DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER

SYMPTOMS

The psychological processes of dissociative identity disorder influence the way a person sees life in numerous ways, including the following:

• Depersonalization. The sense of being removed from one’s body is usually referred to as an “out-of-body” experience.
• Derealization. It is the sensation that the world is unreal, cloudy, or far away.
• Amnesia. It is when a person cannot remember vital personal info that is so vast that it cannot be attributed to regular forgetfulness. 
• Identity confusion. Both of these are characterized by a sense of doubt regarding a person’s identity when they have problems describing the things that interest them in life, their political, religious, or social perspectives, their gender or sexuality, or their career objectives.

People with dissociative disorders may suffer from a variety of mental symptoms in addition to dissociation and multiple or split identities, such as the following:

• Depression
• Mood changes
• Suicidal behaviors
• Sleep problems (insomnia, sleepwalking, night terrors)
• Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias
• Abuse of alcohol and other drugs
• Rituals and compulsions
• Auditory and visual hallucinations
• Eating disorders

DIAGNOSIS

Dissociative disorders are diagnosed by doctors based on a study of symptoms and personal history. A doctor might conduct tests to rule out medical conditions that might produce symptoms like memory loss and a sensation of disconnection from reality. When medical explanations have been ruled out, a mental health professional is frequently contacted for an assessment.

TREATMENT

Although there is no “cure” for dissociative identity disorder, long-term therapy can help if the patient is determined. Some of the therapies are as follows:

• Psychotherapy. It is often known as talk therapy; it addresses whatever started and continues to trigger DID. The idea is to “fuse” the many personality features into a single personality capable of controlling the triggers. 
• Hypnotherapy. Clinical hypnosis can be used in conjunction with psychotherapy to assist in accessing blocked memories and managing some of the troublesome behaviors.
• Adjunctive therapy. Art and dance therapy, for example, have been demonstrated to assist patients in reconnecting with portions of their minds that they have shut down to cope with trauma.