This may be particularly true for trauma or abuse during childhood. The condition represents someone who struggles to integrate and assimilate certain aspects of their own identity, which become disjointed over time. When these other personalities take over, they often talk with a different vocabulary, and gesture differently.
In some cases , one personality may also pick up certain habits that the other does not, such as smoking, or becoming violent. In the shift from one personality to another, a person may experience other symptoms.
Some people can have anxiety , as they may be afraid of the personality change. Some may become very angry or violent. Others may not notice or remember these transitions at all, although another person may notice them. Specific personalities may appear in response to certain situations. These symptoms can cause a person significant distress , and disrupt their ability to live their life normally.
A person with DID may also experience symptoms of other conditions, such as self-harm. Trauma often triggers DID as a psychological response, so it is a strong risk factor, especially in childhood.
This trauma can stem from:. In some cases, a child may not experience a clear form of abuse, but may not grow up in a safe home environment. For example, they may live with highly unpredictable parents, and start to dissociate in response to the stress that comes with this.
Dissociative identity disorder may appear alongside other disorders. This means that several mental health disorders could arise from the same cause. It takes time to diagnose DID. To properly make a diagnosis, doctors need to see the different personalities and how they affect the person.
Time is also an important factor in seeing the full scale of the symptoms. This is because people who seek help for DID commonly present with symptoms linked to other mental health conditions. Additionally, as DID often occurs alongside other disorders, doctors need to rule out the symptoms of other conditions before they make a diagnosis.
As such, they may prescribe therapies or medications to treat these conditions first. There are no guidelines on how to treat DID. Doctors often prescribe treatments on a case-by-case basis. No specific medication exists for DID. Treatment plans manage any conditions that occur alongside DID, and they can combine psychotherapy, with any necessary drugs to help with symptoms. Will a person typically regain memory after dissociative amnesia?
Dissociative amnesia can be temporary and is by definition reversible. Under appropriate circumstances memories can be regained and worked through. They can, but they usually do not. Typically those with dissociative identity disorder experience symptoms for six years or more before being correctly diagnosed and treated.
Dissociation is a common coping mechanism, especially in the face of trauma. Many rape victims experience the crime as though they were floating above their bodies, feeling sorry for the person beneath them.
Many of us find ways to detach ourselves from painful or unpleasant experiences. However, people typically restore their usual perspective over time. Those with dissociative disorders experience persistent amnesia, depersonalization, derealization or fragmentation of identity that actually interferes with the normal process of working through and putting into perspective traumatic or stressful experiences. Dissociative disorders involve problems with memory, identity, emotion, perception, behavior and sense of self.
Dissociative symptoms can potentially disrupt every area of mental functioning. Learn More. A person with DID has at least two, but sometimes more than two, different and distinct personalities. Each alter, or personality, has distinct individual traits. They often also have a personal history, and a way of thinking about and relating to his or her surroundings. Alters can even be of a different gender, have a different name, or a distinct set of manners and preferences.
In some rare cases, alters have even been seen to have allergies that differ from the core personality. The person with DID may or may not be aware of the other personality states. Usually stress, or even a reminder of a trauma, can trigger a switch of alters.
This can sometimes be abrupt and unexpected. In some cases, the person with DID may benefit from a particular alter. This can be seen if a person has a more timid alter that gives way to a more assertive alter when negotiating a contract or maybe even buying a new car. However, more often than not DID creates a chaotic life. This leads to significant problems in personal and work relationships.
Those with DID often describe it as feeling that they have suddenly become observers of their own speech and actions. Some report hearing voices. In some cases, the voices accompany multiple streams of thought. These are usually something that the individual has no control over. They might also experience sudden impulses or strong emotions. In some instances of DID, individuals report that their bodies suddenly feel different or that they experience a change in attitudes or preferences.
We saw above that in many cases, if not all, DID is associated with trauma. It might also be linked to accidents, natural disasters, and war.
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