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Dissociative Identity Disorder Research Paper

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Dissociative Identity Disorder
What Is This Disorder Many personality disorders can come from child abuse, one of the more complex disorders is Dissociative Identity Disorder. “Dissociative identity disorder, formerly referred to as multiple personality disorder, is a condition wherein a person's identity is fragmented into two or more distinct personality states. People with this rare condition are often victims of severe abuse.” ( Psychology today 2017). This disorder starts off just as dissociation, which is the separation of normally related mental processes, resulting in one mental process functioning independently from the rest. “The different personality states usually have distinct names, identities, temperament, and self-image. …show more content…
People with this disorder often do not even recognize what is going on or that they even have a problem. “People with DID experience amnesia and "waking up" in one personality only to find that another personality has previously done something he or she would consider completely out of character. These situations are very difficult to understand and successfully coping with dissociative identity disorder requires significant treatment.” (Healthy place 2017). A huge problem with this disorder is trying to diagnose it. “A doctor may perform tests to rule out physical conditions that can cause symptoms such as memory loss and a sense of unreality (for example, head injury, brain lesions or tumors, sleep deprivation or intoxication). If physical causes are ruled out, a mental health specialist is often consulted to make an evaluation.” (NAMI 2017). Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder look a lot like schizophrenia, other personality disorders, and temporal lobe epilepsy, because the symptoms are the same as many other psychological problems most people are wrongly diagnosed and because of that they are not treated correctly. Because Dissociative Identity Disorder is such a complex disorder it is really hard to live …show more content…
The main type of therapy given to those who suffer from this disorder is called psychotherapy; which is a treatment for mental disorders by using a more psychological approach then a medical approach. “Psychotherapy's main goal for treatment is the integration of the separate personality states into one cohesive, unified personality, unless the person with DID is not ready or motivated to work with trauma. Psychotherapy for dissociative disorders often involves techniques that help work through the trauma that triggers dissociative symptoms. Treatment may include the following stages: uncovering and "mapping" the alters or parts; treating the traumatic memories and "fusing" the altars; and consolidating the newly integrated personality.” ( AAMFT 2017). This type of therapy can take many years to be effective, so it takes a lot of dedication to try and get better. Besides psychotherapy, people also take cognitive and creative therapies, antidepressant drugs,anti-anxiety drugs or every tranquilizers to help lessen the symptoms. Even though this disorder is not completely curable, with the right help people who have Dissociative Identity Disorder can regain their life

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