One minute they’re extremely cheerful and the next they’re raging with anger. This may not be a case of bipolar disorder but one of Dissociative Identity Disorder. You may have seen it in movies but it may be closer to your reality than you thought. So, what exactly is DID? Let's try to understand it better.

What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a psychiatric disorder in which a patient has more than one personality within themselves. The personalities are separate from each other and take turns controlling the patient’s emotions, mind and feelings. Each personality records, remembers and recalls different stories. This leaves patients unable to recognize their true selves when each identity takes over.

How does Dissociative Identity Disorder occur?

DID is often caused by severe physical and mental trauma such as physical abuse or sexual harassment. This prompts the patient's brain to create a new identity as a mechanism for self-defense that cuts out the former self and those memories.

Warning signs of Dissociative Identity Disorder

                  Patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder have “primary identities” i.e. their original identities, and “secondary identities” which may number anything from one to 100 or even more. Each created identity may have a particular gender, age and character and will switch on in response to the environment or situation. Warning signs can be observed as follows.

·       Feelings of being an observer of one’s own actions.

·       Some patients may hear the voices of other people such as a self-controlled inner voice or child’s voice.

·       When the identity changes, the DID sufferer feels they have no control over their actions.

·       When the patient is in a stressful situation or under mental pressure, their body will take on a secondary identity.

·       When the identity changes, some patients may temporarily lose their memory.

Diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder requires time to gather information and draw conclusions in order to screen for and rule out the possibility of it being another disorder. The condition is generally diagnosed from health inquiries and physical abnormality detection. If no abnormalities are found, the doctor may use a psychiatric approach and ask questions about thoughts, feelings and behaviors. The following criteria will be used in the observation of symptoms.

·       Patient clearly shows signs of having two or more identities.

·       Patient often feels a gap in their memory that is missing.

·       Check that the patient's condition isn’t related to cultural or religious principles.

·       Check that the patient's condition isn’t a result of substance abuse such as drinking too much and being unable to remember what happened last night.

·       The patient feels stressed causing problems in relationships, at work and in daily life.

Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder

·       Psychotherapy process

The psychiatrist will talk about the symptoms and help the patient communicate their bad memories to understand the cause and find ways to cope appropriately.

·       Thought and behavior therapy

Emphasis on understanding and setting goals for managing problems in a concrete way. Train patients to better manage their problems.

·       Other forms of therapy

Behavioral therapy, meditation therapy, hypnosis therapy, music therapy, and others.

·       Drug use

There is no direct medication for the treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder. However, if a patient has other symptoms, they can use antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs or antipsychotic drugs which must be prescribed by a doctor.

The human brain is a powerful organ and knows how to protect us from all dangers so that we can live happily and safe from the pain that we have to face, even if that means creating a new identity. Understanding DID will help us be more open-minded and compassionate with our fellow human beings.

Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance customers interested in healthcare topics can check out other articles at https://www.krungthai-axa.co.th/th/health-advisories.

References

·       Cleveland Clinic
https://cle.clinic/3CC0CW0

·       Corporate Communication, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital
https://bit.ly/3CC7qTw

·       Pobpad website
https://bit.ly/3EkojU2

·       WebMD
https://wb.md/3VyaU0V