Multiple Personality Disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder

Have you ever heard the expression, "God, It's like she has a multiple personality?" That is an expression that has been heard often. The truth of the matter is that multiple personality, now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder is a very serious disabling illness. In fact, 3-4% of the U.S. population is hospitalized for Dissociative Identity Disorder every year.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is when a person has more than one personality. He/She have two or more separate identities, hobbies, likes, dislikes and totally different lives. "The presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states (each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about environment and self), DID is characterized by a set of one or more distinct identities that a person believes to exist within themselves."(Grohol, 2003) These identities or personalities switch and take control over the other and generally lose everything they know.

People think that there are many sources from which this identity crisis begins. Many people argue that these personality disorders grow with the influence from therapists. Therapists might put it in their clients' heads that they might be suffering from such a thing called personality disorder, and the client accepts it and unintentionally fulfills all the symptoms and the outcomes of this particular disorder. During a trauma that the victim experiences, he or she might be so shocked as to create a way to escape from a horrible crisis. People have also thought of this disorder as a coping mechanism or a defense mechanism so as no to experience pain.

It is probably a coincidence but "about 97 to 98% of adults with Dissociative Identity Disorder remember having been abused during childhood." Not every person with a bad childhood has to develop multiple personality disorder. Therapists say that children usually develop multiple personality disorder because they are not able to handle the stress they going through in reality so they try to make a world for themselves through another personality- another alter ego. DID appear more in women than in men as well. It seems this way because of the fact that women get sexually abused in their childhood more than men. They don't realize that they are going into this other world and sometimes they won't be aware of the other personality or what they did during that time with the other personality. Some therapists have also stated the fact that a loss of a loved might also be a cause.

There are many other factors contributing to DID as well. Therapists have also found that this disorder can also be inherited. DID can be caused by overwhelming stress, ability to separate one's memories, perceptions, or identity from conscious awareness, abnormal psychological development, and insufficient protection and nurture during childhood. There are many symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder such as mood swings, anxiety, nervousness or panic attacks, unexplained changes in eating and sleeping patterns, amnesia, violence, sadness, depression and anger. Substance abuse, seizure disorder, post-traumatic disorders are usually related to this disorder as well. People with Dissociative Identity Disorder tend to have lots of headaches and sexual dysfunction. Their cognitive states might simply indicate that the other personality is expressing something. For example, depression might be a state that comes out in Personality B because Personality A can't express such feelings in real life. Emotions count for a lot when it comes to Dissociative Identity Disorder. People with multiple personality disorders are more likely to hurt themselves or do self mutilation. Some are prone to suicide. There are some reports of several thousands of identities living in just one person.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a chronic disease and it is very dangerous. On the other hand, it might make some people productive. "The identities often are formed to help a person cope with different parts of their life, and seem to have distinct personalities that are unique and different that the person's core personality" (Grohol,2003). Generally, when people are in different situations, everyone's personality always changes. The average student might have a totally different attitude towards his/her parents, friends, coworkers and classmates. But the difference with sufferers of multiple personality disorder is that they switch their names, erase their own memories, and have totally different or opposite emotions and behaviors as they switch their personalities. Most of us stay generally the same or go back to our own nature or attitude.

When people generally switch personalities and don't remember the things that they did, their lives usually become very hectic. They often space out and don't remember time. "This occurs when one of the identities within the person takes control of the individual and engages in behavior that the core personality would otherwise not engage in"(Grohol,2003). For example, a person might not be self-confident in front of his/her boss, but on the days they have an important meeting, this identity will literally take over and make sure that the core personality will be represented as a very strong individual.

Individuals with DID usually have feelings of detachment from the self called depersonalization. They can also experience derealization when they feel as though their surroundings are unreal. It is when the people go through hurt, that they keep practicing their ability to separate themselves and soon it becomes their reality.

People with personalities that are aware of their other personalities might say such things as "we" or "he/she". However, some personalities are not usually aware of the others. In some cases, Personality A remembers personality B but B is not aware of A. "For example, personality A may be aware of personality B and know what B does, as if observing but personality B may not be aware of personality A" (Carroll, 2005). These identities can talk to the others, and the others can answer back. This alternate personality might even "be of a different gender, have his or her own name, and have distinct mannerisms or preferences. The person with DID may or may not be aware of the other personality states and might not have memories of the times