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Dissociative Identity Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Management

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), commonly known as multiple personality disorder or split personality is a mental disorder in which a person has at least two or more alternate or different personalities. Females are nine times more likely to get DID compared to males. .

What Is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

The alternate identities may have different names, emotions, gender, age, reactions, moods and body functions and they function with or without the individual's own personality.

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What Is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)?

What Is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)?

DID is a condition in which a person detaches themselves from their own self and starts behaving like a person who does not exist at all. Their mind escapes from reality and unknowingly becomes the distinct character. When they come into their real self, they don't have any memories of what had happened. [1]

A history of trauma or abuse is considered the main reason behind the development of DID. There are plenty of films around characters with DID. Bhool Bhulaiya, The Three Faces of Eve and Voices Within are a few such films.

Causes Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Causes Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

There's no specific or proven cause for developing DID. However, it often develops as a result of coping with certain severe traumas such an accident, sexual abuse, frightening home environment, natural disaster, stress of war and other factors that leave a huge impact on the mind. It usually starts during childhood and follows a person until life, if not treated. [2]

When a child experiences the aforementioned traumas, as a severe reaction, the mind tries to wall off or forget those traumatising memories. As a result, the person detaches themselves from their real self which is full of painful experiences and becomes a different personality.

This makes the person observe trauma as if it is happening to another person, leaving the self with no memory of the trauma. When a person learns this mechanism in their childhood to cope with their traumas, the disorder follows them throughout life, as they start using a split personality coping method to deal with any stressful situations.

Symptoms Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Symptoms Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

  • Amnesia or memory loss
  • Blurred sense of identity
  • Loss of emotions and a feeling of detachment from own self
  • Inability to deal with any kind of stress
  • Anxiety, depression or other mental problems
  • Suicidal thoughts or self harm behaviours [3]
  • Blackouts, finding oneself at certain places with no idea how they got there
  • No memory of people they have met or spoken to
  • Hearing voices
  • A perception that surrounding things are unreal
Complications Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Complications Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Diagnosis Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Diagnosis Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

  • Physical exam: Examining personal history or symptoms such as insomnia, memory loss, etc
  • Psychiatric exam: Discussion about the patient's feelings, behaviours and symptoms.
  • Comparison of symptoms under DSM-5 criteria: Identifying the severity of the mental condition by symptoms and other details mentioned by the patient and evaluating them according to the criteria mentioned under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. [4]
Treatment Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Treatment Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

  • Medications: Such as antidepressants and antipsychotics drugs. There's no specific drug to treat DID.
  • Psychotherapy: It involves talking therapy or counselling of DID patients. In this treatment method, the therapist helps the person understand the cause behind their condition and how to cope with the stressful conditions. [5]
  • Stress management: Teaching ways to deal with stress as stress mainly triggers the DID symptoms.
  • Family Therapy: Educating the family of a DID patient about its causes and management. Also, to keep the patient with love and care.
  • Clinical hypnosis: Though it is controversial, it can be conducted safely under a trained therapist. It helps the patient to access repressed memories and control their behaviours. [6]
Management Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Management Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

DID mainly starts during childhood. If a child is under a great stress due to long exposure to trauma,

  • Seek medical help by going to a doctor and explaining the situation.
  • Ask friends or family for support.
  • Learn healthy parenting style through certain community-based education programs and
  • Prevent any stressful conditions at home which may cause depression to the child.
Common FAQs

Common FAQs

1. What are the four types of dissociative disorders?

The four types of dissociative disorders are dissociative identity disorder, dissociative amnesia, acute stress disorder and depersonalization disorder.

2. What is dissociative behaviour?

It is a mental condition in which a person experiences disconnection from their real self and loss of memories, actions and identity. People with dissociative disorder often escape reality and face problems in daily life.

3. How does it feel to dissociate?

People who experience dissociative disorder often feel they are disconnected from their own self and the world. Sometimes the world and everything around seem to be unreal for them. In this way, DID patients deal with their stress but feel a loss of their identity.

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Story first published: Monday, May 11, 2020, 15:37 [IST]