Guide To The Symptoms Of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a complex mental health condition that typically occurs after severe childhood trauma. It used to be called multiple personality disorder, but researchers have since found that patients do not have several personalities. Instead, they have a sense of self that has become fractured enough that the different aspects are no longer integrated. Every case is different, and researchers are still looking into the neurological and psychological components. The disorder has been badly misrepresented in media, and individuals with dissociative identity disorder are no more likely to be violent or predatory than the average population.

Although there are dissociative identity disorder treatments out there, they are challenging. Most patients will require psychotherapy for this condition. In many cases, they will also have hypnotherapy for dissociative identity disorder. Medication is often used when patients also have anxiety or depression, so they will take anxiety medication or antidepressants. Of course, effective treatment for dissociative identity disorder starts with understanding the symptoms.

Multiple Or Split Personalities

The most characteristic symptom of dissociative identity disorder that individuals recognize is multiple or split personalities. However, calling them 'personalities' is questionable. Rather than having multiple personalities, a patient with this disorder has several alternate senses of self (alters) that are not unified as a whole. Alters typically each have their own name, speech, memories, and distinct body language.

When an alter 'fronts,' which means that they are the one controlling the individual's body and interacting with the world, they typically do not have access to the memories of the other alters. This can lead to blackouts, which is where the dissociative portion of the disorder's name comes in. Unfortunately, there has not been enough research proving how alters form neurologically or why. The most prevalent theory is that different alters are a form of self-protection. A protective alter, for instance, may endure abuse so the main 'host' does not have to experience those memories.

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Anxiety And Panic Attacks

Dissociation is a maladaptive way of coping with anxiety. Dissociative identity disorder is more complex than an average anxiety disorder, and treatment also typically needs to be more complex. However, anxiety, panic attacks, and dissociation go hand-in-hand. When a patient dissociates, whether they are letting a new alter take over or simply ceasing to keep contact with the world, they are trying to escape a situation causing extreme stress or pain.

This disorder develops when children dissociate to escape serious trauma, often compartmentalizing their senses of self to survive. When individuals with this disorder encounter situations that make them anxious, they may dissociate. However, they may also have typical symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. Panic attacks look a lot like a heart attack, with a racing heart and squeezing feeling in the chest. They pass within ten minutes. General anxiety can last longer and may include sweating, nausea, elevated heart rate, and shallow breathing.

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Mood Swings

Mood swings are quite common in individuals with dissociative identity disorder. Feelings of emotional vulnerability and volatility tend to run rampant. Many patients do not realize they have this disorder, especially if they are not aware of their alters. For this reason, it is common for this disorder to be misdiagnosed, often as bipolar disorder.

The mood swings with dissociative identity disorder can take several different forms. Moods may seem to shift entirely if the fronting alter changes. From the inside, though, there is not a volatile swing. Instead, it is more like swapping who is in the driver's seat, and the new driver happens to have different emotions. If an individual with dissociative identity disorder is triggered, they may suddenly feel like their emotions and senses have flattened. This is more typical dissociation. There may also be mood swings because of the way different alters have developed psychologically.

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Insomnia

Individuals with this disorder often deal with insomnia. The reasons for insomnia vary, and it is possible that some patients will not have insomnia at all. When there is a level of awareness of the other alters, the patient's mind may race incessantly with thoughts that do not feel like theirs. It may as if their head is a loud, crowded place.

Anxiety can also contribute to insomnia, and patients with this disorder can be more sensitive to anxiety triggers than the average neurotypical person. Some patients are prone to slipping into fantasies and daydreams. This can keep them from going to sleep. Patients also report more strange sleeping experiences than neurotypical individuals. These may include vivid or lucid dreams, sleep paralysis, and sleepwalking.

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Hallucinations

Hallucinations can occur with this disorder, but this is not always the case. One of the most common misconceptions is that dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia are the same condition. Schizophrenia patients often see and hear things that are not there. With classic presentations of dissociative identity disorder, patients do not interact mentally with their alters. However, as more individuals are being diagnosed with this disorder and reporting their experiences, there has been a shift in understanding. Before, a core component of a diagnosis with this disorder was that the alters were not in communication and were completely or partially unaware of each other. However, some patients report they can 'hear' their alters conversing in the form of auditory hallucinations.

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Dissociative Amnesia

Many patients with this condition will experience a severe form of memory loss often referred to as dissociative amnesia. It is vital to note that this symptom is more than normal forgetfulness that everyone will experience. In addition, it must not be explained by another medical condition. This symptom involves patients being unable to recall information about people, events, and even themselves, particularly anything that involves a trauma. It may be specific to events or time, but can in some cases, involve complete memory loss. Patients often experience this symptom suddenly. In most cases, it lasts for a few minutes or hours. Rare cases of dissociative amnesia last for months and years.

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Identity Confusion

Patients with dissociative identity disorder will often deal with identity confusion as a symptom of their condition. This refers to feeling confused about who they are. For instance, a patient with this disorder may struggle to define what interests them or their professional ambitions. Some patients will find it challenging to define their views regarding politics and religion as well. Of course, this symptom goes beyond the normal uncertainty that is natural to experience. Furthermore, patients may also deal with confusion regarding the situation, place, and time they are in.

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Derealization

Dissociative identity disorder patients can also experience derealization as a symptom. This term refers to a mental state in which the affected individual feels detached from what surrounds them. Another way to think about derealization is that surrounding objects and people may seem unreal. They may appear too small or big, blurry, or extremely sharp. Patients have described this symptom as feeling like they are in a fog and that something is separating them from everything else. Sounds may be too loud, soft, or otherwise distorted. Time may stand still, speed up, or slow down.

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Depersonalization

Depersonalization, another potential symptom of dissociative identity disorder, is similar to derealization. However, it is also fairly distinct. Both symptoms involve a feeling of detachment or fog. In the case of depersonalization, this feeling of detachment is linked to the patient themselves. In other words, depersonalization means that patients feel detached from their feelings, body, and thoughts. Many affected individuals describe it as feeling like they are watching what is happening to themselves from outside their body. This feeling is often quite distressing. In some instances, it will only last for a few moments. However, some patients with this disorder can deal with it for much longer and even have it be a common recurrence over several years.

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Abnormal Behavior

Abnormal behavior is another possible warning sign of dissociative identity disorder. However, this symptom alone is not enough for a diagnosis, and many of the others should be present as well. In this condition, abnormal behavior refers to patients finding themselves doing things that are out of the ordinary for them that they would not normally do or think about doing. These behaviors are often reckless ones, including stealing money from family, friends, or their employer and speeding or otherwise engaging in reckless driving. Regardless of the abnormal behavior, individuals with this disorder often say that they feel as if they are being compelled to do these things.