Multiple Personality Disorder

CEBU, Philippines - It is pretty normal for a person to daydream, dissociating himself from the hard realities for a while and imagining himself to be someone else. This is, to most people, a kind of escape or a coping mechanism in the face of a difficult situation. But the problem begins when the person prefers to dwell in his imaginary life than in the real one.

Some people are so uncomfortable with themselves that they long to be another person. They hate themselves because they don't live up to their ideals. Some of these people would even temporarily forget who they are and live the kind of person they wish they were.

The condition can get severe and develop into multiple personality disorder, also known as dissociative identity disorder. People with this disorder lose their connection to their thoughts, memories, feelings, actions and even their personal identity. This has been found in people with traumatic experiences that they want to escape from.

The disorder is characterized by having two or more distinct personalities that have control and power over the person's behavior.  Someone having the disorder might have tendencies of inability to recall some personal information to a degree beyond simple forgetfulness. 

Distinct memory variations are also observed among people afflicted with multiple personality disorder. Some assume alter egos of a different age, sex or race. Others take on certain professions, maturity level and religious, political and other positions.

They may also exhibit different outward behavior, like speech patterns and mannerisms particular to the operative personality.  At times they even manifest behaviors of infants, even animals.

As each personality reveals itself and controls the individual's behavior and thoughts, it's called "switching." Switching can take seconds to minutes to days. Symptoms of a looming or full-blown disorder include depression, mood swings, suicidal tendencies, sleep disorders, anxiety, alcohol or drug abuse, compulsions and rituals, auditory and visual hallucinations and eating disorders. Other symptoms are headache, amnesia, time loss, trances and out-of-body experiences.

Someone with this disorder may also find himself doing things that he doesn't usually do like over-speeding, reckless driving, self-sabotaging and violence.

Drastic environmental triggers or life events can cause a person to suddenly shift from one personality to another. However, the causes of dissociative identity disorder are not very clear. Several researches cite that it may be a psychological response to the certain stresses. It could start during early childhood when emotional abuse and struggles happen while the personality is still developing.

Dissociation may also happen when there has been persistent emotional abuse, even when there has been no overt physical abuse. In families where parents are frightening and unpredictable, the children may become dissociative.

No specific cure for dissociative identity disorder has been devised, either. But a long-term treatment can help as long as the patient is committed. The therapy usually includes talk therapy or psychotherapy, hypnotherapy and adjunctive therapy. (FREEMAN)