Dissociative Identity Disorder: How to Confront Multiple Personalities?

Introduction:

The term, multiple personalities, is commonly used for a person presenting other identities than his core one. An individual might be of different age, gender, and race yet show such behavior. It is a rare psychological disorder affecting about 1.5 percent of the world's population. Women are more likely to encounter it. It affects people regardless of age, ethnicity, racial and socioeconomic status.

What Are Dissociative Disorders?

Dissociative disorders are psychological disorders that interfere with self, memory, behavior, emotion, perception, cognition, and identity. The person encounters self-detachment and amnesia occurring due to past traumatic events.

Types of Dissociative Disorders:

• Dissociative amnesia.

• Dissociative identity disorder.

• Depersonalized or derealization disorder.

What Is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative identity disorder is a psychological condition in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and enduring identities or personalities. Each trait holds a unique identity, personal information, history, pros, and cons. The person has memory gaps resulting in amnesia. While they quickly transform into false identities, they do hallucinate things.

What Causes Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative identity disorder develops as a result of recurrent or long-term traumatic events, and this seems feasible for any dissociative disorder. About ninety percent of Individuals with this condition have experienced abuse or neglect at some point, as per the American Psychiatric Association (APA). So, the following traumatic events contribute to the development of dissociative identity disorder.

• Sexual abuse.

• Physical or emotional abuse.

• Neglect.

• Natural disasters.

• Terrorism and violence.

• Critical accidents or serious illnesses.

• Disorganized attachment.

• Self or family detachment.

• Sleep deprivation.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-traumatic symptoms like hot flashes and nightmares are the stresses that prevail after trauma, so dissociative identity disorder is considered the most severe form of PTSD.

Comorbid Conditions:

Other conditions

• Depression.

• Headaches.

• Borderline personality disorder.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Substance use disorder.

• Bipolar disorder.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

• Somatic symptom disorder.

• Eating disorders.

• Anxiety disorder.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Presentation of two or more identities or personality traits is the feature yet a predominant sign of dissociative identity disorder. The term ‘ alter’ is known for the additional traits, and it is apprehended that one person can manifest up to 100 alters. Moreover, the alters are not the same for every kind, as they may hold distant age, sex, race, and conduct. In some instances, those identities may reveal a fictitious one, a bizarre kind, or even animals.

Psychological Signs:

The psychological aspects of a person with a dissociative identity disorder have been shifted in following themes and, thus, the personalities presented accordingly.

• Depersonalization or out-of-body experience when they are likely to transform other alter.

• Derealization (a sense of unreal things).

• Amnesia or memory loss. The individual has a hard time recollecting the true personality and allied memories.

• Role confusion or identity confusion.

Other Symptoms:

• Headache.

• Amnesia.

• Reveries.

• Violence.

• Distorted thoughts.

• Shame or guilt.

• Loss of control.

How Is Dissociative Identity Disorder Diagnosed?

There is no such specific tool to detect the condition of dissociative identity disorder. However, medical healthcare professionals, mainly psychological doctors, will determine the state with the medical history, family history, and physical and neurological examination. Certain tests are performed to detect underlying conditions like brain tumors, injury, epilepsy, and other cognitive conditions. Subsequently, there prevail certain norms for a disease to be diagnosed as a dissociative identity disorder put forth by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). So, the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-fifth edition incorporate the following:

• A person depicts two or more identities or personal traits. Each trait bears a relatively unique abiding pattern of relating to, thinking about, and perceiving the self and environment.

• The person encounters amnesia in the way of gaps of memories about self-information, people, past experiences, daily functioning, and traumatic events.

• The disorder and symptoms culminate in distress affecting daily, social, emotional, occupational, and other aspects of functioning.

• The disruption is noticeable in a person’s identity, behavior, cognition, apprehension, memory, perception, consciousness, and motor skills.

• The condition is not determined by other mental health diseases and substance-related disorders. Addedly, the state is not based on any religious or ethical beliefs.

What Are the Treatment Options for Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative identity disorder is successfully and efficiently treatable with appropriate therapies and medication. However, the intervention aims to discover the identities, recognize and solve the past trauma, and provide coping skills to manage behavioral changes.

Psychotherapy: A commonly employed psychological talk or counseling form of intervention for mental health disorders. This works on suppressing the triggers of dissociative identity disorder and integrating the identities. The types of psychotherapies preferably recommended are as demonstrated.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is a talk therapy comprising several sessions. The treatment operates on identifying and changing the distorted negative thinking patterns that seem attributable to the presentation of distorted behavior.

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): It is a comprehensive form of CBT that utilizes themes like acceptance and mindfulness. This works effectively on overwhelming feelings and thoughts.

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): This therapy is known for managing post-traumatic symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder. EMDR exploits recurrent eye movements for the betterment of flashbacks, adverse memories, and traumatic events.

Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy adopts hypnosis, a trance-like state where one is open to suggestions for intervention. The therapist addresses the subjugated memories and helps control the behavior in this state of near unconsciousness. The fusion of personality traits is also worked on.

Medications: No pharmacological drug is in the treatment of dissociative identity disorders. But, medications are advised in the case of comorbid conditions and symptoms. Antidepressants, anti-anxiety, and antipsychotic drugs are given accordingly.

Supporting Therapy:

• Art Therapy: This therapy involves creative processes to enhance well-being.

• Mindfulness-Based Therapy: The mindfulness-based therapy utilizes mindfulness like meditation, yoga, and gentle exercises in the intervention.

• Movement Therapy: This therapy utilizes movement to help confront mental illness.

Conclusion:

Dissociative identity disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder have an overall favorable prognosis than the comorbid conditions. Nevertheless, the person may present aggressive behavior, self-harm, and suicidal ideation, leaving life risky when left untreated. So, it is essential to address the identified concern one has. After an appropriate diagnosis, the doctors prescribe medication and psychotherapies. The intervention aims to solve past traumatic events while helping individuals discover their identities.