AKA - DID
What are dissociative disorders?
You may be diagnosed with a dissociative disorder if you experience dissociation regularly and these episodes of dissociation are severe enough to affect your everyday life.
You might experience dissociation and find it difficult to cope with even if you don't have a dissociative disorder (for example it might be a symptom of another mental health problem). You can still seek help for this.
This page has information on:
Dissociative identity disorder
Derealisation and depersonalisation disorder
Dissociative amnesia (with or without fugue)
Other specified dissociative disorder (OSDD)
Unspecified dissociative disorder (UDD)
Dissociative identity disorder (DID).
Dissociative identity disorder used to be called 'multiple personality disorder'.
If you have dissociative identity disorder you will experience severe changes in your identity. Different aspects of your identity may be in control of your behaviour and thoughts at different times.
Each of your identity states may have different patterns of thinking and relating to the world.
Your identity states may come across as different ages and genders.
You may feel you have one 'main' part of your identity that feels most like 'you' - some people call this a host identity.
The different parts of your identity may have memories or experiences that conflict with each other.
Some people call these different parts of your identity 'alters' or 'parts'.
You might not have control over when different parts of your identity take over.
You may suffer from amnesia which means you don't remember what happens when another part of your identity is in control.
I have many separate, distinct and unique ‘parts’ of my personality. My ‘parts’ or ‘alters’ collectively add up to the total person that is me... They are each a letter, and I am a sentence.
See PODS and First Person Plural for more information on DID.
Do I have multiple personalities?
Dissociative identity disorder is still sometimes called multiple personality disorder (MPD). This is because many people experience the changes in parts of their identity as completely separate personalities in one body. In fact the parts of your identity are all part of one personality but they are not joined up or working together as a whole.
Dissociative identity disorder is not a personality disorder. It is the result of a natural way of coping with sustained childhood trauma.
Other dissociative disorders.
There are a number of other dissociative disorders.
The diagnosis you are given will depend on the symptoms you experience most and how these affect your life.
These are the main symptoms or characteristics of each disorder;
Depersonalisation or derealisation disorder you will experience regular depersonalisation or derealisation.
dissociative amnesia you will be unable to remember important information about who you are, your life history or specific events
dissociative amnesia with fugue experience a state of mind where you forget everything about who you are (a fugue). In the fugue you may travel to a new location and act like a different person in a different life.
other specified dissociative disorder (OSDD)have dissociative symptoms that don't fit into any other diagnosis. The person making your diagnosis will explain why your symptoms don't fit into any other diagnosis.
unspecified dissociative disorder (UDD)have dissociative symptoms that don't fit into any other diagnosis but the person making your diagnosis hasn't explained why not or doesn't have enough information to make a full diagnosis (for example in an emergency)
Other mental health problems.
Many people with dissociative disorders have other mental health problems too. These can include:
borderline personality disorder
depression
anxiety and panic attacks
suicidal feelings
hearing voices
OCD