances, 1994) Individuals with this disorder have a primary identity that carries the individual’s given name and is passive, dependent, guilty, and depressed. The alternate identities frequently have different names and characteristics that contrast with the primary identity. (Frances, 1994) Some identities may emerge in specific
Dissociative identity disorder is a type of dissociative disorder. A dissociative disorder can be explained as an individual becoming dissociative with his or her sense of self. These disorders disturb both memory and identity and usually have a psychological cause. Dissociative identity disorder is a disorder in which two or more identities or personality states are present in one individual. These identities alternatively take control of the individual. This causes frequent gaps in memory, which are believed to be caused by the other personality. When one personality takes control, the other one does not remember anything that took place. There has been continuing research about what causes the disorder. It is believed that the disorder is caused by intense physical or sexual trauma (Dissociative Disorders). The disorder was once called multiple personality disorder until 1994. This changed to reflect a better understanding of the
There are multiple disorders but this research paper is going to explore the history, causes, and treatment options for Dissociative Identity Disorder.
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