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Savannah Elliott

Mrs. DeBock

English IV Honors

23 February 2017

Essential Question: Should Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and other mental illnesses

receive more awareness and treatment across the world?

Working Thesis: Dissociative Identity Disorder and other mental illnesses should receive more

awareness and appropriate treatment across the world.

Refined Thesis: Dissociative Identity Disorder along with other mental illnesses should receive

more awareness because of the severity of the disease and more treatment should be available

for such a psychiatric disease.

Annotated Bibliography

Arbetter, Sandra. "Multiple Personality Disorder: Someone Else Lives Inside Me." Current

Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication, Nov. 1992, p. 17+. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

Sandra Arbetters article describes the psychiatric disease called Dissociative Identity

Disorder, referred to in the article as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Multiple Personality

Disorder is the existence within a person of two or more distinct personalities, which alters a

persons memories, behaviors, physical qualities, and ways of relating to others. A group of

psychiatric disorders called dissociation is where the Multiple Personality Disorder falls, which

is a break in memory, consciousness, or our normal sense of identity. Almost without exception,

people with this disorder have chunks of their life missing due to a traumatic event in their
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childhood and to cope with the trauma they had over the memory to another personality.

Arbetters article will help me address my topic with the basic information of the disorder and

help me specifically support the fact that mental illnesses should receive more awareness and

treatment.

Carey, Benedict. "Preface to 'Is Mental Illness a Serious Problem in the United States?'."

Mental Health, edited by Ann Quigley, Greenhaven Press, 2008. Current Controversies.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 22 Feb. 2017.

Benedict Careys article describes the debate whether mental illnesses are a serious

problem and how to define a mental illness without being too lenient or too harsh on drawing the

meeting requirements. On one side, doctors say that the definition of mental illnesses should be

broad enough to include mild conditions, which can make people miserable and lead to severe

problems later. The other side say definitions should be tightened to ensure that limited resources

go to those who need them the most. The only way to truly discover a mental illness is to observe

behavior and patients answer to questions about how they feel and how severe their condition is.

Over twenty percent of the nation was diagnosed with some sort of mental illness in the previous

year, leading psychiatrists to believe mental illnesses is a rising problem that will only increase

as time goes on. Careys article will help me define what a true mental illness is and stress the

importance of treatment for mentally ill patients.

Clinton, Hillary Rodham. "Mental Illness Is a Disease." Mental Illness, edited by Tamara L.

Roleff and Laura K. Egendorf, Greenhaven Press, 2000. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 23 Feb. 2017. Originally published as "testimony given

by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Steven Hyman to the White House Conference on
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Mental Health," 1999.

Hillary Clintons article recording her White House Conference on mental illnesses with

Steven Hyman asserts that mental illnesses are real and treatable diseases. Steven Hyman,

director of the National Institute of Mental Health, addresses to Hillary that the number of

Americans facing a mental illness is staggering: nineteen million Americans suffer from

depression and more than two million have schizophrenia. Mental illnesses are a real illness of a

real organ, the brain, and just like coronary artery disease is a disease of a real organ, the heart.

Most cases of mental illnesses are genetic disorders and not by family flaw. Psychotherapy is

believed to be a medication work to treat the brain and suppress some of the illness. Clintons

article will help me support my position that mental illnesses need more recognition because

mental illness are a real disease just like any other disease.

Dietrich, Anne. "Dissociative Identity Disorder and Trauma." Encyclopedia of Trauma,

edited by Charles R. Figley, Sage Publications, 2012. Credo Reference, Accessed 22 Feb

2017.

Anne Dietrichs article describes, in detail, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), causes

of this disorder, and treatment goals and processes. Dissociative Identity Disorder is a

psychological disorder that is estimated to afflict from one to three percent of the population and

occurs due to severe childhood trauma. Patients with the disorder experience the existence of two

or more distinct personalities who have alternate identities. Alternate identities may be of varying

ages and genders, with widely varying vocabulary, thoughts, memories, attitudes, and behavior.

Awareness of these different identities ranges from no awareness to complete awareness. Due to

DID being such a unique illness, treatment is scarce. Experts view the goal of treatment is

integrated functioning, with increased communication among the identities and better
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coordination of behavior; this treatment is, at minimum, suggested for three to five years.

Dietrichs article will help me get into further detail about DID and the severity of the illness.

"Involuntary Treatment Is Warranted for the Severely Mentally Ill." Mental Illness, edited by

Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, Accessed 23 Feb. 2017.

This article describes the Treatment Advocacy Centers (TAC) recommendation of

assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) for mentally ill patients. AOT promotes availability and

accessibility for those that are most at risk. This treatment allows the courts to order outpatient

treatment for people with severe mental illnesses who are least able to help themselves or most

likely to prevent a risk to others. Most people with a mental illness do not and can not realize

they are sick because the illness affects their brain, therefore they refuse medication or treatment;

AOT does not take away someones civil rights for this reason. Patients who have participated in

an AOT program have had only positive feedback and 75% said AOT helped them gain control

over their lives. This article will support my position on how mental illnesses need treatment and

how treatment is available that works and cures the mentally ill.

"Mental Illness Is Prevalent in America." Mental Illness, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven

Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

Accessed 22 Feb. 2017.

This article describes the rapid rate of people being diagnosed with mental illnesses

throughout America and the minimal awareness being received. Mental illnesses is something

people whisper about but it is out there on every corner and affects one in five people. The

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) gives each state in the U.S. a grade on their
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implementing evidence-based practices to treat mental illnesses, their health courts, and an

efficiency in law enforcement training. No state received a A and the national average was a

D. Families are receiving little to no financial help treating a mentally ill spouse; some families

spending $10,000 a month out of pocket for treatment. NAMI estimates the cost of untreated

mental illnesses is $100 billion dollars per year and ones affected can face homelessness,

incarceration, substance abuse and suicide. This article will help support my position that their

needs to be more awareness and action taken to treat people who suffer from a mental illness.