A complex mental process known as disassociation allows children and adults to survive very painful situations, such as rape or incest. The memory of a traumatic experience is blocked from one's ongoing memory, which creates a temporary mental escape from the pain of the trauma. Because this process can produce changes in memory, people who frequently disassociate cannot recall important personal information.
Repeated disassociation can result in separate “beings”, or mental states, being created within one person, a condition known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly called multiple personality disorder. These identities, also called "alters" or "personality states," eventually assume their own distinct personal history, self-image, and identity. At least two of these identities take control of the person's behavior at a time.
Women are diagnosed with this disorder far more often than men. Symptoms can include depression, mood swings, suicidal tendencies, sleep disorders, panic attacks, substance abuse, hallucinations, amnesia, trances, and eating disorders. Treatment often consists of individual therapy, medications for specific mood or anxiety symptoms, education about the illness, social skills training, learning better communication and coping skills, and group support. Among severe psychiatric disorders, this disorder may have the best prognosis, if properly diagnosed and treated.
The vast majority of individuals who develop Dissociative Disorders have documented histories of repetitive, overwhelming, and often life-threatening trauma at a sensitive developmental stage of childhood (usually before the age of nine), and they may possess an inherited biological predisposition for dissociation. In our culture the most frequent precursor to Dissociative Disorders is extreme physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in childhood, but survivors of other kinds of trauma in childhood (such as natural disasters, invasive medical procedures, war, kidnapping, and torture) have also reacted by developing Dissociative Disorders.
Current research shows that DID may affect 1% of the general population and perhaps as many as 5-20% of people in psychiatric hospitals, many of whom have received other diagnoses. The incidence rates are even higher among sexual-abuse survivors and individuals with chemical dependencies. These statistics put Dissociative Disorders in the same category as schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, as one of the four major mental health problems today.
Most current literature shows that Dissociative Disorders are recognized primarily among females. The latest research, however, indicates that the disorders may be equally prevalent (but less frequently diagnosed) among the male population. Men with Dissociative Disorders are most likely to be in treatment for other mental illnesses or drug and alcohol abuse, or they may be incarcerated.
Yes. Dissociative Disorders are highly responsive to individual psychotherapy, or "talk therapy," as well as to a range of other treatment modalities, including medications, hypnotherapy, and adjunctive therapies such as art or movement therapy. In fact, among comparably severe psychiatric disorders, Dissociative Disorders may be the condition that carries the best prognosis if proper treatment is undertaken and completed. The course of treatment is longterm, intensive, and invariably painful, as it generally involves remembering and reclaiming the dissociated traumatic experiences. Nevertheless, individuals with Dissociative Disorders have been successfully treated by therapists of all professional backgrounds working in a variety of settings.
Reprinted from 4woman.gov and sidran.org