Multiple Personality Disorder Essays (1520 words) -

Multiple Personality Disorder The most famous dissociative disorder is Multiple Personality Disorder, also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). It is estimated that one in one hundred people may suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder and other Dissociative Disorders. With correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment, people have the potential for complete recovery. Multiple Personality Disorder is a condition in which a person has more than one identity, each of which speaks, acts and writes in a very different way. Each personality seems to have its own memories, wishes, and (often conflicting) impulses The symptoms of an individual with Multiple Personality Disorder are 1.) lack of appropriate emotional response 2.) memory loss, lost time, not knowing what they have said or done 3.) feeling dream like 5.) experiencing dissociation which might include dizziness, headaches, numbness in body, spontaneous trance states 6.) not remembering childhood or major life events 7.) recurrent depression 8.) anxiety, panic, and phobias 9.) self destructive thoughts and behavior 10.) substance abuse 11.) eating disorders 12.) sexual dysfunction, including addictions and avoidance 13.) flashbacks, intrusive thoughts and images of trauma 14.) low self esteem, and feeling damaged and/or worthless 15.) shame 16.) somatic pain syndromes 17.) sleep disturbances: nightmares, insomnia, and sleepwalking and 18.) alternative states of consciousness or personalities. Many people displaying MPD have experienced events they would like to forget or avoid. The causation of Multiple Personality Disorder is when an individual has suffered severe, horrific, traumatic, unavoidable, persistent physical or sexual abuse in childhood. Also many people displaying MPD appeared to be skilled at self- hypnosis through which their psyche comes forward as a coping mechanism, to protect them from the pain ( they create a self- induced hypnotic like trance) which allows the individual to escape psychologically. Most people suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder found that they could escape the trauma of abuse at least temporarily by creating new personalities to deal with the stress. ( Braun, B. (1988). The BASK model of dissociation. DISSOCIATION, 1, 4-23. American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. ( 4th ed) The separate personalities known as alters, are usually unknown to the host personality, which operates the body most of the time. Alters can take many forms, but few types are common. Some typical manifestations include a depressed or hurt child, an internal caretaker, a strong angry protector, and an envious protector who is angry with the host. Although these represent the most common alter personality types, the reported list of variations is fairly long and includes perpetrator alters, avenger alters, opposite sex alters, different race, and even non- human alters. Most of the writings dealing with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder reports that individuals with the illness flow in and out of the various personalities as the environment changes, usually unaware of what is taking place. (Putnam, F.W. (1989). Diagnosis and treatment of multiple personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press. There are many theories which attempt to explain DID, but the central component in all of them appears to be that the disorder occurs as a protective reaction to severe childhood trauma. Essentially, the self appears to dissociate, or split into separate and distinct personalities in an effort to repress the pain and terror of some tramatic event. The trauma is often sexual in nature. There is one such theory that implies that the blocked pain, terror, and awareness create compartments in the mind, which hold the unprocessed feelings. When these compartments leak says the theory, the person has flashbacks, panic attacks, and nightmares. Individuals stricken with DID may experience the onslaught of the disturbance suddenly or gradually, and the symptoms may become worse over a long period of time. Recent studies indicate that the age of onset is nearly always childhood, and that it is much more common among women then men; as much as three to nine times more. Those who warn that DID/MPD is alarmingly common mental illness and cite numerous studies and a long list of statistics in support of its legitimacy. For example: in a 1990 study which appeared in The Journal of Occupational Therapy, J.F. Higdon stated, The past two decades have seen a marked increase in the diagnosing of this disorder, and we are seeing a significant increase in the number of cases. Another study, conducted by B.G. Braun in the American Psychiatric Press and The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, revealed an increased complexity of the cases. With a patient population of over 1,000 under examination, the study reported 95% - 98% of the patients had suffered a history of child abuse. Another