The existence of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), is still debated in the medical field. There are some professionals who do not believe it exists, despite its classification in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1980. They consider it a symptom of another disorder and not a disorder unto itself. These are the people who think the disorder can be “cured” with the use of drugs. It is considered acceptable to give clients anti-psychotic medications in order to suppress the so-called voices that DID clients exist with.
DID is a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate and distinct personality states, or identities if you will, control the individual's behavior at different times. These other identities are referred to as "alters". It is not unusual for one identity to be unable to remember events that happened when an alter is in control. The different identities may exhibit differences in speech, mannerisms, attitudes, thoughts, and gender and sexual orientation. In some cases, the alters may even differ in physical properties such as allergies, hand dominance, or the need for eyeglass prescriptions. The differences between alters are often quite striking. A person with DID may have as few as two alters, or as many as 100. The average number is about 10.
Research has shown that the average age for the initial development of alters in children is 5.9 years. DID develops in early childhood when a child is forced to endure repeated sexual and/or physical abuse. Dissociation is a defensive mechanism. It protects the child by separating a part of his/her mind, or consciousness, to deal with the trauma of the abuse. With time and repeated abuse, these separate parts establish identities of their own and become the alters. In general, there is a host identity, who will appear most often, and there are opposite gender personalities, self-helper personalities, child personalities and persecutory personalities. The process of shifting from one of these alters to another is known as "switching".
Most people with DID are not aware that they have it when they first seek out professional help. They often search for help due to one of the symptoms which may be associated with DID, such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety, obsessive compulsive behavior, substance abuse or time loss. Suicidal idealogies, self mutilation and auditory/visual hallucinations are also common problems seen within those who have DID.
Treatment for DID consists mainly of psychotherapy. A therapist will make contact with as many alters as possible in order to figure out their roles and functions in the patient's life. One of the primary goals is seeking out the alters who are responsible for violent or self-destructive behavior so they can be stopped. However, DID cannot be "cured". If you think of the human psyche as a mirror, a person with DID has been broken into many pieces. With the help of therapy, those pieces can be glued back together, but they will never be a seamless mirror again. The end goal is for communication between the alters to be established and thus allow the patient to live their life aware of the alters but not controlled by them.
As of the year 2000, the prevalence of DID in the United Stated population is estimated to be between 1 in 500 to 1 in 5,000, or between 250,000 and 2,500,000 people. Studies show that four times as many women are diagnosed as men and that the average person who is diagnosed spends 7 years in the mental health system before being properly diagnosed. DID is real. It is yet another result of the horror of child abuse. Until there is better training provided to therapists, it will continue to be misdiagnosed and those who have it will continue to be misunderstood.
