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What is Dissociative Personality Disorder?
A mental health condition where a person has two or more separate identities.
What is Dissociative Personality Disorder commonly referred to as?
Multiple Personality Disorder
How alters can a person have?
Up to 100 alters
About how many cases of Dissociative Personality Disorder are there in the US?
Fewer than 200,000 cases per year
The term "alters" refers to...
The person's alternate personalities
Dissociative identity disorder is way for someone to...
Distance or detach themselves from trauma
What are things each identity has?
A name, their own personal history, traits, likes and dislikes
The "core" identity is the person's...
Usual identity
How does this disorder affect a person's life?
It can lead to gaps in memory and hallucinations and affects the person's ability to connect with reality
What are the symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder?
Anxiety, delusions, depression, disorientation, drug or alcohol abuse, memory loss and suicidal thoughts and/or self harm
What is the most effective treatment for DID?
Psychotherapy
Dissociative Identity Disorder is commonly misdiagnosed as...
Schizophrenia
How are alters different from one another?
Alters can have different genders, ethnicities, interests, and ways of interacting with their environment
Dissociative Identity Disorder is a result of...
Sexual or physical abuse during childhood
It is important for families who have members with DID to be...
open and understanding and to view the person as a whole
What did people initially think DID was?
A case of possession
What was the first documented case of DID?
The first case was documented by exorcists Jeannae Fery in 1584. They detailed her symptoms for over 21 months which 100% matched to a diagnosis of DID
Those with DID back then were labeled as...
Hysterics
Who and when was the first person to be OFFICIALLY diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder?
How many alters did he have and what was the cause?
Louis Auguste Vivet in 1882. He had 10 alters as a result of many traumatic attacks/"attacks of hysteria"
What does therapy for DID focus on?
Identifying and working through past trauma or abuse, managing sudden behavioral changes, and merging separate identities into a single identity