1

Alex Aguilar
Psychology 101
Professor Seeley
October 3, 2017
Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly and most widely known as a multiple personality

disorder, is a state in which a persons identity is merged into two or more personality states.

This usually occurs as an effect of different types of severe trauma. This particular disorder

piqued my interest due to my curiosity as to how the body and brain cope with trauma. Rather

than having more than one personality, its more equivalent to your single personality being split

into different fragments. People who suffer from this disorder often claim that it feels as if you

are being possessed by an entire different being. Memory loss is also common with this disorder.

People with this disorder experience a plethora of varying symptoms. However, a big one

is memory loss. The individual cannot recall specific times, personal history, people, or events.

Out of body experiences are also recurrent. As though you are a bystander, watching your own

body and self move. In addition, people who suffer from this disorder usually are diagnosed with

depression or anxiety as well. Loss of or decrease in emotion or feelings has also been associated

with DID. Most importantly, the individual loses their sense of self and has trouble remembering

who they are. The summation of these symptoms make it difficult for the individual to coexist

within society.

To understand the external effects of dissociative identity disorder, it is important to

analyze what is going on inside the brain, internally. People who suffer from DID have two

separate places where they store their memories. One place for normal memories, another with

traumatic memories. The process by which chemicals in your brain communicate with other

structures is compromised after experiencing the trauma that causes DID. Because of this

alteration to your bodies processing mechanism, depression, mood swings, and the ability to

perceive and process events correctly is severely impaired. Said aforementioned structures will

decrease if exposed to prolonged trauma. This chemical imbalance affects the structures that are
 2
Alex Aguilar
Psychology 101
Professor Seeley
October 3, 2017
in charge of your normal memories, ergo the progressive exacerbation of amnesia. The

communication pathway between the left and right hemispheres of your brain are weakened and

may shrink, creating a significant decrease in communication between hemispheres. Studies find

that individuals with DID possess neurochemical, neurological and patterning differences in their

brains. Trauma may very well cause neurological deficits to humans.

DID is most common with females. However, it can affect anyone. Women are nine

times more likely to experience DID. (Medical Daily) Statistically women are more prone to

experience sexual abuse which explains the increased probability of females being diagnosed

with DID. Truddi Chase, a woman who sustained years of sexual abuse, split her mind into 92

different personalities as an effect.

Long term psychotherapy and medication are common treatments for this disorder. This

disorder does not spontaneously go away with time. Cognitive and creative therapies are also

viable options to treat DID. No specific medications will completely treat and relieve this

disorder but antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs or tranquilizers aid in the control of the mental

health symptoms associated with it.

A possible research question further analyze the magnitude and impact of DID, could be:

What specific neurological deficits derive from prolonged exposure to the trauma that cause

dissociative identity disorder and how will they affect an individual over time? A hypothesis to

test this question could be: If a person experiences prolonged trauma, then the neurological

damage will be more severe.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_identity_disorder
 3
Alex Aguilar
Psychology 101
Professor Seeley
October 3, 2017
https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Dissociative-Disorders

https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-

personality-disorder

https://emilyfirstgirl.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/whats-going-on-in-the-brain-with-did-

biological-markers-in-did/

http://www.medicaldaily.com/multiple-personality-day-2015-dissociative-identity-disorder-no-

joke-women-9-times-324186