Causes and Treatments of Dissociative Identity Disorder

CAUSES AND TREATMENTS OF DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER (DID)

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly know as multiple personality disorder or split personality disorder is a mental disorder in which a person displays two or more distinct identities. Each identity is completely different to the other. On occasion they can appear nice, helpful or friendly and without warning they could become selfish, arrogant and cruel. This disorder is basically caused by environmental and biological factors and it can be treated through in-patient treatment as well as memory therapy.

One cause of this disorder can be linked to the environmental factor that is closely related to childhood trauma, often physical or sexual abuse or both. Ninety-seven to ninety-eight percent of people diagnosed with multiple personality disorder were either physically or sexually abused as children (Causes of DID in Children and Parents Role in Managing the Children, 2008). It is actually the result of repetitive childhood physical and/or sexual abuse and other forms of trauma (e.g., Putnam, 1985, cited in What is the cause of dissociation and dissociative disorders?, n.d.). This alternate personality then acts as a defence mechanism. So, many times when a young child is subjected to abuse, the disorder appears to help them cope by cutting off difficult memories, making them seem as it is happened to someone else (Pearson, 2004).

However, DID may also occur due to emotional abuse even though there are no physical or sexual abuse. In this case, children tend to become dissociative in families in which the parents are frightening, unpredictable, are dissociative themselves, or make highly contradictory communications (Blizard, 2001; Liotti, 1992, 1999a, b, cited in What is the causes of dissociation and dissociative disorders?, n.d.). Besides, it also occurs due to shock resulting from the death of some close person or any traumatic incidents (Causes of DID in Children and Parents Role in...