Dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. It’s a form of dissociative disorder that affects social and mental state. As the name suggests, it is characterized by two or more personalities that control the behaviors. It usually occurs as a response to chronic trauma, such as early-life traumatic experiences.
Moreover, it’s a common psychiatric condition and affects 1-3% of people around the world, as per the research by the National Institute of Medicine. People living with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) have significant disruption in life, which impacts actions, reactions, feelings, and sense of identity.
It’s a dangerous and life-threatening condition and often misunderstood because of the wrong portrayal in the media. DID profoundly affects the lives of those experiencing this condition and their loved ones as well.
DID is a complex psychological condition that can only be diagnosed by a mental health professional. As it’s a hidden condition, even the individuals who are already experiencing it don’t even realise that they have the symptoms of this condition.
What is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)?
The word “Dissociate” means to separate or to disconnect. People in this state remain in their inner world, which no one can see. It’s a complex mental health condition in which people experience two or more personalities together. This fragmentation of identity often leads to asymmetric amnesia, where one personality is not familiar with the other, and causes a gap in memory. Each personality has different incidents, memories, and different thinking patterns.
DID occurs during a single-incident, traumatic event, such as assault, a natural disaster, or an accident, or because of ongoing trauma. Individuals experiencing this condition are emotionally devastated as they have to cope with dissociating, which internally shakes their personality. It severely affects everyday life, such as work and relationships with friends and family.
“DID lets an individual escape from an overwhelming trauma, creating other identities to protect.”
Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder
People living with this condition have two or more personalities. Each personality is different from the other and has different memories, behaviors, voices, gender, and experiences.
Here are some of the common symptoms that indicate dissociative identity disorder.
- Frequent issues with memory
- Involvement in strange, risky behavior, and not remembering it
- Tough body experiences, as you are watching your life yourself
- Experiencing at least two individual and distinct personalities
- Disconnected from your feelings and thoughts
- Unable to cope with stress
- suicidal thoughts
- Hallucinations, in which one may hear and see things that are not present
- Sudden shifts in mood, behavior, or personality
- Unexplained physical symptoms
- Experiencing dreamlike things (derealization)
- Frequent nightmares related to past trauma
Some other mental health conditions that are usually found along with DID include:
- Anxiety
- Delusions
- Depression
- Substance use disorder
Note: If you feel you or anyone around you has the following symptoms, talk to a mental health professional right away.
What are the Types of Dissociative Personality Disorder?
Dissociative personality disorder has two types, these include:
Possession
In this form, people feel like they are possessed by a spirit or a supernatural being that is controlling the body. Individuals act and speak in different ways with different voices, which can be noticed by others. It’s an unwanted identity, and the personality switch is involuntary. However, in most cultures, similar possessions are part of their spiritual practice and are not believed to be symptoms of dissociative identity disorder. The possession that occurs because of DID is different, as it brings a different identity, which is unwanted and occurs involuntarily.
Dissociative personality disorder causes significant distress, and it manifests in different times and places.
Nonpossession
This type of DID tends to be less overt. Individuals in this state may feel Identities may feel a sudden change in their self-identification, as if they’re watching themselves in a movie. This identity change cannot be controlled and leads to differences in speech, emotions, or behaviors.
Is dissociative identity disorder real?
Yes, dissociative identity disorder is real. It’s a mental health disorder, recognized in 1980 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III). However, people with this disorder remain underdiagnosed, as it’s really difficult to diagnose, even though the person experiencing this didn’t even know that they were living with any symptoms of multiple personality disorder. So, it is woefully underdiagnosed, especially in people with a history of sexual trauma.
However, it can seem unbelievable to those who have never seen or experienced DID that one’s identity can have two or more fragmented personalities, or even dozens of different personalities. All these separate personalities “alter” with different names, genders, ages, and recollected pasts, each potentially unaware of the other. Yet, most of the people asked questions like, ” Who gave names to all of these personalities?” So, the answer is very clear. The individuals who are experiencing DID give them names as well, because they see their life as a movie, which makes them remember the details of it. The diagnosis of DID continues to remain controversial among mental health professionals, though there is no question that the symptoms are real because it’s real and people experience them.
Facts Vs Myths
There are a lot of myths about dissociative identity disorder, which makes the diagnosis difficult and causes stigma. Here are some of the common myths and facts to help you understand this condition in a better way.
| Myths | Facts |
| It’s just a movie; people say it’s fictional | It’s real and causes pervasive negative portrayals that can have harmful
effects. |
| DID and schizophrenia are the same | No, they are both different psychotic disorders, although they have some similarities in symptoms. But people with schizophrenia do not exhibit alternate personalities or dissociation. |
| People with DID are violent. | People who are experiencing DID are not violent |
| DID changes are obvious and can be seen by anyone | No, the switching of personalities cannot be identified by a casual observer. |
| It is just like having mood swings. | It’s a complex disorder and is characterized by distinct identity states. Each has its own memories and behaviors. |
What Causes Dissociative Identity Disorder?
Dissociative identity disorder usually occurs because of exposure to trauma and stress, particularly physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. As per the research, 90% of people who experience this disorder experienced abuse as children. DID usually begins before the age of 6, and it can be related to posttraumatic developmental disorder. The trauma affects the developmental processes involved in reducing a core sense of self. Consequently, the child fails to combine the different experiences of self that normally occur across different states and contexts.
However, it can be found in children, adolescents, and adults. People in this state report very high rates of adult rape, partner violence, and other forms of exploitation. DID affects the thinking process, intellectual, and creative abilities. Also, the disorder forms in children who’ve lived in a home where they went through frightening times, or they never knew what to expect.
Moreover, the stress of war or natural disasters can also bring on dissociative disorders. So, when a person goes through an event that’s overwhelming to handle emotionally, one may feel like they are stepping outside of themselves and seeing the event as if it’s happening to another person. They may avoid close relatives who have experienced traumas, removing themselves from that place, such as moving home just to escape. In this way, they mentally escape to avoid a shocking, distressing, or painful time.
Other Risk Factors
If you’ve had long-term physical, sexual, or emotional abuse during childhood, you are at high risk of developing dissociative identity disorder. There are some other factors that may also lead one to develop dissociative disorders.
These may include the following:
- Natural disasters
- Kidnapping
- Torture
- Traumatic early-life medical procedures or severe childhood illness
- A family history of schizotypal disorders, anxiety, or depression
How to Diagnose Dissociative Identity Disorder?
A mental healthcare provider, usually a therapist or a psychiatrist, can diagnose DID after looking at the detailed medical history and learning more about the symptoms. The therapist gathers more information from people around you, such as parents and caregivers, or those who spend the most time with you.
It is because people who are close will be the first to notice a change in your personality. However, there is no signal test available to diagnose DID; they may conduct a physical test, a neurological test, or other tests to rule out any conditions that could cause symptoms of this condition.
In addition, the mental health specialist uses DSM-5-TR criteria and structured tools to separate DID from other conditions. They may also use different questionnaires or scales to evaluate dissociative behavior.
Dissociative Identity Disorder Evaluation
To better understand your condition, a mental health professional may use a questionnaire to assess the symptoms and their severity.
They may use the following ways to rule out the exact condition:
- Dissociative Experiences Scale: A therapist features 28 questions about the day-to-day experiences and the impact of amnesia, depersonalization, and derealization.
- Dissociation Questionnaire: It includes 63 questions to measure the severity of identity dissociation, confusion, fragmentation, and the loss of control that someone’s condition causes.
- Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: In this tool, a mental health professional asks 36 questions that focus on feelings and emotions, impulsivity, and handling of important tasks.
Moreover, they may also ask questions to learn more about your risk of suicide. It is because it’s common among people who experience DID.
Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment
DID usually co-occurs with other mental health conditions and causes more distress. It can occur with anxiety, depression, PTSD, borderline personality, and bipolar disorders, to name a few. Dissociative personality disorder is a curable condition with the right combination of medications and therapies.
Phasic Trauma Treatment
This treatment has three psychotherapeutic phases that can help in reducing the symptoms of DID.
- Safety and stability
- Work on traumatic memories
- Reintegration into life
In Phase 1, safety and stability are the most important. It is very crucial to take care of these thighs for better outcomes. In this phase, people learn how to stabilize symptoms of DID and PTSD, using several psychotherapeutic techniques and sometimes medications as well. A mental health professional helps individuals to develop safety by reducing suicidal and substance abuse, eating disorders, high-risk behaviors, unsafe people, and other dangerous behaviors and situations. However, without the development of safety, DID treatment will not progress.
In Phase 2, the main focus is more on carefully and slowly recalling the life history, which often occurs as PTSD flashbacks. Therefore, this phase is also long-term ongoing work on safety and additional stabilization of DID and other symptoms.
In Phase 3, the person with DID and PTSD symptoms has usually substantially moderated. So, the individual with DID may even experience emotional fusion of some or all self-states. It helps by completely merging the characteristics of these personal identities. This frees up energy for a focus on living better in the present moment.
Other Therapies for Dissociative Identity Disorder
Therapies are considered to be the safest way to get treatment. In a therapy setting, a mental health professional and a patient sit together and talk. A specialist helps in changing the perceptions and thoughts that lead one towards healing.
Some of the common therapies that can help in reducing the symptoms of DID include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT is an evidence-based therapy that can help change negative thoughts and perceptions into positive ones. It helps in gaining control over oneself and helps patients confront their emotions or memories, which they tend to avoid.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
This therapy helps in managing emotional regulation. People who are struggling with DID become emotionally overwhelmed. DT helps them to focus on stabilization, and it helps in system awareness. It reduces the negative and risky thoughts such as self-harm, suicidality, and dissociation.
Group Therapy
It is really helpful for people who struggle with DID, as it helps in reducing the isolation. Group settings help individuals to stay consistent with the treatments. This therapy is not directly advised to treat DID, but it can help in treating the other co-occurring conditions, such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more.
Family Involvement
This therapy helps in educating and supporting the patient and the family during an often long and difficult treatment. Also, family members are educated not to directly interact with the patient’s unstable self-states. but to help them in the healing process. It helps the caregiver and parents to understand the treatment of childhood trauma and its impact on adult relationships.
However, practicing therapy is a challenging process. It takes time as a therapist has to work through events that bring strong emotions. These can make one feel nervous, helpless, scared, and alone. But don’t worry, the Renewed Mental Health Group is here to help.
Achieve Emotional Stability at Renewed Mental Health Group
Untreated DID can have devastating impacts. If you or someone you love is living with a mental health disorder or the symptoms of trauma, get help immediately.
At Renewed Mental Health Group, we have a certified team of professionals who offer specialized intensive trauma and mental health treatment. We offer treatments for a wide range of conditions, including dissociative disorders such as DID, and more. We offer a safe environment where your privacy is valued.
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