Dissociative Identity Disorder

Disease class: Dissociative disorders 

Also known as

• DID
• Multiple personality disorder (incorrect terminology)

 

Features

• Dissociation (blacking out). There is often apparent amnesia (memory loss).
• The appearance of at least one disparate identity during periods of dissociation. Each identity may present a unique set of behaviours, values and beliefs.

 

Controversy amongst psychiatrists

• Due to the high association with emotionally unstable personality disorder, it has been suggested that DID is a variant of this disorder but is not a distinct disorder itself.
• Many modern psychiatrists consider DID to be an iatrogenic illness. They suggest that psychiatrists who believe that DID is a true psychiatric illness create the disease through their interactions with patients. By asking certain questions they can accidentally influence vulnerable patients.

 

Public misconceptions

• In the media this disorder is often referred to (incorrectly) as schizophrenia.
• It is often depicted visually with two actors standing in the same room and speaking. In reality, there are no visual or auditory hallucinations. The internal perspective of the patient should be dissociation. From an external perspective, they can be seen to adopt a new identity and set of behaviours.