Dissociative Identity Disorder

1453 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Abstract for dissociative identity disorder research paper

You wake up, walk into your living room, look around, and your house looks as though you have had a wild party. You pick up your journal and it looks as though a child has written in it. You walk to your closet and see cloths you would never wear, but you live alone and you do not remember having anyone over. The date is March 19th, but the last day you remember is March 1st. This is a common occurrence to someone living with Dissociative identity disorder. There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether or not Dissociative identity disorder is real. Although there are many similarities between DID and other personality and dissociative disorders, DID is a very real and serious mental disorder.
Dissociative identity disorder or DID for short, was previously referred to as multiple personality disorder. DID is a dissociative disorder involving a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate and distinct personalities or identities, control an individual's behavior at different times (National Alliance of Mental Illness). Meaning, that the person with DID has to have more than one separate identity that “inhabits” them for a period of time.
DID patients may have many different identities or alters. When under the control of one alter, a person is usually unable to remember some of the events that happened while other personalities were in control. Many DID patients refer to this as black outs and are unaware that another alter was in control. The different alters may show differences in speech, attitudes, thoughts and gender orientation (National Alliance of Mental Illness). Alters are usually different from the person, they may have differences, such as allergies or even the need for eyeglasses (National Alliance of Ment...

... middle of paper ...

...ive identity disorder & multiple personalities. Retrieved from https://mentalhealthmatters2.wordpress.com/tag/chris-costner-sizemore/
Department of Psychology, of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (n.d.). Sybil isabel dorsett* the most famous case of multiple personality. Retrieved from http://jackiewhiting.net/Psychology/Sybil/Sybil.htm
Dissociative identity disorder - two famous cases. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/189/Dissociative-Identity-Disorder.html
Kluft, R. K. (1996). Dissociative identity disorder. Handbook of Dissociation, 337-366. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-0310-5_16
National Alliance of Mental Illness. (n.d.). Dissociative identity disorder. Retrieved from http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=165620&MicrositeID=0

Show More
Related

  • Character Analysis Of Mort Rainey's The Secret Window

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Each personality is well developed which is usually divided into the host and the alters. The switch usually happens when the alter needs to be there to handle reality. It happens instantly without the host realizing it. In most cases, when the switch happens, the alter knows everything about the host, including his internal conflicts while the host knows nothing about the alter. The alter is fully aware of the host’s thoughts and actions. DID is a psychological defense against trauma. The process of dissociation in DID sufferers is through repression. Because of a traumatic experience, someone could repress the unwanted memory because he or she could not bear to deal with it. There is a formation of personalities created by the sufferer to get something he or she wants to achieve or the form of anticipation for the things he or she does not expect to happen. Indeed, each personality that is formed has different functions and intention. After the formation of personalities, the switch among the personalities usually happens when an alter needs to be there to help the host in handling

    Read More

  • Personality Disorders: Fact or Fiction?

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personality disorders have always been viewed as a possible category for a psychological disorder. However, in the new edition of the DSM, it will be getting its own diagnostic category. In viewing personality disorder, one can only agree that it should have its own diagnostic category. The reason that these changes are being supported is because of the causation, diagnosis, and treatment of personality disorders.

    Read More

  • Exploring Dissociative Identity Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    When a person is being dissociative, it is thought that they are using it as a coping mechanism and that the person is dissociating him or herself from a violent, traumatic, painful or uncomfortable situation they do not want to be put in or be of conscious awareness of. Another statistic about dissociative identity disorder is that dissociative disorders were seen in 17.2% of a large inpatient group seeking treatment for substance abuse. (Tracy, 2016) There is no "cure" for dissociative identity disorder but there is long-term treatment that can help the side effects of DID, but like most treatments, it is only effective if the patient sticks with it.

    Read More

  • Multiple Personality Disorder (DID)

    1870 Words  | 4 Pages

    For my research paper, I chose to utilize a disorder known as “Dissociative Identity Disorder” (DID). This disorder is also coined as Multiple Personality Disorder. When defining the actual meaning of this disorder, it is defined as “a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual” (1). Specifically, “DID is a disorder characterized by identity fragmentation rather than a proliferation of separate personalities. In addition, the disturbance is not due to the direct psychological effects of a substance or of a general medical condition” (1). Based off of this knowledge, I chose to look at two individuals who have obtained this disorder

    Read More

  • Dissociating the World: Dissociative Identity Disorder

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    People often think that D.I.D. (Dissociative Identity Disorder) is something made up, something that a person is just inventing in order to get attention; that statement couldn’t be more Incorrect. Dissociative Identity Disorder, formally known at Multiple Personality Disorder, is a dissociative disorder, not a personality disorder or a psychosis. D.I.D. is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, emotion, behavior, or sense of identity. D.I.D. is thought to stem from trauma experienced by the person with the disorder. The dissociative aspect is thought to be a coping mechanism; the person literally dissociates himself or herself from a situation or experience that is too violent, traumatic, or painful to assimilate with his or her conscious self.

    Read More

  • Identity Immigder: The Causes Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dissociative identity disorder, a condition that has plagued and altered the minds of those who were diagnosed for many years, represents the condition in which an individual displays multiple personalities that overpower his or her behavior around others and even alone. Such personalities or identities can have staggering differences between them even being characterized by a disparate gender, race, or age. One of the sides of them can even be animal-like and display feral qualities. Also, the disorder severs the connection between the victim’s sense of identity, emotions, actions, and even memories from their own consciousness. The cause for this is known to be a very traumatic experience that the person had gone through previously and fails to cope with it, thus they dissociate themselves from the memory in order to keep their mental state in one piece. All these results from the disorder do not begin to tell of the rest of the horrors that gnaw away at the affected human.

    Read More

  • Multiple Personality Disorder Essay

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    More than two million cases can be found in psychological and psychiatric records of multiple personality disorders also called dissociative identity disorders. Dissociative Identity, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is a condition in which, an individual has a host personality along with at least two or more personalities with each identity having his or her own ideas, memories, thoughts and way of doing things (Bennick). Personality disorders are a group of mental illnesses. They involve thoughts and behaviors that are unhealthy and inflexible. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social activities,

    Read More

  • Multiple Personality Disorder: Dissociative Disorder

    1961 Words  | 4 Pages

    Multiple Personality Disorder is a mental illness which most commonly has been referred to as Dissociative disorder or DID in recent years[1]. The illness commonly disassociated with schizophrenia finds a person experiencing two or more clearly differing personalities which will in habit assume control at some stage. Changing from one personality to another in a matter of seconds, the person will actually believe that they have more than one personality. DID can co-occur with other illnesses which include a range of anxiety disorders. The causes of DID are still not proven but it is thought to have occurred in response to a traumatic childhood experience[1]. The diagnosis is not constructed as a set test and so the mental health professional is required to test a patient using a mental status exam. The various symptoms of the illness can be treated through a range of treatments ranging from talk therapy to medications, but this does not always smooth out the outcomes resulting in a chaotic, imbalanced life. A great amount of controversy surrounds DID and is disputed by mental health professionals, some even believing that it does not exist[1]. Whatever the case, DID is displayed powerfully throughout the miniseries ‘Sybil’ in which a young emergency teacher finds herself with DID in response to horrific childhood memories[4].

    Read More

  • Fight Club Case Study

    1492 Words  | 3 Pages

    The alternate identities present in an individual who suffers from DID are forms of coping mechanisms for the individual.

    Read More

  • Informative Speech On Dissociative Identity Disorder

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    Do you ever feel like you just can’t take reality anymore? You just want to escape it and in order to do so, your conscious awareness becomes separated from all the painful things you can’t stand, including your painful memories. Then suddenly you’re a totally different person. Another identity takes your place in suffering all the painful things you want to escape. Today, I’m going to talk to you about dissociative identity disorder (DID). I will be talking about what DID is, what causes DID and how it affects the individual (host/core). I will also mention a famous case in psychology.

    Read More

  • Sybil Sparknotes

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the book Sybil, written by Flora Rheta Schreiber discuss the life story of Sybil Isabel Dorsett, who has developed 16 distinct personalities because of her childhood abuse. Sybil story became one of the most severe cases ever recorded with multiple personalities. Which is currently called Dissociative Identity Disorder in the current DSM-V. “Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual. The person also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness” (Psychology Today, 2008, para 1). Sybil’s distinct sense of selves helped protect her from the trauma she experienced as a child. These selves was Ruthie Dorsett a toddler who never ages. Vanessa Gail Dorsett and Marcia Lynn Dorsett emerged at different times, but developed a close personal relationship with one another and utilize Sybil's body simultaneously. Mike Dorsett and Sid Dorsett are two male selves. Peggy Lou Baldwin an angry girl, who breaks windows when she angry. Peggy Ann Baldwin, often shy, fearful than angry. Mary Lucinda Saunders Dorsett, a maternal and thoughtful girl, Nancy Lou Ann Baldwin, who was interested in politics. Victoria Antoinette Scharleau, nickname Vicky, who had the traced Sybil’s sense of self. Clara Dorsett, who was very religious. Sybil Ann Dorsett, who was timid and nervous, Helen Dorsett, who was very afraid, but determined. Marjorie Dorsett, who was quick to laugh. The Blonde who was a nameless blond teenager, and last Sybil herself (Schreiber, 1995).

    Read More

  • Dissociative Identity Disorder

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is Dissociative Identity Disorder? A proper explanation of DID necessitates a dissection of the name itself. Dissociation is “a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity.”1 In other words, there is a disruption in the way in which these usually integrated functions communicate. Daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or “getting lost” in a book or movie are all examples of very mild dissociation.

    Read More

  • Repression and Hypocrisy in the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

    1911 Words  | 4 Pages

    Myers Frederic W. H., ‘Multiplex Personality’, in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Norton Critical Edition (New York: Norton press, 2003)

    Read More

  • Dissociative Identity Disorder in the Secret Window

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Barlow, Durand & Stewart (2012), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is one of several dissociative disorders in which a person experiences involve detachment or depersonalization. They go on to explain that people with DID ha...

    Read More

  • The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Dorian Gray

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oscar Wilde wrote The picture of Dorian Gray where double personality is one of the major themes too.

    Read More

More about Dissociative Identity Disorder

Open Document