The term dissociative disorder is used to refer to a set of tribulations that affect human beings cognitively. These tribulations, in turn, disrupt a patient's identity, recollection, emotions, self-esteem, and his or her perception. This is evident through malfunctioning of the patient's mental faculty. This results in amnesia and an illusion that a patient is living outside their normal flesh and has transformed into another fictitious being. The cause of this disorder is not clear. However, research has linked it to previous exposure to traumatic conditions ( Moline, 2012 ; Howell, 2011) . D issociation refe rs to the separation of interconnected neural functions leading to disruption of a person ’ s memories, feeling, and thoughts . C onsequently , this results in the loss of an individual’s identity. This phenomenon is normal because almost every human being gets mild breakdowns . This can happen during daydreaming sessions, or on getting lost in a film or highway synopsis where the mind loses immediate focus on its environment. Scientists have mapped the dissociation patterns into three disorders based on the symptoms that each portray s . These are dissociative identity disorder, depersonalization disorder, and dissociative amnesia. Th is paper serve s to discuss dissociative identity disorder listing its causes, symptoms , and treatment . It will also explore the myths associated with this disorder .
Mild dissociations do not pose severe medical challenges since the culprits regain consciousness of their surrounding almost immediately. However, similar mind lapses occur when an individual is subject to absurd traumatic experiences like accidents, rape or violent crime victimization. Unlike the mild lapses, the disadvantaged patients in these scenarios find comfort in the new mental situations. This is because the situations act as an escape from the daunting stable mental reality. The patients are thus able to dissociate themselves with the horror, trauma, and pain associated with their tribulations. This dissociation, however, differs in magnitude and may be horrific to a level that the affected person may lose track of the traumatic incidents.
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Dissociative Identity Disorder
This disorder, like other dissociative disorders, is linked to previous traumatic experiences primarily caused by abuse at a tender age. The dissociation in the disorder is unique in that the patients feel the existence of two or more beings within themselves. This scenario has for many years been referred to a multiple personality disorder. Patients suffering from this disorder have exhibited existence of two or more distinct personality states, memory gaps, and social distress. The three symptoms have enhanced diagnosis of these disorders in conventional modern societies but culturally face prejudice in societies that believe in demonic possessions. These societies treat this disorder as a demonic possession (Howell, 2011).
The existence of the two or more distinct personalities is evident with changes in memory behavior, variations of memory and individual way of reasoning. The individual preference on the choice of attire, food, and drinks drastically changes with time and relapses back within a short period. This radical change is involuntary and causes distress when the individuals suddenly feel the urge to control their emotions, speech, and interactions. They may also experience moments when they feel young, and exhibit behaviors similar to those of kids, grownups or members of the opposite sex. The two personalities have distinct life paths and past experiences, making the same person interact differently as two entities. This has been referred to as alternate personalities, states of consciousness or alters. The same person may keep different friends over a short span of time. Likewise, each personality has its positive and negative attributes, ideologies and approach to doing things. It’s worth noting that despite these personalities being inside one person, they do not share common cognitive capabilities. Therefore, each personality maintains a distinct lifestyle, friends, and memories.
Historical Background of Dissociative Identity Disorder
Literature support for the existence of this disorder and its diagnosis was available as early as 1901 under the codename multiple personality disorder (MPD).The disorder got public attention in 1955 when Shirley, an American psychiatric patient, visited her personal psychotherapist. When asked how she was faring, she responded affirming that she was alright but Shirley was not. She proceeded to narrate that Shirley was so sick that she couldn’t manage to visit the facility. The lady identified herself as Peggy. Through the therapy sessions, the psychotherapist was able to discover sixteen personalities inside Shirley and documented them in a book titled Sybil that gained unprecedented popularity. Shirley eventually wrote to her therapist disputing her case in the book. However, this sparked more research on the disorder.
In 1957 a book titled The Three Faces of Eve documented a real-life story of a housewife suffering from the disorder. This book was consequently turned into a film. Both the book and the film played a crucial role in increasing awareness of the disorder. This led to its recognition as a psychiatric disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Its diagnosis indicated that a patient must display at least two distinct identities characterized by memory lapse and behavior change. Later the disorder’s definition was revised based on the realization that it was more of a memory fragmentation disorder rather than a combination of two distinct identities. Following this discovery, the name Dissociation Identity Disorder (DID) was coined in 1994 to replace the Multiple Personality Disorder (MID). Subsequently, it also led to increased awareness and understanding of the disorder ( Alderman & Marshall, 1998) .
Me, Myself and I: The Film Industry and DID
Since its discovery, numerous films have featured DID. This has been done either to create awareness or to exploit the innocence of the world as a high number of people have bought these films so as to understand the disorder. A notable film was titled Me, Myself and Irene. In the film, Charlie, one of the characters portrayed as a person living with Advanced Delusionary Schizophrenia coupled with Involuntary Narcissistic Rage. The character, however, is fictional and does not represent a true story as was the case in The Three Faces of Eve . This was evidenced by the fact that Charlie did not portray delusions and hallucinations that are evident with Schizophrenia ( Farrelly et al. , 2000) .
In his character, Charlie exhibits symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (DID) as he portrays two distinct personalities of Charlie and Hank. The movie further presents these personalities distinctly with different behaviors and memory lapses to the passive character whenever one of them was dominant. The movie also portrayed Charlie’s disorder accurately by asserting that the condition could be managed through medication. Charlie developed a different personality when dealing with the pain of separation with his wife and Hank was predominant when Charlie was disrespected or was struggling with the pain of separation.
Dissociative identity disorder is highly linked with child abuse at a tender age, an analogy that the media industry went against in this film. Another misinformation that is evident in the film was the continuous voluntary awakening of Hunk which is unrealistic. The movie culminates in heated physical and verbal argument between Charlie and Hank which is misinforming since the two alters cannot be dominant at the same time, and hence cannot converse. This is an example of how the film industry has created comedy out of the disorder, misinforming the public in the process. Nevertheless, the movie made a lot of impact in creating awareness against stigma in people leaving with DID disabilities .
Myths about DID
Over the years, the film industry has created films with characters that suffer from dissociative disorders. These have been done to create humor with little or no sensitivity or conformance to accuracy. This was evident in the shooting of the film Split that depicts an inaccurate and stigmatizing version of DID. The misinformation has created numerous false myths about DID. One of such myths is that DID does not exist and that it’s a cover name for demonic possessions. This is not true since the disorder was officially recognized as a mental disorder in the 1980 release of the DSM-IV. Another conspicuous myth is the assertion that misrepresentation of DID in the movies and TV shows has no negative effects. People are fast to dismiss this myth arguing that since these are ‘just movie’ and anyone can comprehend that the representation of DID is fictional. This myth is not true since many people living with the disorder are affected by their misrepresented in the films. Subsequently, this may trigger suicidal behaviors or discourage patients from seeking support. Another myth which is conspicuously presented in the film Me, Myself and I is that DID is similar to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disease characterized by delusions and hallucinations, social withdrawal and paranoia and has no relation or attribution to DID. People living with DID may, however, hear voices just as is the case for schizophrenia (Nevid et al. , 1991 ) .
Another myth that the film industry has propagated is that most alters are evil and violent. This is not true since all over the world, very few cases have been reported or documented linking DID to violence or crime. There is need for the public to have a clear understanding of DID so as not to confuse it with split personality or personality disorder. Dissociation identity disorder is more than just two personalities. This is because it involves the complete detachment of a person’s memory, behavior, feelings and sense of identity. These detachments make DID patients to dissociate from the societal doctrines. As a result, the patients are less engaged in constructive activities or creation of relationships. The other myth is that the switch between alters is voluntary and noticeable just as it is evident in the films. This is incorrect because the switch between the alters occurs due to certain psychological conditions and cannot be observed immediately as is the case in films (Nevid, et al. , 1991 ) .
Causes of DID Risk Factor Statistics
According to research, individuals who were exposed to either physical torture or sexual exploitation at a tender age are at higher risk of having DID compared to those who had a normal childhood. An analysis of DID cases have identified a direct correlation between repeated the condition and traumatic experiences in childhood. A survey conducted in Canada , United States (U.S) and in Europe targeting individuals living with DID established that 90% of the patients had experienced abuse during childhood and neglect from their caregivers (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 201 0 ) . People living with the disorder are also at high risk of inducing suffering on their body or attempting suicide. The survey also discovered that about 70% of DID patients had attempted suicide once in their lifetime. All over the world, the disorder affects 2% of the population and is more common in females than in males. It’s also estimated that half of the adults in the U.S undergo depersonalization at one point in their life. However, only 2% graduate to chronic episodes of the disorder (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 201 0 ) .
Symptoms of the Disorder
Dissociation identity disorder is associated with memory lapses which disconnect one’s mental faculty from their surroundings. The patients suffer memory lapse which is characterized by the loss of personal identity, memory, feelings, and perception. Subsequently, the patient activates another personality with a different set of identity, memory, and perceptions. These lapses may create depression, suicidal tendencies, and disconnection from the society and personal responsibility. In DID, an individual must meet the criteria of two or more distinct identities, which are attributed to a change in one’s identity and preferences as well as memory gaps between these personality switches. Psychological stress often triggers these switches.
Types of DID
Research has classified manifestations of the disorder into three subcategories based on the symptoms exhibited by the patients. This is as outlined in the DSM manual. Firstly, dissociative amnesia is characterized by a tendency to forget significant moments in one’s history. Dissociative amnesia may be chronic or may happen within minutes, days, months or years in the lifetime of an individual. The second categorization is referred to as depersonalization disorder and is characterized by detachment with the reality that can last for minutes, months or years. These episodes are more common past the age of 20 years and are commonly confused with daydreaming. The last sub-category is the DID which involves the occurrence two or more personalities in a person (Howell, 2011).
Treatment
The realization that DID is a defense mechanism against the aftermath of trauma which is achieved by creating a defense alter has always resulted in a psychiatric approach to its treatment. Therefore, most of the prescribed remedies are designed to help the patient cope with the different identities ( Moline, 2012) . One such treatment is psychotherapy which is designed to join together the elements of the diverse personalities. However, this approach is challenging since it involves recapping and making peace with the source of the trauma. Hypnosis has also come in handy in reducing the predisposing factors such as stress which may activate these personalities. Medication has also been used to suppress common symptoms associated with depression. These ensure that the patients can live a productive and meaningful life ( Moline, 2012; Howell, 2011).
Conclusion
While DID is not widespread, its presence results in unprecedented impacts on the patients. According to research, DID affects about 2% of the world population. Despite these low figures, DID patients require adequate support in order to deal with the condition. Advocating for their correct representation by the film industry as well as by all arms of the society is one form of support. On the other hand, reducing trauma and child abuse are crucial in the eradication of DID globally.
References
Alderman, T., & Marshall, K. (1998). Amongst ourselves: A self-help guide to living with dissociative identity disorder . New Harbinger Publications Incorporated.
Farrelly, B., Farrelly, P., Carrey, J., & Zellweger, R. (2000). Me, Myself & Irene . Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Hockenbury, D. H., & Hockenbury, S. E. (2010). Discovering psychology . Macmillan.
Howell, E. F. (2011). Understanding and treating dissociative identity disorder: A relational approach . Routledge.
Moline, R. A. (2012). The diagnosis and treatment of dissociative identity disorder: A case study and contemporary perspective . Jason Aronson.
Nevid, J. S., Rathus, S. A., & Greene, B. (1991). Abnormal psychology . Prentice Hall.
