Dissociative Identity Disorder, (DID,) which is formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is a disorder that has been stigmatized for a long time.
Many people may imagine someone with a split personality where there’s a good and a bad side. This is commonly depicted in movies and other forms of media.
Let’s clarify what DID is.
DID
This is a disorder where someone has an alternate, or more than one, personality. The person’s usual personality tends to not be aware of this.
One reason why the term multiple personality disorder is no longer used is because DID fits into a category of other dissociative disorders.
These involve someone’s awareness, perception, consciousness, or other parts of their being changing or being disrupted.
DID is a rare disorder. Females are more likely to have it than males. With that said, there is age range that is more susceptible.
Symptoms
As you may have thought, DID involves someone who alternate personalities. The usual personality a person has is called the core personality, while alternate personalities are called alters.
When one personality switches, the person may experience amnesia.
So, let’s talk about the alternate personalities. The media tends to depict alternate personalities as extreme or evil. However, alters can be subtle.
For example, the alter-personality may end up being a little more confident than the shy core personality. Sometimes, a person may assume the person is just having a bad day or mustered some confidence.
With that said, alters that are much different do exist. For example, some alters vary in name, gender, or behavior.
In some media, the personality shifts whenever something happens. For example, you may have seen a show where an innocent girl turns into someone much more aggressive every time she sneezes.
While that is exaggerated, it is possible for personality switches to be triggered by trauma, stress or other events.
Quite often, someone with DID may just not remember their personalities switching. Someone may tell the person they said something out of character, and they don’t remember it.
Also, DID can have various other symptoms as well.
For example, someone with DID may have depression, anxiety, substance abuse problems, and are more prone to self-harm and suicide attempts.
It is a disorder that should not be demonized or glamorized, for it’s complex and it can be harmful to uphold many of its stereotypes about it.
Causes
You may wonder what causes DID.
There is no exact cause, but there are many personal issues that may lead up to it. These include.
Trauma
Trauma is behind many mental health disorders. In fact, a majority of cases are caused by some history of abuse, or they come from a survivor of trauma.
In some cases, changing personalities is almost like a coping mechanism. One is able to leave their trauma and break away from what they are experiencing currently.
With that said, some people may develop DID for no reason at all, making the cause for that unknown.
Triggers
In many cases, there are triggers that make someone with DID more susceptible to having an episode.
For example, if an abused person is reminded of their childhood abuse, it can lead to them becoming dissociated.
It’s Misdiagnosed
As we mentioned, DID is rare, but one reason for that is because there are many cases of misdiagnosis.
Someone with DID may be told they’re schizophrenic, as the doctor sees their multiple personalities as mere delusions.
Misdiagnosis can happen with any disorder, but DID is hard to diagnose. This means there may be many out there who need treatment but have had the wrong diagnosis. This is a problem that we as a society need to fix.
How is it Treated?
There is no magic pill to treat DID. However, therapy may be able to help.
Seeing as how many episodes of DID are caused by triggers, learning to identify the triggers can be one way to reduce the number of episodes one experiences.
Therapy can also help a person fuse their personalities or to be mindful of when one may be experiencing a shift in them.
It is a disorder that is not going to go away magically, but through therapy, one can reduce the amount of episodes they experience.
Seeking Help
Many people with DID do not want to seek help, and this can be due to the media’s depiction of it.
However, if you or a loved one does have DID, seeking help is something you shouldn’t be ashamed of.
The first step is to get a diagnosis. Online therapy resources can make getting one much easier.
One outlet that can help you is Mind Diagnostics. There, you can get a professional diagnosis. Click the link below for more information:
https://www.mind-diagnostics.org/blog/dissociative-identity-disorderr
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