In: Psychology
9. Describe the characteristics associated with the dissociative identity disorder (DID). What objective biological evidence is there supportive of the existence of DID? Why has the existence of DID been disputed by some clinicians
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptom of dissociative identity disorder (DID) vary depending on the individual. What drives them, however, is severe episodes of dissociation that manifest as multiple personalities brought about by severe, persistent periods of childhood trauma or neglect.
Even though there are many DID symptoms and signs, it is still very difficult to diagnose DID. It is estimated that people with dissociative disorders spend, on average, seven years in the mental health system before receiving an accurate diagnosis. This is because many of the DID symptoms people seek help for are similar to those seen in other mental health disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and anxiety. In fact, some of these disorders may co-occur with dissociative identity disorder.
Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
The official symptoms of dissociative identity disorder have been most recently defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. The following are the diagnostic symptoms of DID:
You can read these real dissociative identity disorder stories and watch videos to understand the effect of DID symptoms.
Signs of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
While the official DID symptom list is short, the signs of DID are numerous. Dissociative behavior is divided into two categories: detachment and compartmentalization. Detachment is "a voluntary or involuntary feeling or emotion that accompanies a sense of separation from normal associations or environment" while compartmentalization is "solation" or splitting off of part of the personality or mind with lack of communication and consistency between the parts."
People with DID often also suffer from borderline personality disorder characteristics, somatization disorder (physical symptoms without cause), major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide attempts.
The signs of dissociative identity disorder include a number of characteristics regarding the multiple personalities including:
Other signs of DID include:
Signs of DID in Children
Children are rarely diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, but signs of DID in children include some of the above as well as: