Hello and welcome to The Asylum Collective! We're so glad you decided to join us and read about what it's like to live with DID. Our very first post will explain what DID is, how it happens, and the symptoms that go with it.
What is DID?
DID stands for Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. It's a dissociative disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states, referred to by the DID/OSDD community as "alters". The disorder affects 1-3% of the general population (that's millions of people worldwide!), and this only counts those who have been diagnosed.
How is DID caused?
DID is designed by the brain to be a protection system, as it's caused by severe repeated childhood trauma. The trauma can be emotional (psychological abuse, neglect), physical, or sexual abuse. It doesn't matter which type; if a child feels unsafe for a long-term period of time, they could be at risk for developing DID.
Current research states that DID develops before age 9, during early childhood. Children are naturally creative and imaginative; sometimes, during traumatic experiences, they can use the imagination to pull themselves away from what they are experiencing to protect themselves. This is an example of dissociation.
Dissociation can present in many different ways, and we as humans spend a lot of our lives in a dissociative state, such as daydreaming. This is a huge part of how DID develops. Often times, children take comfort in animals and fictional characters they like. When they feel unsafe, they may turn to these concepts as a way of protecting themselves; in the case of DID, their brain creates an alternate personality state to hold the traumatic memories and experiences that the child needed protection from, using dissociation. This is how DID forms.
What are the symptoms of DID?
DID is a very covert disorder, meaning you wouldn't be able to tell that someone has it by just looking at them. Despite popular belief, the symptoms don't present outwardly. If you aren't supposed to know that someone has DID, you won't know they have it.
Someone with DID may experience the following symptoms:
Dissociation
Depersonalization
Gaps in memory, amnesia (difficulty remembering certain periods of time, personal information, personal skills, past traumatic events)
Flashbacks
Struggling to maintain personal, occupational, and social functioning
Auditory hallucinations, such as people talking
Self-harm or suicide ideation
Depression
Anxiety
Extreme shifts in mood, personality, and behaviour
Intrusive thoughts, emotions, or impulses
DISCLAIMER: That being said, just because you experience some of these symptoms, it doesn't mean you have DID. This list is NOT a diagnostic tool; if you think you may have DID, consult a psychiatrist.
Diagnostic Criteria in the DSM-V
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-V; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) is the reference that psychiatrists use to diagnose their patients. Please be aware that we only included this for educational purposes; this is NOT to be used as a diagnostic tool. As mentioned above, please consult a mental health professional if you're concerned that you may have DID.
Below is a list of the diagnostic criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder, as defined by the DSM-V:
"A. Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states, which may be described in some cultures as an experience of possession. The disruption in identity involves marked discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency, accompanied by related alterations in affect, behavior, consciousness, memory, perception, cognition, and/or sensory-motor functioning. These signs and symptoms may be observed by others or reported by the individual.
B. Recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/ or traumatic events that are inconsistent with ordinary forgetting.
C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
D. The disturbance is not a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice. Note: In children, the symptoms are not better explained by imaginary playmates or other fantasy play.
E. The symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., blackouts or chaotic behavior during alcohol intoxication) or another medical condition (e.g., complex partial seizures). " (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Myths and Misconceptions
Myth: People with DID are violent.
Fact: People with DID are way more likely to be victims of harm.
One of the biggest misconceptions tied to the stigma of DID is that the people who have it exhibit violent tendencies. A common representation of DID in the media is that the person has an alter with a harmful disposition, or an "evil alter". This is completely fabricated; the film industry is especially bad for making DID seem a lot scarier than it actually is. Examples of this would include "Split" (and its sequel, "Glass"), "Sybil", and "Psycho" (Alfred Hitchcock). Although it may seem that some of these examples depict DID with a bit of accuracy, I encourage readers and viewers alike to take it with a grain of salt.
Myth: DID is very rare.
Fact: DID affects 1-3% of the diagnosed population, making it just as common as schizophrenia, if not more.
1-3% may not sound like much, but when applied to the worldwide population, that still calculates to be millions of people across the planet. DID is very common, and the statistics have only risen as social acceptance grows at a slow rate.
Conclusion
DID is a real, diagnoseable dissociative disorder. It's still very stigmatized today, despite being around for decades and its diagnostic criteria in the DSM-V, by communities and doctors alike. That's why we're running this blog, to help others with understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder.
And that covers our crash course in Dissociative Identity Disorder. We hope that it helped in shedding some light on this complicated mental health condition. Stay tuned for future posts!
Note
As this website is still very new, we'd love to hear your feedback! Was there something in this article we missed? Was there any misinformation? Let us know in the comments! We want to make sure our educational posts are as accurate as can be, so we encourage readers to reach out if anything can be improved. Thank you for your cooperation!
Glossary
alter
An alternate personality state with their own mental processes, worldviews, mannerisms, and behaviour; a member of a DID or OSDD system.
dissociation
The common psychological occurrence that describes a sense of separation from one's conscious awareness.
dissociative disorder
A mental health disorder that is characterized by frequent dissociation that impairs functioning in daily life.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
A dissociative disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states.
DSM-V
The 5th Edition of diagnostic criteria for various mental health disorders, written and used by the American Psychiatric Association.
Multiple Personality Disorder
The former and outdated term for Dissociative Identity Disorder.
trauma
An emotional response to a severely distressing situation or event.
system
The term used to describe someone with DID and their alters as a whole.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Bettino, K. (2021, March 13). What are the symptoms of dissociative identity disorder? Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/health/dissociative-identity-disorder-symptoms
Bruises, B. A. (2023, April 21). DID Myths and Misconceptions — Beauty after Bruises. Beauty After Bruises. https://www.beautyafterbruises.org/blog/didmyths
Dissociative Identity Disorder: what you need to know | McLean Hospital. (2022, August 29). https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/did