Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dissociative identity disorder was previously known as multiple personality disorder. People with dissociative personality disorder have two or more separate personalities, these different identities control a person’s behavior at different times.

Dissociative personality disorder (DID) is a severe form of dissociation which is a mental process that produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. DID is usually the result of sexual or physical abuse during childhood, it sometimes develops in response to a natural disaster or another traumatic event.

Symptoms

  • Having two or more distinct identities
  • Disorientation
  • Memory loss
  • Substance abuse
  • Depression
  • Delusions
  • Anxiety  
  • Suicidal thoughts or self-harm
  • Out of body experiences
  • Depersonalization  
  • Identity confusion  

Prevalence

Dissociative identity disorder is a rare disorder that is diagnosed in about 1.5% of the global population.

Prognosis

There is no specific cure for DID, however, a combination of treatments can help reduce symptoms and make the disorder manageable.

When to seek help

You should see a doctor if you or others are aware that you involuntarily have two or more identities, you experience beyond ordinary forgetfulness, your symptoms are not caused by drugs or alcohol.

Treatment

DID treatment include:

  • Psychotherapy: it aims to work through what triggered and triggers the dissociative identity disorder. The goal is to help combine the separate personality traits in one personality that can control the triggers.
  • Hypnotherapy: Used with psychotherapy, clinical hypnosis can be used to recall repressed memories and control some of the problematic behaviors that accompany DID.
  • Adjunctive therapy: Therapies such as art or movement therapy have been shown to help people connect with parts of their mind that they have shut off to cope with trauma.