Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) was the previous name for Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This kind of mental illness occurs when a person has two or more distinct personalities or identities. You might wonder how that even occurs. Every identity can, in fact, think, feel, and behave differently. Also these various personalities can be able to control a person’s behavior at various points in time.
There is a lot of dispute around DID’s history. Many believed it was a means to explain actions that didn’t even make sense, and thus for a long time, people wondered if it was real or just another made-up condition. For instance, the main character, Eun-ho, in the Korean television series Dear Hye-Ri, exhibits two distinct personalities. She has two distinct personalities: Hyeri, a happy parking attendant, and Eun-ho, a suffering broadcaster. According to the show, Hyeri is a made-up persona that Eun-ho conjures up in order to deal with the loss of her sister.
What is DID?
People with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) have a disruption in their sense of identity. This just means that they have alters, or multiple separate personas. Each alter has distinct characteristics, such as a different name, age, gender, or manner of acting, which is how this works. These alterations may sometimes even manifest as distinct physical traits, such as changed posture, voice, or even medical conditions like allergies.
People with DID often experience memory gaps where they forget things that happened while another alter was in control. This was seen several times in the Korean series, Dear Hye-Ri, where Eun-ho, the main character, would have her alter take over her life after her shift as an announcer. During her time as Hye-Ri, her alter personality, she has no recollection of what she did as announcer Eun-ho.
A situation like this can cause a lot of distress and confusion in daily life because the person feels disconnected from their own actions. In several episodes in the series, Hye-Ri goes for therapy sessions, discussing her supposed dreams where she was announcer Eun-ho with her therapist. She found it hard to believe she was the same person as Eun-ho, and she struggled with her relationships.
DID can also make it hard to hold down a job, maintain relationships, or even take care of basic responsibilities because the different identities can cause major disruption in how the person lives their life.
Symptoms of DID
- Having two or more distinct identities
- Memory gaps
- Feeling detached from oneself, or talking with different names, ages, gender, and characteristics
- Stress or emotional distress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Sudden mood swings
- Headaches
- Changes in voice
- Changes in posture
- Changes in handwriting
- Confusion
Causes of DID
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is usually linked to severe and continuous childhood trauma, particularly over a long time. When a child experiences something particularly frightening or traumatic, their mind could turn to dissociation as a coping mechanism.
Dissociation is just the mental disconnection from what is happening around you. It’s as if the brain constructs a safe area for the child to avoid the horrific reality they’re facing.
Over time, this coping method can result in the formation of various identities or alters, each of which deals with aspects of the trauma in their own unique way.
This mostly occurs when the abuse or trauma is so severe that the child believes they aren’t dealing with it alone. Although childhood trauma is one of the most common causes of DID, other factors also play a role.
Some people may have a genetic vulnerability towards dissociation, making them more likely to experience it than others. Others may have changes in how their brain operates, making them more likely to develop dissociative identity disorders.
Bottom Line
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a mental health condition that typically begins with awful childhood trauma. Coping with circumstances that are too painful or dangerous causes the mind to construct alternative identities, known as “alters,” to deal with the situation. These alters can have unique names, personalities, and even physical characteristics. However, in real life, DID is far more complex, which shows how the mind attempts to protect itself during difficult situations.
