Everything You Need To Know About Dissociative Identity Disorder

Differential Diagnoses

In large part due to symptoms that can appear in multiple conditions, dissociative identity disorder can also be mistaken for or diagnosed as something else. Speech from other personalities in an individual with DID can be mistaken for auditory hallucinations, such as in schizophrenia, or the other way around.

Differential diagnoses are also influenced in part by the belief of some that DID may not exist. Other conditions doctors may consider and individuals may be diagnosed with include borderline personality disorder, rapid-cycling bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder, among others. Due to the number of conditions even somewhat similar to dissociative identity disorder, it is crucial for doctors to take the time to accurately assess and diagnose their patients. This will be incredibly beneficial in the long run, particularly for treating the condition.

Dissociative Disorder Treatment

Although not all dissociative disorders require the patient to be hospitalized, those who present danger to themselves can surely benefit from it as being in the hospital. It allows them to be separated from stressful situations and ongoing traumas that can be a trigger, and it protects them and those around them by keeping the patients from harming.

Different therapies can be quite effective at treating dissociative identity disorder. Psychotherapy is the most common, guiding the patient to identify their symptoms and develop coping skills, hypnosis or a drug-facilitated interview, is used to access the subconscious of the patient, and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) allows the patient to reprocess hidden traumas safely.