Joseph Chance

What is dissociative identity disorder?

Thanks for asking.

Still to this day, this psychological condition is most often referred to by its previous name, multiple personality disorder.

That's in particular down to exaggerated representations in popular culture like books, TV, or cinema.

Some prominent examples are the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, or more recently, Split,

Experts have criticized the use of DID as a plot device in such representations, saying they often confuse it with other disorders like psychosis or schizophrenia.

They also perpetuate certain myths about people with mental illnesses.

These include the idea that they are usually dangerous or have flamboyant personalities.

So what is DID really like then?

It was defined in 1994 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a publication by the American Psychiatric Association.

Diagnosis of DID requires the existence of at least two distinct identities, which take turns in control of a person's behavior.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, it affects between 0.01 and 1% of the population.

But statistics vary and diagnosis takes a long time, with individuals spending an estimated seven years in the mental health system before being diagnosed accurately.

Patients affected with DID experience significant memory gaps relating to daily events.

They may forget personal information relating to their lives, who they are, where they're going or what their job is.

During those lapses, they are in what's known as a dissociative state.

Of course, we all experience dissociation from time to time.

It could be when we daydream or get lost in a book or movie, for example.

We lose touch with awareness of our surroundings.

But in DID sufferers, these states reach another level, known as depersonalization.