DID is one of several dissociative disorders, which affect a person's ability to connect with reality. Some other dissociative disorders include:
- Depersonalized or derealization disorder --- leads to a feeling of detachment from one's actions
- Dissociative amnesia --- difficulty remembering information about oneself
What causes dissociative identity disorder (DID)?
DID usually results from an individual experiencing sexual or physical abuse during their childhood. It may also result from other traumatic events, such as experiencing a natural disaster or engaging in combat. The disorder is an avenue that allows an individual to distance/detach themselves from traumatic events.
What are some of the signs and symptoms of DID?
An individual's "core" identity is the person's usual personality, and "alters" are the person's alternate personalities. The alters tend to be very distinct from one another, often having different genders, ethnicities, and ways of interacting with their environment and others.In addition to having "alters," individuals may also experience anxiety, delusions, depression, disorientation, substance abuse, memory loss, and/or suicidal thoughts or self-harm.
What is the treatment for dissociative identity disorder?
Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is the most effective way to manage and treat DID. There are many different ways that psychotherapy can be utilized to manage and treat DID:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) --- based on the belief that negative thought patterns can lead to negative behaviors and emotions
- Ex. someone with DID that has experienced abuse may continually expect their relationships to result in negative outcomes. CBT would work on challenging this negative belief and reframing the thought pattern, with the ultimate goal of producing a more positive behavior.
- Can help the individual process past traumas and learn how to cope with the depression that can often be associated with DID
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) --- focuses on change and acceptance and is comprised of 4 main skills:
- Distress tolerance --- learning how to manage overwhelming feelings
- Mindfulness --- learning how to be aware of the present moment and one's surroundings
- Interpersonal effectiveness --- learning how to communicate effectively and voice concerns, needs, and boundaries in a relationship
- Emotion regulation --- learn how to understand emotions and how to move on from strong feelings without acting on them
- Schema Therapy --- a schema is a mental framework that an individual develops to help them process their experiences. When individuals have developed trauma, as can be the case with DID, they often have negative schemas and lack positive coping skills. Some of the goals of schema therapy include:
- Helping an individual identify their schemas and work through negative ones
- Increase awareness of memories and emotions from childhood, bodily sensations, and beliefs that accompany them
- Help an individual gain control over how they respond to environmental triggers
- Locating healthy ways to get their core emotional needs taken care of
- Not allowing past traumatic memories to have power over them
What are some coping strategies for DID?
- Practicing mindfulness --- focusing thoughts and attention to the present moment can help someone with DID become more accepting of uncontrollable events
- Exercising --- being physically active can help reduce some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression that can co-occur with DID
- Maintaining a healthy diet --- avoiding excess processed sugar/foods can lower inflammation in the body; inflammation can contribute to worsening anxiety and depression symptoms
- Getting adequate sleep --- helps reduce the symptoms of DID
- Identifying triggers --- through talk therapy, an individual can identify their personal triggers for a dissociative episode and learn how to manage or avoid those triggers
Here at Madrigal, we are committed to addressing dissociative identity disorder holistically to help you reach your best potential.
*This information was adapted from the Cleveland Clinic and VeryWell Mind. Click here and here to learn more information.*