Academic Assignment: Dissociative Identity Disorder and its representation in the media

This essay will look at Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and its portrayal in the media. DID was formally known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).This essay will cover the symptoms of DID, the criteria used for diagnosis, causes and triggers of disorder, how the disorder is portrayed in the media and the reality of the disorder for sufferers.
According to the (American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders pg 519) Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of the individual’s behaviour accompanied by an inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. It is a disorder characterized by identity fragmentation rather than a proliferation of separate personalities.
Multiple Personality Disorder is more commonly known as a person with a split personality or a schizophrenic. This is most common in the form of alter egos. The personalities need to interact with the environment by taking control of the person’s behaviour. According to http://www.minddisorders.com/Del-Fi/Dissociative-identity-disorder.html the name of the disorder changed from ‘Multiple Personality disorder’ because ‘Dissociative Identity Disorder’ because DID is a much more accurate description of the disorder as it ‘emphasises the disruption of the person’s identity that characterises the disorder. A person with the illness is consciously aware of one aspect of their personality but is still completely unaware or dissociated from other aspects of it.
The cause of this disorder is thought to be trauma. Found in (Diagnosis and Treatment of Dissociative Disorders, Allen and Smith, 1995) the disorder is ‘generally regarded as a product of repetitive, severe trauma in childhood’. This seems to be the main cause of the disorder, the example shown in (Dissociative Identity Disorder: Diagnosis, Clinical features and Treatment of Multiple Personality, Second Edition, Ross, 1997) states that ‘DID is a little girl imagining that the abuse is happening to someone else. This is the core of the disorder to which all other features are secondary. The imagining is so intense, subjectively compelling, and adaptive, that the abused child experiences dissociated aspects of herself as other people’. This quotation simply explains how the personality of a person becomes dissociated and also describes how the traumatised individual feels when their personality becomes fragmented. It also explains that severe physical or sexual abuse during childhood could be another cause. It seems that in most cases the second personality is created to protect the person from whatever it is that is going on around them. It is almost as if the created personality that is created becomes a superhero version of that individual. Neurological causes of DID such as brain damage, brain disease or dementia are not accounted for as these conditions also produce amnesia, depersonalisation and derealisation. Seeing as the cause of DID mostly seems to be trauma, a high rate of patients who have DID have a history of severe repeated child abuse, according to (Dissociation: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives, 1994, pg 147) most studies find that patients report extremely high rates of childhood sexual and/or physical abuse, however these findings do not show that child abuse causes DID. It simply contributes to the risk of it happening.
This relates to the portrayal of DID sufferers in the media. According to the DSM-IV-TR, people more susceptible to getting DID than the general population; seem to be relatives of the first-degree to someone who already has the disorder. This could suggest that another cause of DID is biological, through genetics. The cause of Dissociative Disorder is usually due to a trauma that happens in a person’s life. The split of personality happens because the brain detaches itself from the trauma. This creates a second personality that becomes detached from the conscious personality. The second personality is created so that the traumas and stress of life can be dealt with and still be detached from the person.
The information found in the two books is valid sources for research because they specialize in discussing all the major aspects of the disorder and also explain some of the history behind common beliefs about the disorder.
There are various symptoms to this disorder, which include:
• Multiple mannerisms, which do not relate to each other
• Hearing voices of different personalities in their minds
• Panic attacks that are frequent
• Flashbacks to traumas
• Hallucinations
• Poor concentration
• Erratic behaviour
• Depersonalization- watching oneself while doing something and having no control over it The diagnostic criterion of Dissociative Disorder includes a number of various characteristics that a typical schizophrenic has.
The criteria for 300.14 Dissociative Identity Disorder consists of:
• The presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states (each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and self)
• At least two of these identities or personality states recurrently take control of the person’s behaviour
• Inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness
• The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. blackouts or chaotic behaviour during Alcohol Intoxication or a general medical condition (e.g. complex partial seizures) this was taken from American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, pg 529.
Unlike the common belief, DID is not the same as schizophrenia because schizophrenics do not have multiple personalities, but they do have hallucinations and hear voices. The two disorders are often mixed up due to the symptoms being the same if not similar. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is diagnosed to its patients via the above criteria, who are interviewed by a psychiatrist.
Although the film, A Beautiful Mind focuses on schizophrenia, it shows how people who suffer from dissociative disorders deal with them in their day to day lives.
Co morbidity is how likely a sufferer of DID may have another disorder. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_identity_disorder#Comorbidity) states that sufferers of DID usually have the disorder along with other psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress, mood disorders and somatoform disorders. Post traumatic stress disorder seems to be one of the major associates to DID because it is extreme trauma that creates DID. When the brain decides to dissociate itself from a particularly stressful and traumatic experience, a second personality is made. It is as though that personality is specifically made just to deal with traumas and highly stressful situations.
In the media there has been a sudden raise in the popularity of alter egos. Calling them alter egos also seems to disarm the taboo that comes with having a split personality.
The oldest examples of alter egos can be found in popular stories such as Mr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde and Superman. The story behind Mr. Jerykll and Dr. Hyde was that nobody seemed to know which one was the real person.
Superman of course did not have a split personality as such more of an alter ego. However some would argue that he does have a split personality as Clark Kent needed to change into the dashing and handsome superman to deal with Sin City most notorious villains.
Most of the Marvel creations use the technique of creating two identities for both their superheroes and super villains. This created a difference between a good and a bad alter ego, which leads onto the question are all alter egos bad or are some of them good?
More recent entertainment hype over alter egos is shown by the international superstar Beyonce, whose alter ego is known as Sasha Fierce. She apparently is known as the girl she becomes when the singer is on stage performing. However in Beyonce’s case, the host personality is fully aware of the second one and so shows that she is by far not a sufferer of DID. She merely created the alter ego for news and entertainment purposes. This does enquire me to question whether or not we can make up alter ego or are they just other sides to our personality, so does that mean we all have DID but it takes a big situation to set it off?
The presentation of DID in the media can be shown through films, TV series and documentaries. The most recent and probably vivid example of DID is seen in the American TV series Heroes. The character called Niki Saunders has a sister called Jessica. It is Jessica who is the second personality.
In the series there is a distinctive difference between Niki and Jessica. Niki is portrayed as much more vulnerable and weaker then Jessica. The alter ego of this character almost portrays Nikki as she wishes to be. The difference between the two personalities is very evident when they interact with different characters and also when they ‘fight’ each other for control. The way that Niki and Jessica are portrayed by the media is as though they are unstable. This may be true for her character and also for members of the general public who suffer from this disorder, but does that mean that they are a danger to themselves and society. It is almost as if Jessica is a villain version of Niki.
In reality, sufferers of DID do not act as shown in the media, they prefer to hide the fact that they have the disorder and are usually in denial about it. From media portrayal and speculation on the subject, is it any wonder why these people do not advertise it? Take the film ‘A Beautiful Mind’ for instance, the character John Nash believed he lived with his best friend, meet his friend’s niece and also was a secret agent. In fact these three people were all a part of his hallucinations. The film shows the extent that people go to hide the truth and also the denial they face when trying to come to terms with it. Although the film is based on a different dissociative disorder it relates to the reality that DID sufferers face because both disorders are so similar and affect people’s lives in the same way. The inaccurate portrayal in the media of such disorders is deliberate to increase interest, improve entertainment and maybe to help others to understand how sufferers feel and what they go through.
This essay covered what DID is, the causes or triggers of DID, the diagnostic criteria of DID, the symptoms of DID, co morbidity and the representation of DID in the media. In conclusion, I think that the media representation of DID blows it out of proportion, the alienation of sufferers of the disorder and similar disorders makes it hard for these people to come to terms with it and also to address it and control it. I think that the inaccurate portrayal of the disorder has been used for entertainment purposes and also to create monsters out of people, for films or programmes that are thrillers, horrors or sci-fis.

Bibliography

Allen and Smith, Diagnosis and Treatment of Dissociative Disorders, 1995

American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), 2000, Fourth Edition

Lynn and Rhue, Dissociation: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives, 1994

Ross, Dissociative Identity Disorder: Diagnosis, Clinical features and Treatment of Multiple Personality, 1997, Second Edition