What is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)? Do you know someone who has it? Do you think you may have it?

  • DID used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)
  • According to the National Alliance of Mental Illiness (NAMI) it is described as a "dissociative disorder involving a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate and distinct personality states (or identities) control the individual's behavior at different times."
  • People who have it, may not know that they actually have it- instead they may be experiencing boughts of amnesia or memory loss, which prompts them to seek initial professional help.
  • Auditory and Visual hallucinations affect about a third of those diagnosed with DID according to NAMI.
  • DID can often be misdiagnosed as schizophrenia.
  • Some kind of trauma can often trigger DID- so that the person develops multiple "personalities" or "alters" that help them "cope" with the trauma.
  • There is debate whether DID is really an appropriate diagnosis among professionals.
  • It also is a primarily North American diagnosis.
  • There is a high co-morbidity rate with having DID along with Borderline Personality Disorder, PTSD, and schizophrenia.
  • Two websites that are VERY helpful to look into what types of symptoms DID presents with as well as how it is treated:

http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Dissociative_Identity_Disorder_(formerly_Multiple_Personality_Disorder).htm

http://www.medicinenet.com/dissociative_identity_disorder/article.htm

Remember: If you have someone in your life diagnosed with DID, or you have DID, there IS help out there. Try locating a therapist and psychiatrist in your area if you haven't already. You can also reach out to therapists like myself who are online on sites like LivePerson to get you started in the right direction.

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