Dissociative identity disorder (DID), previously known as multiple personality disorder (MPD) is one of the most controversial mental disorders known to man. Although it only accounts for 1-3% of the general population, it has been advancing quickly. More and more researchers have been trying to find a cure for this mind altering disorder.
Dissociative identity disorder is a condition wherein a person’s identity is fragmented into two or more distinct personalities. The identities are made to cope with different parts of the person’s life. They are unique and distinct from the person’s core personality. One of the personalities is always present, usually being the dominant one. There is no recollection of each other's roles in the body they …show more content…
Paracelsus described this disorder as a state of sleepwalking and switching between a normal consciousness and a “somnambulistic state”. John Locke’s views in the 17th century were that there was an “association of ideas requiring the coexistence of feeling with an awareness of the feelings”. Hypnosis in the late 18th century challenged Locke’s association of ideas and hypnotists described this disorder as second personalities emerging during hypnosis. In the early 19th century epilepsy was seen as a factor and has been controversial to this day. By the late 19th century, there was a general acceptance that emotionally traumatic experiences could be causing factors of long-term disorders. Between 1880 and 1920, many international medical conferences were held devoting mass amounts of time to sessions on dissociation. It was regarded an extremely rare medical curiosity until the mid 1950’s. An extremely famous fictional novel presented as a documentary known as “The Three Faces of Eve” in 1956 described a woman having three distinct personalities. This was the first multiple …show more content…
In 1976 another book, “Sybil”, was published describing a woman’s experience with multiple personality disorder in therapy. “Sybil” was believed to have a total of 16 distinct personalities. Three years later like “Three Faces of Eve”, “Sybil” was broadcasted as a made-for-TV movie where Sally Field won an Emmy for the role of “Sybil”. A connecting factor between both movies is that Joanne Woodward, who previously played the role of “Eve” now played the role of Sybil’s mother. This movie even further opened the public’s eye to the acceptance and perception of this personality disorder. With further study, in 1979 it was found that there had been only two hundred recorded cases in medical history of multiple personality disorder. Dr. George Greaves, Ph.D. former Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Georgia State University and Founder and Past President of the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation reported 37 cases between 1980 and 1971. In 1980 Dr. Eugen Bliss a psychiatrist of the University of Utah had been studying multiple personality