Everything You Should Know about Dissociative Identity

Disorder

The Basics, The Myths and The Truth

Understanding DID

is a severe form of dissociation that disconnects a person from their thoughts, memories, actions and sense of identity.

This form of dissociation is common associated with trauma, as the disorder is thought to stem from a victim’s need for escape from their trauma and pain.

Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID,

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Myth: DID isn’t real

The common iteration of DID that involves multiple personalities is often exaggerated in media and many stereotypes exist regarding the disorder.

This leads many to believe that the disorder is simple someone making up an illness for whatever reason.

Surprisingly, this isn’t just a problem among laymen – medical and psychiatric professionals are still divided on the validity of DID, or that it is a misdiagnosis of another psychological problem.

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As it stands now, however, DID is real

and many people suffer from dissociations.

Symptoms Related to DID

• is the existence of split personalities or more than one personality in one host person. Usually there is the main personality, the original person, and one or more separate personalities that are created. These separate personalities are often called “alters.”

• Regardless of the host’s gender, sex, sexuality, race, personality and values, the alters created within the host may differ wildly in all aspects.

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One of the biggest symptoms related to DID

Symptoms Related to DID Cont

While multiple personalities is the main defining symptom of DID, there are many other symptoms that can be found in those with this disorder.

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These symptoms can include:

• mood swings,

• suicidal thoughts and attempts,

• anxiety,

• depression,

• panic attacks,

• triggers,

• headache,

• amnesia,

• time loss,

• compulsions,

• eating disorders,

• psychotic-like symptoms,

• and sleep disorders.

Diagnosing DID

The diagnosis of DID involves a psychologist consulting the DSM-5 and going off of their professional criteria for diagnosing the disorder.

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This criteria includes

• two or more distinct personalities being present,

• amnesia occurring within the main host,

• distress based on the disorder,

• disturbance in everyday life and no other outside influences being the cause of the condition (like alcohol intake or seizure disorders.)

Myth: DID and Schizophrenia are the same thing

DID involves multiple personalities, while those with schizophrenia are plagued with chronic psychosis, hallucinations and delusions.

While both disorder are mental illnesses

and share many sub-symptoms, but the main diagnosis of the disorders are very different.

This is definitely a myth.

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Living With DID

Living with DID can be very disruptive for a person with the disorder. Often the dissociative episodes will come suddenly with no warning, though they can be triggered. This means that they people with DID can go through their daily lives having to deal with confusion, time loss, derealization and amnesia.

While some people who suffer from DID have a certain consciousness about what their alters do or say, others have no idea what they’ve done or said while dissociating.

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Treating DID

There is no known cure for DID. However, long-term psychiatric care can be an effective method of treatment to help keep symptoms and dissociations at bay.

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Forms of therapy that can help are psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, and movement therapy

are all recommended.

There are no exact medications that exist for DID, but because many issues like depression and anxiety are co-morbid with DID, these medications may be prescribed to help alleviate other coexisting problems.