Download Modern History Paper – Dissociative Identity

Running head: DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
Kiera Bengtson
Elements of Health
Modern History Paper
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Professor Janousek
November 10, 2015
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DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
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Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative identity disorder (DID), previously known as, multiple
personality disorder, “is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process which
produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or
sense of identity (‘Dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder)’,
n.d.) DID is most likely caused by severe trauma during early childhood, such as
repetitive physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. It is thought to be a coping
mechanism, where the person dissociates himself or herself from the situation that
is too traumatic, painful, or violent for their conscious self to deal with. “As many as
99% of individuals who develop dissociative disorders have recognized personal
histories of recurring, overpowering, and often life threatening disturbances at a
sensitive developmental stage of childhood (‘Dissociative identity disorder (multiple
personality disorder)’, n.d.)
There are three major dissociative disorders defined in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, they are dissociative amnesia, dissociative
identity disorder, and depersonalization-derealization disorder. “Dissociative
amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated
with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember
important personal information (‘What is Dissociative Amnesia?’, n.d.).”
Depersonalization-derealization disorder, “involves an ongoing or episodic sense of
detachment or being outside yourself (Mayo, 2014).”
Signs and symptoms of dissociative identity disorders include, but are not
limited to, memory loss of certain time periods, mental health problems, such as
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depression, a sense of being detached from yourself, a blurred sense of identity, and
significant stress or problems in your relationships or other aspects of your life
(Mayo, 2014). These symptoms can last a few minutes, hours, or come and go over
many years. Diagnosing a person with dissociative identity disorder can be a long
process, “it is estimated that individuals with dissociative disorders have spent
seven years in the mental health system prior to accurate diagnosis (‘Dissociative
identity disorder (multiple personality disorder)’, n.d.) The reason for this is
because dissociative disorders can have symptoms and treatments that are like
other psychiatric diagnoses. Many people are often diagnosed with secondary
disorders such as depression, anxiety, or even panic attacks. There are no drugs to
treat dissociative identity disorder, “It’s hard to get treatment and there’s no quick
fix, but psychotherapy helps (CNN, 2008).” There are also other therapy’s, such as
talk therapy, psychosocial therapy, which “involves talking about your disorder and
other related issues with a mental health provider (Mayo, 2014).” Although there
are no specific medications to treat dissociative identity disorder, doctors often
prescribe antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications to help control symptoms
that are associated with the disorders.
Herschel Walker was a 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, pro football player,
Olympian, and a person with Dissociative Identity disorder. In the CNN article,
“Herschel Walker reveals many sides of himself,” Walker’s therapist talks about how
there is twelve separate alters that Walter has, ones that are described by their
function, “the hero, the coach, the enforcer, the consoler, the daredevil, the warrior
(CNN, 2008).” Dissociative identity disorder is a childhood disorder, which isn’t
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usually diagnosed until adulthood, and that’s how it was for Walker. After football
had been out of his life, his alters became stronger and more prevalent. A reason
that this could be is that, “his alters were no longer focusing on a common goal
(CNN, 2008),” which was football.
Dissociative identity disorder can be portrayed as a lot of things, scary, funny,
weird, and traumatic. People with dissociative identity disorder, or any other
dissociative disorder suffer from a lifetime of struggling personal relationships,
mental health problems, and even just being able to cope with a situation in a usual
way. Just because there is no cure for dissociative disorders, doesn’t mean that as a
society, we cannot help those who need it. Mental disorders are ever so prevalent
today, and we need to start taking the steps to finding cures to make sure that no
one else has to go through these rough times.
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References
Dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder). (n.d.). WebMD.
Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identitydisorder-multiple-personality-disorder#1
Staff, M. C. (2014). Dissociative disorders treatments and drugs. Mayoclinic.
Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociativedisorders/basics/treatment/con-20031012
What is Dissociative Amnesia? (n.d.). WebMD. Retrieved from
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-amnesia
CNN, M. F. (2008, April 15). Herschel Walker reveals many sides of himself.
CNN. CNN. Retrieved from
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/04/15/herschel.walker.did/