30 December – Dissociative Identity Disorder

30 December 2007

Well, this is my first post.  On my blog, I will discuss important things that have happened in psychology as well as important insights I am discovering in my own life and therapeutic practice.  Today, 30 December, for example, in 1905, Morton Price published his book entitled, The Dissociation of Personalities.  In this book, Price presented his views on a client of his whom he diagnosed as having multiple personalities.  Interestingly, multiple personality disorder, as it came to be known (or “dissociative identity disorder,” as it is currently known), has taken on a life of its own – no pun intended.  In fact, during the 1950s, it became such a fad diagnosis that two movies were developed that portrayed famous case studies of individuals who had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.  These two films, Three Faces of Eve (1957) and Sybil (1976) did a great deal for exposing the conditions in which people who had been diagnosed with this disorder.  Yet, due at least in part to the likely overexposure, the name of the diagnosis subsequently changed.  Now entitled “dissociative identity disorder” (as indicated above), the core condition of the diagnosis involves a “dissocation” (or splitting off of mental states) into more than one identity.  Individuals with this diagnosis can present with identities of different age, gender, and, sometimes (albeit rarely) species.  One theory is that the individuals are splitting off components of themselves, due in part to traumatic experiences.  The dissociation, then, is a protection (or to use a Freudian term, a defense mechanism).  Whatever the case, the different identities are often quite distinct.  As such, it is sometimes quite disturbing to see someone shift into such distinct identities.   Still, I think that we can see components of this sort of presentation in virtually everyone.  I certainly see this in therapeutic practice and in my everyday life where people spend so much time putting on an image (e.g., image managing) and attempting to people please that they lose their own identity in relationships in the process.   That is, they are disinguine so much that they begin to believe the inauthentic self that they have created in order to please others.  The paradox is that they are never in a true relationship and, as such, become displeased with themselves.  Now, they have two identities – not unlike the individual diagnosed with DID – one of which has become so central to their life that they believe it is themselves, but they dislike it, and the other whom they might like and want to be, but still feel like they have to hide it because they believe that others won’t like it.  In the end, there is a vicious narcissistic cycle of disenchantment begun by a process of trying to create an image that they hope will make them feel better.  What an ironic paradox…and what a horrific outcome!  Fuel for thought, I guess…head to my website GivingPsychologyAway.net for more fuel for thought regarding psychology.