Dissociative Identity Disorder: it is defined as a dissociative disorder in which a person reports having more than one identity or alter. Those diagnosed report to have more than one identity or alter. Each alter presents with individual characteristics. Each alter presents at different times and is determined by the alter in charge. The primary alter may be unaware of the alters and may have no memories during episodes in which another alter present. During diagnosis it is common to identify 2-4 alternative personalities. The longer the treatment the more alters can emerge. It is usually the primary alter that seeks to treatment. Those with DID may hear the voices of the other alters but they cannot identify them. May experience a gap in time which occurs when another alter takes over. Researchers have linked severe abuse and childhood trauma to the development of this disorder.
The first detailed case of Dissociative Identity Disorder traces back to 1791, where a German woman began to speak French without having learnt the language before and no connections to the country. This woman also took on the characteristics of a French aristocrat and spoke German with a French accent. Between 1880-1944 numerous studies on DID had been undertaken, with an influx of cases happening around this time (“The Amazing History of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) | Healthy Place', 2020). It was not until 1980 that DID was written in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as an official disorder.
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The knowledge of Dissociative Identity Disorder is mostly used in the treatment of this disorder, in which the main goal is too assure the patient that their alters are no longer needed as the trauma is over (Ann Kring et al., 2018). The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation provides a three-stage treatment model to increase the feeling of safety and reduce symptoms of the disorder. This includes; confronting the trauma, working through and merging traumatic memories. Medication is also used, however it mostly reduces the severity of other outlying factors such as anxiety and depression (Ann Kring et al., 2018).
This movie (youtube.com/watch?v=I-6XHJFUBDI) depicts Kevin Wendell Crum who suffers from an extreme case of DID, which was the result of traumatic abuse perpetrated by his mother. This caused Kevin to develop alters in order to cope with the trauma. Kevin has 23 distinct personalities which call themselves ‘the horde’. Only 5 of these alters mainly appear in the movie. Each of the alters sit in a room in Kevin’s head on chairs until given the ‘light’ in which they can take full control. This movie depicts the traits of this disorder well, from the district accents, posture and facial expressions that each personality has.
It exaggerates the disorder through the main antagonist ‘the beast’ in which this personality possesses extreme physical strength, superhuman speed and skin that’s impenetrable. This personality is said to have come from Kevin’s exposure to animals while working at the zoo. Thus, this movie may cause additional stigma to be placed on DID, as the ‘beast’ is very superficial.
This movie and a novel (psychology2.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/sybil-summary/) is about a young girl names Sybil who was sexually abused by her mother and neglected by her father, which caused her to split into different personalities in order to cope with the trauma she was experiencing. This movie is accurate in its presentation of the symptoms associated with DID, where each personality has its own accent, memories and communication abilities. An example being the alter of ‘Vicki’ is well spoken and presented and is presented to have the ability to speak another language, when spoken it is unclear but sounds like French.
This movie is correct in demonstrating the interaction of Sybil and Dr. Wilbur in each therapy session and through the diagnosis and the treatments available. Treatments presented include; psychotherapeutic sessions, where Dr. Wilbur sits down with Sybil and her alters and talk about what has been troubling them or when getting to know an alter, and clinical hypnosis, which is used to uncover information about Sybil’s past so as to help her come to terms with it, as well as identifying other alters. After this movie was released, the diagnosis of DID has been said to have increased which may have been because ability to provide a sense of understanding of the disorder to those who previously placed a stigma towards it.
This video (youtube.com/watch?v=ek7JK6pattE) explores the reality behind the media’s stigmatic portrayal of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which has blocked society from fully understanding what it is like to live with this disorder by interviewing those who have been diagnosed with DID. It allows those with DID to explain how they have developed it, which is through severe childhood trauma, and demonstrate how incorrect the media is in showcasing this disorder. Each of those interviewed demonstrate different characteristics of DID, from caretaker alters, co-consciousness, dissociative amnesia and derealisation. The video depicts the reality of how subtle the changes in alters are, with the changes not being noticeable unless the person identifies it and it shows how this disorder is different among each individual who has it.
References:
- Kring, A., Kyrios, M., Fassnacht, D., Lambros, A., Mihaljcic, T., & Teesson, M. (2018). Abnormal psychology (1st ed., pp. 290-296). John Wiley & Sons Australia.
- Bernstein, D., Pooley, J., Cohen, L., Gouldthorp, B., Provost, S., & Cranney, J. (2017). Psychology PSY1011/PSY1022: A Custom Edition (2nd ed., pp. 515-516). Cengage Learning Australia.
- Abnormal Psychology. McLeod, S.A. (2018, August 05) Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/abnormalpscyhology.html
- Sybil and Dissociative Identity Disorder. Cheng, F. (2010). Psychology2's Blog. Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://psychology2.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/sybil-summary/.
- History - Dissociative Identity Disorder. Didmpd.weebly.com. Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://didmpd.weebly.com/history.html.
- Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder) | Psychology Today. Psychology Today. (last reviewed 2019). Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder.
- The Amazing History of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) | HealthyPlace. Healthyplace.com. (last updated 2019). Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/dissociative-identity-disorder/the-amazing-history-of-dissociative-identity-disorder-did.
- Movie Clips (2017, August 5) Split (2017) - The Horde Takes Over Scene (7/10) | Movieclips. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-6XHJFUBDI
- FilmComicsExplained (2018, April 21) SPLIT (2016) Explained. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyDLuG7riHA
- AnthonyPadilla (2020, March 4) I spent a day with MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES (Dissociative Identity Disorder) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek7JK6pattE
- Támara Hill, MS NCC CCTP LPC (2019, February 14) How To Treat Multiple Personality/Dissociation - Psychotherapy Crash Course. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmBwqH7f8uk
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