Everything You Should Know about Dissociative Identity Disorder

1
Everything You Should Know about Dissociative
Identity Disorder
The Basics, The Myths and The Truth
2
Understanding DID
Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID,

• is a severe form of dissociation that disconnects
  a person from their thoughts, memories, actions
  and sense of identity.
• This form of dissociation is common associated
  with trauma, as the disorder is thought to stem
  from a victims need for escape from their trauma
  and pain.

3
Myth DID isnt real

• The common iteration of DID that involves
  multiple personalities is often exaggerated in
  media and many stereotypes exist regarding the
  disorder.
• This leads many to believe that the disorder is
  simple someone making up an illness for whatever
  reason.
• Surprisingly, this isnt just a problem among
  laymen medical and psychiatric professionals
  are still divided on the validity of DID, or that
  it is a misdiagnosis of another psychological
  problem.

As it stands now, however, DID is real and many
people suffer from dissociations.
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Symptoms Related to DID
One of the biggest symptoms related to DID

• is the existence of split personalities or more
  than one personality in one host person. Usually
  there is the main personality, the original
  person, and one or more separate personalities
  that are created. These separate personalities
  are often called alters.
• Regardless of the hosts gender, sex, sexuality,
  race, personality and values, the alters created
  within the host may differ wildly in all aspects.

5
Symptoms Related to DID Cont

• While multiple personalities is the main defining
  symptom of DID, there are many other symptoms
  that can be found in those with this disorder.

These symptoms can include

• mood swings,
• suicidal thoughts and attempts,
• anxiety,
• depression,
• panic attacks,
• triggers,
• headache,

• amnesia,
• time loss,
• compulsions,
• eating disorders,
• psychotic-like symptoms,
• and sleep disorders.

6
Diagnosing DID

• The diagnosis of DID involves a psychologist
  consulting the DSM-5 and going off of their
  professional criteria for diagnosing the disorder.

This criteria includes

• two or more distinct personalities being present,
  
• amnesia occurring within the main host,
• distress based on the disorder,

• disturbance in everyday life and no other outside
  influences being the cause of the condition (like
  alcohol intake or seizure disorders.)

7
Myth DID and Schizophrenia are the same thing
This is definitely a myth.

• DID involves multiple personalities, while those
  with schizophrenia are plagued with chronic
  psychosis, hallucinations and delusions.
• While both disorder are mental illnesses
• and share many sub-symptoms, but the main
  diagnosis of the disorders are very different.

8
Living With DID

• Living with DID can be very disruptive for a
  person with the disorder. Often the dissociative
  episodes will come suddenly with no warning,
  though they can be triggered. This means that
  they people with DID can go through their daily
  lives having to deal with confusion, time loss,
  derealization and amnesia.
• While some people who suffer from DID have a
  certain consciousness about what their alters do
  or say, others have no idea what theyve done or
  said while dissociating.

9
Treating DID

• There is no known cure for DID. However,
  long-term psychiatric care can be an effective
  method of treatment to help keep symptoms and
  dissociations at bay.

Forms of therapy that can help are
psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, and movement
therapy are all recommended.
There are no exact medications that exist for
DID, but because many issues like depression and
anxiety are co-morbid with DID, these medications
may be prescribed to help alleviate other
coexisting problems.