Dissociative Identity Disorder, previously known as Multiple Identity Disorder, is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process that creates a lack of connection in a person thoughts, feelings, memories, sense of identity or action. It is when the person develops multiple identities that may have different age, gender, or race than them.
It is an involuntary escape from reality to protect the individual. It's a coping mechanism that helps the individual dissociate from situations or experiences that are too painful, violent or traumatic.
This disorder is incredibly rare. Only two percent of people are known to suffer from it. It's experienced by all ethnic, racial, socioeconomic and age groups. There are more people that have had one or two episodes, but only two percent have chronic episodes.
It's caused by many factors such as trauma during early childhood such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse. It can also be caused by combat and natural disasters. It could be due to an early loss of someone very important such as a parent, or long periods of isolation because of illness.
It's a way to deal with the trauma that people have experienced in their lives. By dissociating from what happened, they are able to lead healthy, functional lives.
The symptoms of dissociative identity disorder include depression, suicidal tendencies, mood swings, anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, sleep disorders, compulsions, psychotic symptoms, alcohol and drug abuse, headache, time loss, amnesia, trances, out of body experiences, and a sense of detachment from emotions and eating disorders.
The treatments include psychotherapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical therapy, eye movement desensitization, as well as reprocessing and medications.
If you are dealing with it, it is important to get help. Things you can do on your own are keeping a journal to improve awareness, mindfulness techniques such as touching a fabric or taking deep breaths to guide yourself to the present or letting the alter emerge in a safe place.
It is best to go to a therapist and get proper treatment.
It's not completely understood yet. Should it be counted as a disorder or is it just an offshoot of another disorder? There have been many recorded cases of dissociative identity disorders, such as Sybil. That book made me aware of this disorder in the first place. It's a great read if you're interested in reading about psychological cases.
