Dissociative Identity Disorder

What is it?
A person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. (Myers, 2006) Also know as Multiple Personality Disorder

What causes it?

There is no proven specific cause of DID (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) It is thought that one way that some individuals respond to being severely traumatized as a young child is to wall off those memories. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) Ex. One child was used in child pornography and was scarred from being made to sit on a stove burner. (Myers, 2006)

Why are there skeptics?

Ask why many more individuals who have endured the stress of terrible abuse as young children do not develop the disorder. (DrydenEdwards, 2011) DID is significantly more often assessed in individuals in North America compared to the rest of the world. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) This leads people to believe that DID is significantly more often assessed in individuals in North America compared to the rest of the world. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011)

Are they right?

One explanation is that given the highly complex and unknown nature of the human brain and psyche, many of those whom one would expect to develop dissociative identity disorder are spared due to their resilience. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) DID have been found to have personality states that have distinctly different ways of reacting, in terms of emotions, pulse, blood pressure, and blood flow to the brain. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011)

How do you treat DID?

Psychotherapy is generally considered to be the main component of treatment for dissociative identity disorder. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) Hypnosis is sometimes used to help increase the information that the person with DID has about their symptoms/identity states. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) As DID is often associated with episodes of severe depression, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be a viable treatment . (Dryden-Edwards, 2011)

Criteria for DID (American Psych, 2000)

A. The presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states (each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking the environment and self) B. At least two of these identities or personality states recurrently take control of the person's behavior C. Inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness D. The disturbance is not due to the direct physical effects of a substance (e.g., blackouts or chaotic behavior during Alcohol Intoxication) or a general medical condition (e.g., complex partial seizures). NOTE: In children, the symptoms are not attributable to imaginary playmates or other fantasy play.

Interesting facts and figures

occurring in females nine times more often than in males. (Dryden-Edwards, 2011) Name was changed to reflect a better understanding of the condition. (Wiley, 2008)

VIDEO

Citations
Myers, D. G. (2006). Psychology. (8th ed.). New York: Worth Pub. American Psych, A. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, dsm-iv-tr.. (4th ed. ed.). Arlington VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. Dryden-Edwards, R. (2011). Dissociative identity disorder. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/dissociative_identity_disorder /article.htm Wiley, J. (2008, October 10). Psychology today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/dissociativeidentity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder

Questions (not for the slide presentation just for the quiz DO NOT PUT ON POWEROINT PRESENTATION)
1. What is the most believed cause for DID? A. Childhood Trauma B. There is no cause that most people believe C. Suicide D. It just happens
2. What is a reason that skeptics use to say that DID is not really real? A. No one has claimed to have it B. All the people who claim to have DID were alcoholics C. Because No one believes that DID exists D. Many individuals who have endured the stress of terrible abuse as young children do not develop the disorder. 3.What is DID? A. A disorder that means you forget your whole life and start a new one. B. A disorder in which you must paint everything red C. A disorder when a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. D. A disorder when a person exhibits signs of forgetfulness at random times.