Recognizing multiple personalities aka dissociative disorder & bull; hello healthy

Dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple or multiple personalities multiple personality disorder , is a complex psychological condition in which the sufferer has two or more different personalities, and in turn takes over the consciousness of the individual who experiences it.

Some of us often experience dissociation, aka situations where we get carried away, daydreaming , while daydreaming or while at work. Dissociative identity disorder is a more severe form of dissociation, resulting in a person losing control over thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, and awareness of their identity. These different identities usually have different names, different temperaments, even self-image which is also different.

What causes multiple personality disorder?

There is no definite explanation why a person may suffer from dissociative identity disorder. Although many factors are involved in this disease, people with dissociative identity disorder usually have a background of traumatic experiences, especially during their childhood. This traumatic experience can take the form of repeated emotional abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse. Because of this experience, a person then seems to create a self-defense mechanism by creating another personality outside of his consciousness in order to escape the intense trauma he has experienced.

Symptoms of dissociative identity disorder aka multiple personalities

• The main characteristic of multiple personality disorder is the emergence of two or more different personalities who take turns taking over or controlling themselves.
• Each of these personalities has a different name, mindset, habits, speech style, physical characteristics, and even writing style.
• Signs such as depression, excessive anxiety, frequent feelings of guilt, and aggression can appear. Both audio and visual hallucinations are also possible. During childhood, people with dissociative identity disorder also have a tendency to have behavioral problems and have difficulty focusing at school.
• Mood changes (mood swings), panic attacks, phobias, eating disorders, sleep disorders (such as insomnia and sleepwalking), excessive headaches, and erectile dysfunction also commonly accompany dissociative identity disorder.
• Memory problems are also often encountered, especially memories related to current and past events, the people involved, the place, and the time. Each personality in one person may have different memories. When the passive personality is taking over, the memories that emerge are usually vague or even contradictory to the original event. Meanwhile, a more dominant or protective personality has a more complete memory of an event. So it is not uncommon for sufferers not to remember why they were there at a certain time and place.
• Each personality usually appears because there is a trigger. When one personality takes over, this dominant personality may ignore the other personality or even experience a separate conflict. Transitions from one personality to another are usually triggered by psychosocial stress.

What is the difference between dissociative identity disorder and bipolar disorder?

Sharing more or less the same characteristics and symptoms, dissociative identity disorder is often mistaken for bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is the occurrence of unusual changes in mood, energy, and activity. This disorder is also called manic-depressive illness, in which the sufferer will experience two phases, namely manic and depressive. The manic phase occurs when the patient feels he has a lot of energy, is excited, and is more active than usual, causing difficulty sleeping, speaking very fast, feeling able to do various things at one time, and tends to do risky things. While the depressive phase is the opposite of the manic phase. These two phases are very different and the differences between them tend to be intense and drastic.

The main difference between bipolar disorder and dissociative identity disorder is the causes. In dissociative identity disorder, past trauma tends to be the main trigger for the disorder. Meanwhile, in bipolar disorder, brain structure, genetics, and heredity play a greater role. The changes between one personality and another in dissociative identity disorder are more often triggered by psychosocial stress, while in bipolar disorder there is a clearer pattern. For example, the manic phase occurs for one week followed by the depressive phase for 2 weeks.

Therapy for people with dissociative identity disorder

Treatment for people with dissociative identity disorder can last for years. Several types of therapy are recommended for people with dissociative identity disorder, namely:

• Psychotherapy: in adults, psychotherapy can last for five to seven years. The main goal of therapy is to "unite" several existing personalities so that they become one whole personality. Psychotherapy also helps sufferers deal with traumas that trigger other personalities. The steps taken usually study what personalities appear, overcome trauma, and unite several existing personalities into one.
• Family therapy: conducted to provide more clarity to families regarding dissociative identity disorder. Inform the family what changes will occur and observe for signs or symptoms of personality changes.
• Treatment: although there is no specific drug that can cure dissociative identity disorder, symptoms such as anxiety and depression can be treated with antidepressants.