Dissociative Identity Disorder
(formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder)
See Also:
DID:
Introduction
DID:
Overview
DID:
Symptoms
DID: Causes
DID:
Diagnosis
DID:
Treatment
Dissociative
Identity Disorder Introduction
Dissociative identity
disorder (DID) is a mental condition in which at least
two separate and distinct identities (or personalities
states) control the person's behavior at different times.
Formerly referred to as multiple personality disorder
(MPD), an unconventional and highly controversial
diagnosis, the disorder is one of the most talked about
mental illnesses and became the center of much debate,
criticism, and skepticism.
Multiple personality
disorder captivated the interest of psychiatrists in late
1800's, although some researchers believe that the
disorder is dating back to ancient forms of shamanism and
demonic possessions. The first complete account of a
patient with multiple personality disorder was published
in 1865. Four years later Pierre Janet, a French
psychiatrist, discovered traits of the disorder when
hypnotizing some of his female patients. A similar
phenomenon was noticed by William James, the father of
American psychology, in his clinical work and named the
condition dissociation.
The public became aware of
the disorder first in 1957 and than in 1976 through two
movies The Three Faces of Eve and Sybil. The
Three Faces of Eve is a movie based on a true story
which portrays a depressed housewife named Eve White who
was discovered to display three personalities: the
original Eve, Eve Black (the wild, fun, loving
personality), and Jane (the insightful and stable
personality). Sybil revealed the
story of another patient suffering from the disorder. The
main character was portrayed in a manner that most people
think of when they hear about multiple personality
disorder.
Despite the media
attention, by the beginning of last decade only 200 cases
of multiple personality disorder were documented in
psychiatric literature. The disorder was officially
recognized as a genuine illness by the American
Psychiatric Association only in 1980.
Multiple personality
disorder is considered to be caused by severe childhood
trauma (physical or sexual abuse). The trauma creates a
mental split or what psychiatrists call
"dissociation" which functions as a defense
mechanism. It was hypothesized that individuals
traumatized during childhood create multiple
personalities (which develop separately) called alters
and use them to cope with stress.
In time, the disorder
became a source of criticism and most professionals were
skeptical whether this disorder actually exists. The main
argument centers around the idea that the condition is
actually a form of manipulation used by patients to get
what they want by making others feel sorry for them. Some
professionals also have suggested that the disorder
resembles two other conditions such borderline
personality disorder or schizophrenia, but a closer look
at each of these three disorders' clinical picture
reveals major symptomatic differences. The source of
debate was considered to be somehow caused by the
constant changes underwent by the characteristics of the
disorder and the lack of clear traits that a person needs
to display in order to be diagnosed with MPD.
In the attempt to eliminate
and correct the misconceptions determined by the multiple
personality disorder term, the condition was reclassified
as dissociative identity disorder. The new term framed
the condition as a dissociative disorder, "condition
which involves disruptions or breakdowns of memory,
awareness, identity, and/or perception." (1)
Under the new terminology, the disorder emphasizes the
disruption of the person's identity which is
characteristic for this disorder.
Today, the disorder seems
to be quite popular in the western society, approximately
20,000 cases were reported between 1980 and 1990. Due to
the increased number of cases diagnosed with DID in the
United States, some researchers believe that the
condition is a culture-specific syndrome, which might be
explained by the high rate of child abuse or the
increased attention offered by media to criminals which
invoke the multiple personality disorder as an insanity
defense. However, it is still not clear whether the
disorder was misdiagnosed and underreported in the past,
or over-diagnosed in the present.
See Also:
DID:
Introduction
DID:
Overview
DID:
Symptoms
DID: Causes
DID:
Diagnosis
DID:
Treatment
Article by Alina Morrow,
MS Psychology
OmniMedicalSearch.com
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