What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID, is one of the most highly misunderstood, misrepresented and stigmatized mental health conditions. Here are some common myths or misconceptions:
DID is rare. DID is not rare at all; it has roughly the same prevalence rates as Bulimia Nervosa (1.5% and 2% respectively in the DSM-V). And the reported prevalence numbers are only of those who sought treatment and diagnosis, which most do not.
If my loved one had DID, I would know. Probably not. DID, at it’s core, is a coping mechanism to protect the self from trauma, and its purpose is to keep trauma and its effects hidden. Especially if you only see the person in one environment (home, school, work, when their children are around, etc), you may never “notice” their DID.
I know what DID looks like. DID shows up in the media as an overdramatized, overt or obvious way of being. In reality, DID is often very covert or secretive. It does not have the big displays of “switching” or dangerous behaviour. Most times it looks like trouble remembering things, situation-specific behaviour, reliance on tools and strategies to cope, being consistently inconsistent and an air of confusion around professionals and service providers.
DID is a disorder. Nope. A disorder is a functional abnormality that disrupts normal function. DID is a normal neurological response to trauma in a person’s early development that can disrupt normal functioning. DID can cause disorder, especially in executive functioning and comorbid disorders (anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, etc). With treatment, functioning can improve, and often people can be incredibly successful and high-functioning.
Treatment is the same as PTSD; it doesn’t matter who I see. While any psychological treatment is better than none, it is best that you see a therapist familiar with the complexities of DID and the impacts of this condition on current “best practice” treatments for PTSD, such as EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, DBR, and TF-CBT.
If you have any questions about the above information or would like to see a specific topic covered regarding DID, please contact us for support.
