Actually D.I.D
This is a small site filled with information on Dissociative Identity Disorder, it's symptoms, causes, related disorders, and debunked myths.
Made by a system, for singlets to understand us and those newly diagnosed (or questioning) to understand themselves better.
gif credit to zarathustra-would-be-proud on tumblr
What Are Dissociative Disorders?
Dissociative Disorders involve problems with memory, identity, emotion, perception, behavior and sense of self. Dissociative symptoms can potentially disrupt every area of mental functioning.
Examples of dissociative symptoms include the experience of detachment or feeling as if one is outside one’s body, and loss of memory or amnesia. Dissociative disorders are frequently associated with previous experience of trauma.
There are three types of dissociative disorders:
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative Amnesia
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
To learn more, click on one of the disorders above.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is associated with overwhelming experiences, traumatic events and/or abuse that occurred in childhood. Previously referred to as multiple personality disorder, it is widely believed to develop only before the age of 6-8 years old and is only caused by repeated traumatic experiences such as sexual assault, abuse, or witnessing traumatic events.
Symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (criteria for diagnosis) include:
• The existence of two or more distinct identities (or “personality states”); accompanied by changes in behavior, memory, and thinking. The signs and symptoms may be observed by others or reported by the individual.
• Ongoing gaps in memory about everyday events, personal information and/or past traumatic events.
• The symptoms cause significant distress or problems in social, occupational or other areas of functioning.
In addition, the disturbance must not be a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice. As noted in the DSM-51, in many cultures around the world, experiences of being possessed are a normal part of spiritual practice and are not dissociative disorders.
Symptoms
The attitude and personal preferences (for example, about food, activities, clothes) of a person with dissociative identity disorder may suddenly shift and then shift back. The identities happen involuntarily and cause distress. People with dissociative identity disorder may feel that they have suddenly become observers of their own speech and actions, or their bodies may feel different (e.g., like a small child, like the opposite gender, huge and muscular).
The Sidran Institute notes that a person with dissociative identity disorder “feels as if she has within her two or more entities, each with its own way of thinking and remembering about herself and her life. It is important to keep in mind that although these alternate states may feel or appear to be very different, they are all manifestations of a single, whole person.” Other names used to describe these alternate states including “alternate personalities,” “alters,” “states of consciousness” and “identities.”
For people with dissociative identity disorder, the extent of problems functioning can vary widely, from minimal to significant problems such as losing time of whole days, weeks, and even years.
Signs and symptoms depend on the type of dissociative disorders you have, but may include:
• Memory loss (amnesia) of certain time periods, events, people and personal information
• A sense of being detached from yourself and your emotions
• A perception of the people and things around you as distorted and unreal
• A blurred sense of identity
• Significant stress or problems in your relationships, work or other important areas of your life
• Inability to cope well with emotional or professional stress
• Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors
Myths & Facts
Myth: DID isn’t real
Fact : DID has been officially recognized as a mental disorder since its inclusion in the 1980 release of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III). The diagnosis of DID continues to remain controversial among mental health professionals as understanding of the illness develops, but there is no question that the symptoms are real and people do experience them.
Myth: DID is a rare condition.
Fact: DID isn’t actually as rare as you may think. The ISSTD (International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation) accept that up to one to three percent of the general population have DID: this is roughly the same amount of people who possess the “ginger” gene!
Myth: If you really had it, you wouldn't know.
Fact: It’s fairly common for those with DID to know about their alters. Many report hearing others talking inside and can be aware of other “selves,” even in childhood. Many individuals will not remember what they have been doing for periods of time and can behave completely out of character. This is an extremely confusing experience, especially prior to receiving psychiatric support. Internal communication between alters is often worked on and improved through therapy.
Myth: it’s just a movie, people can tell it’s fictional
Fact: Research undertaken by the University of Melbourne found that ‘pervasive negative portrayals can have harmful effects, perpetuating the stigma associated with mental illness and reducing the likelihood that those with mental illness will seek help. And when it comes to DID, movie and TV rarely provide an accurate portrayal. Symptoms are frequently sensationalized, exaggerated or just plain wrong. Movies and TV shows that misrepresent DID spread inaccurate information about a real illness and stigmatize the people living with it. Stigma discourages people from seeking help and isolates them socially.
Myth: DID = schizophrenia
Fact: Schizophrenia and DID are often confused with each other, but they’re very different things. Schizophrenia is a psychotic illness: symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, disorganized thoughts, speech and movements and social withdrawal. It does not involve alternate personalities or dissociation. People with DID are not delusional or hallucinating their alters. Individuals with DID may experience some symptoms related to psychosis, such as hearing voices, but DID and schizophrenia are two different illnesses.
Myth: people with DID are violent
Fact: People with DID are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. There are very few documented cases linking crime to DID and the idea of an ‘evil’ alter is not true. People with DID are actually more likely than the general population to be re-traumatized and experience further abuse and violence.
Myth: DID is a personality disorder
Fact: Because of the association with multiple or ‘split’ personalities, DID is often misunderstood to be a personality disorder, but they are actually two very different things. Personality disorders are a constant fixed pattern of feeling and behaving over time, usually developing in early adulthood. Personality disorders, like borderline personality disorder, involve extreme emotional responses and patterns of behaviour which make it hard for the person with the disorder to have stable relationships and function in society. DID is a dissociative disorder. Rather than extreme emotional reactions to the world, people living with DID lose contact with themselves: their memories, sense of identity, emotions and behaviour.
Myth: Switches are obvious and extreme
Fact: In movies and TV shows, switches between alternate identities tend to be wildly exaggerated for dramatic effect. In reality, for the vast majority of people with DID, switching between alters can’t be identified by a casual observer at all.
Dissociative Amnesia
Dissociative amnesia involves not being able to recall information about oneself (not normal forgetting). This amnesia is usually related to a traumatic or stressful event and may be:
• localized – unable to remember an event or period of time (most common)
• selective – unable to remember a specific aspect of an event or some events within a period of time
• generalized – complete loss of identity and life history (rare)
Dissociative amnesia is associated with having experiences of childhood trauma, and particularly with experiences of emotional abuse and emotional neglect. People may not be aware of their memory loss or may have only limited awareness. And people may minimize the importance of memory loss about a particular event or time.
Dissociative amnesia does NOT always = dissociative identity disorder. While people with DID experience this, It can be also be experienced with PTSD and other disorders resulting from witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event.
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
Depersonalization/derealization disorder involves significant ongoing or recurring experience of one or both conditions:
• Depersonalization – experiences of unreality or detachment from one’s mind, self or body. People may feel as if they are outside their bodies and watching events happening to them.
• Derealization – experiences of unreality or detachment from one’s surroundings. People may feel as if things and people in the world around them are not real.
During these altered experiences the person is aware of reality and that their experience is unusual. The experience is very distressful, even though the person may appear to be unreactive or lacking emotion.
Symptoms may begin in early childhood; the average age a person experiences the disorder is 16. Less than 20 percent of people with depersonalization/derealization disorder first experience symptoms after age 20.
These disorders do NOT = dissociative identity disorder. While people with DID experience this, these are also experienced in people with depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.