Jul 25, 20214 min read

DID: A Complex Coping Mechanism

By Oriana Tolentino

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly named as Multiple Identity Disorder, arises from frequent traumatic and violent experiences during one’s early childhood stages. Any physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as parental neglect that are too agonizing for the victim to handle may result in the splitting of one conscious self into various personalities or the shattering of the mind into fragments. Therefore, the creation of 2 or more unique identities aids the person to survive by passing on the burden of living through that disturbing memory to another personality which usually results in the person forgetting about such trauma. The split identities, or also known as alters, take turns in having control over the person’s body. This event is called switching and is brought forth by distress, conflict among the alters, and sudden recollection of abuse.

Exploring the Science behind DID

The victim’s exposure to trauma may induce numerous modifications in certain parts of the brain which are in charge of memory and emotions. Researches and studies have discovered that individuals with DID have reduced blood flow and volume in portions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is the section of the brain that is responsible for planning cognitive behaviors, controlling emotions, making decisions, and maintaining social relationships. Additionally, there is a decreased brain volume in the hippocampus (crucial for learning, navigating, and remembering information) and amygdala (essential for processing traumatic events and activating a fight or flight response in the midst of danger).

The Most Common Alters

The alters each have their own age, gender, religion, race, beliefs, gestures, manner of talking and walking, and even comorbidities. The following are the some of the personalities shared by people with DID:

Child

The child personality holds the memories of the trauma and abuse endured by the victim. Its main purpose is to free the person from the said emotional burden.

Protector

From the name, this courageous alter protects the person and his/her identities from certain unbearable situations. The other personalities would often feel guilty for being weaker than the protector.

Persecutor

The behavior of the persecutor is patterned based on the person’s abuser. This is a very dangerous personality because he/she may blame, bully, and terrorize the victim which results in suicide attempts, self-mutilation, and other forms of violence to oneself. The persecutor manipulates the patient’s mind into thinking that he/she really deserved the abuse.

Perpetrator

Like the persecutor, this alter is crafted based on the abuser’s character. However, instead of directing the negative and violent behaviors towards the victim, the perpetrator projects such outwards, to the other people. This identity is capable of committing crimes like rape, murder, molestation, and more.

Self-helper

As an asset in therapy, the self-helper is referred to as the advisor and rational personality who can either regulate or eradicate his/her personal emotions. This identity may observe and take note of how the other alters are doing and feeling which aids the therapist in learning more about the personality system.

Different Sex or Sexual Preference

Surprisingly, this identity is created to manifest the beliefs and norms that the victim deem to be unacceptable. However, it may also be a product of the abuser’s persistent demands to play that character.

Different Ethnicity

This alter is constructed through the person’s experiences and interactions with individuals of different races. There is the adoption of qualities and stereotypes from acquaintances and friends. Interestingly, this identity can speak languages that the original personality is unfamiliar/unskilled with.

Nonhuman

An animal alter arises from the event when the child was forced to act like such and even be involved in sexual acts with an animal, typically a dog, by the abuser. On the other hand, a mythological alter is created when the person was a victim of cults and religious fanatics.

Note: The host personality is usually the one that responds to the person’s real/legal name and has control over the body majority of the time.

Symptoms of DID

DID is extremely difficult to diagnose and is often confused with other mental health illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, it is necessary for doctors to carefully observe the different alters and the symptoms.

Amnesia and time loss: inability to remember one’s daily activities, childhood traumatic experiences, and personal information
Depersonalization: out-of-the-body experiences, constant feeling that one is detached from his/her body and is observing from another point of view
No sense of identity: difficulty in having interests, hobbies and opinions
Sudden recollection of past distressing events
Sleep disorders and hallucinations
Mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies
Unusual behaviors and varying handwritings

Treatment Options of DID

In the event that DID is correctly diagnosed, these therapies may be recommended to the patient. Firstly, psychotherapy or talk therapy aims to integrate all the personalities into one entity as well as to understand what triggers the switching. In this method, the therapist may work on understanding the alters and helping the patient accept the triggers and his/her memories. Secondly, hypnotherapy is utilized to induce maximum concentration of the patient for the therapist to gain insight regarding the suppressed memories and to treat troublesome behaviors. Thirdly, adjunctive therapy involves creating art, exploring activities that require movements, or practicing relaxation methods. This is done in a calm and peaceful environment in order to rebuild a bridge to certain parts of their mind that hold the repressed trauma.

Additionally, family and friends of the patient must be properly educated regarding the disorder and must understand the causes. The patient may also join a group that is exclusively for people with DID to be able to find a community that relates to his/her condition.

Note: There is no cure for DID, however, antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs may be prescribed to aid the patient’s mood disorders.

References:

DID: A Complex Coping Mechanism

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