Dissociative Personality Disorder – Symptoms and Treatments
Dissociative Personality Disorder
Dissociative Personality Disorder is a mental illness in which the suffering person experiences at least two distinct identities or personality states, also termed as alters. Each of these identities or personality states has its own consistent way of relating to the world. Many individuals with this disorder have personality states that react in an entirely different way, in terms of blood pressure, emotions, pulse and, blood flow in the brain. 
This disorder was earlier referred to as multiple personality disorder (MPD), is now also known as multiple personality disorder. Many past studies have indicated that about 4 percent of the patients in psychiatric hospitals suffer from this disorder. It occurs nine times more often in the females than males. However, this may also be due to difficulty in identifying this disorder in males.
Many professionals have the opinion that Dissociative Personality Disorder does not even exist. This skepticism amongst them is mainly due to the reason on why other individuals who have also endured still severe stress of terrible abuse as children do not develop this kind of disorder, why children are not diagnosed with this disorder, and why some people suffering from Dissociative Personality Disorder do not have any history of tremendous trauma. One reason forwarded by for these inconsistencies is that given the unknown nature of human psyche and brain, many of those who would have developed this disorder are spared mainly because of their resilience. Another big concern regarding the diagnosis of Dissociative Personality Disorder is having to rely on the past traumatic memories of all those who suffered from this disorder.
That Dissociative Personality Disorder is mostly assessed in people in North America as compared to the rest of the world leads many practitioners to conclude that Dissociative Personality Disorder is actually a culture-based myth and is not actually a disorder. As with various other mental health issues, its symptoms in adults look quite different from those found in children. Many studies have verified the presence of this disorder by using multiple resources have added to the credibility of the diagnosis. Extensive research on the people with Dissociative Personality Disorder with little media exposure to the information on this illness lend credibility to the reliability of the diagnosis.
Symptoms of Dissociative Personality Disorder
1. Memory lapses (dissociation) regarding the significant life events in life, such as weddings, birthdays, and so on.
2. Amnesia- This is one of the biggest Dissociative Personality Disorder symptoms. Multiple personalities cannot talk with each other. So, when one personality takes over to cope with the danger or stress, the other personality just goes to sleep. If any person claims memory loss during the stress, he or she may be suffering from dissociate disorder. The diagnosis of this disorder is quite complex and just one symptom may not be sufficient to point to this disorder and every case needs in-depth analysis before any conclusion.
3. When a person experiences blackouts in time, thereby finding himself in places but fails to recall how one traveled there.
4. When a person finds items in his possession, but fails to recount as to how he acquired them.
5. When a person encounters unfamiliar people but they seem to know him as having met earlier.
6. When a person is frequently accused of telling lies, but in reality he never believes that he is lying. For instance, when told of certain things that they fail to recall.
7. When they are called names they are totally different from their own nickname, or name.
8. Detachment, depression and anxiety- Though all these are general symptoms, but it is important to watch out for them.
9. Distorted Perception-A person with Dissociative Personality Disorder may start questioning what’s real and what isn’t. A person will feel more detached from his life, and may start feeling that many things in life are not real.
Some of the treatments offered to a Dissociative Personality Disorder patient may include:
Psychotherapy – It is the primary treatment recommended for Dissociative Personality Disorder. This therapy (also called psychosocial therapy, counseling or talk therapy), involves talking about this disorder with some mental health professional. Patient is helped by the therapist in remembering and working through the trauma which initially triggered all these Dissociative symptoms. The psychotherapy course is often long drawn and painful, but this approach is quite effective in treating Dissociative Personality Disorder.
Creative Art Therapy – In this therapy, a creative process is used for helping people who may face difficulty in expressing their feelings and thoughts. Creative art therapy often includes dance, drama, poetry, movement, art and music. Creative things like painting, pottery and music are encouraged during this treatment as they can help in assimilating the past and present.
Medications – Though there is no specific medication for specifically treating Dissociative Personality Disorder, various medications such as tranquilizers and anti-depressants are quite common in treating this condition, as suffering people may have mood disorders or anxiety and various medications are used for controlling various mental health symptoms that are associated with the Dissociative Personality Disorder. Mostly medications are not recommended as effective use and maintenance of prescriptions for multiple personality states is not possible to attain. Any medication that is prescribed should be closely monitored.
Alternative Medicines – In some cases, therapists recommend hypnosis, as a part of treatment for Dissociative Personality Disorder. Hypnosis helps in creating a state of deep relaxation and calms down the mind. When a patient is in hypnotized state, it is possible for him or her to concentrate on specific thoughts, sensation or feeling while blocking out any distractions. This is also an effective treatment in uncovering all repressed memories and also stop certain behaviors as carried out the alters like eating disorders and self mutilation. Generally, hypnosis is totally safe because it is used as a complimentary method. Many doctors also use yoga and botanical medicine for treating Dissociative Personality Disorder. 
Self Help – Many online self-help groups for people suffering from Dissociative Personality Disorder have been doing their part in mitigating the suffering of people inflicted by this disorder. Aside from this, there are traditional in-person self help groups that are providing the much needed healing touch.
