Dissociative dissociative disorder of identity what is it how does it manifest itself and can it

This is one of the most mysterious personality disorders, which the creators willingly present in books, films and series. However, while putting aside fictional stories, let’s consider what really causes this disorder, what its symptoms are and what they mean for the patient and his loved ones.
Dissociative disorders exist in the International Classification of ICD-10 under the code F44 and are one of the health problems that psychiatrists all over the world are concerned about. Perhaps it is precisely because of a certain mystery and not fully known causes and the course of the disorder that it continues to fascinate more and more crowds of creators and recipients of culture, so it is also increasingly popular. Currently, it is estimated that the largest number of people affected by the disorder live in the United States. It is also supposed to affect women more often than men.
Mysterious symptoms of the disorder
Dissociative identity disorder involves the presence of at least two personalities in one person. The most famous cases of this disorder recorded in medical literature, however, speak of at least a dozen or so or, as in the case of Billy Milligan, who was probably the most famous figure struggling with this disorder in the world, with as many as 24 completely different personalities.
Dissociative personality disorder is one of the dissociative disorder, consisting in a kind of split personality. This dissociative personality disorder is interesting, however, because it may include completely different personalities, which manifest not only different patterns of behavior, but each of the personalities may even have a completely different identity and memories. What is more, individual personalities usually do not know about each other’s existence, although with more identities, it is more likely that they can know about each other’s existence and even influence or help each other.
Causes of dissociative personality disorder
Although the unequivocal cause of this type of disorders has not been fully understood, specialists believe that this peculiar separation of personality arises as a defense mechanism against trauma, which the person is not able to cope with. Because of this, dissociative disorder is most commonly suffered by people who in their childhood had contact with traumas related to sexuality (e.g. sexual harassment, rape), death (several deaths in the family, death of a close relative) or the image of war (PTSD). Dissociation is supposed to be a way for these people to protect their primary personality against trauma, with which they do not know how to cope in any other way than by educating one or more “people”, usually completely different from their primary personality, i.e. having qualities that will allow them to cope with trauma (e.g. a quiet and closed person creates an extroverted and noisy personality).
Treatment of disorders
Dissociative disorder is usually treated by means of psychotherapy based on various methods, combined with pharmacological support. By understanding and stabilizing the patient’s condition, very good results can be achieved. During treatment, the patient learns to control his or her personality, as well as to recognize the moment of “transition” of one personality to another. Working on a dissociative disorder reduces the risk of further separation of the patient’s personality and allows him or her to function normally in society.
Some also note that the symptoms of dissociative personality disorder, especially in more severe cases where treatment lasts for years, are more effective when supported by the treatment of spiritual issues, such as not forgiving those who have harmed the patient. In such cases, people with this disorder are also advised to seek advice not only from a psychiatrist or therapist, but also from a clergyman, especially if the patient is a religious person. It also happens that psychiatrists refer some patients to clergy, who not only provide them with sacramental assistance, but also try to examine whether they are exposed to supernatural forces (possession, harassment, etc.).
Dissociative disorder and its media image
Since this disorder is intriguing and somewhat mysterious, it is often the subject of interest of artists and media creators. People suffering from dissociative disorder are sometimes turned into heroes of popular films and series. Recently, dissociative personality disorder has again had the opportunity to “appear in the media” thanks to the aforementioned story of the suffering American Billy Milligan, a man with as many as twenty-four completely different personalities, who had not only different traits and memories, but also many other aspects, such as age, gender.