Symptoms of DID

Dissociative Amnesia

When a person with DID is switching between their alters, they frequent memory gaps, some are not even aware of there being a different alter residing in them.

These different alters may at times be very different than the “host” (the main person), for example they might be different in personality, temperament, behavior, accent, and may hold different memories, some alters will have memories of traumatic events, while others may not have them at all.

The constant switching and memory gaps lead to a forgetfulness, as described by the DSM-5, unusual with ordinary day to day forgetfulness, that is not explained by substance intake or physical injury.

This forgetfulness can be as far as forgetting one’s names and other important personal history.

By: Erika Ruiz Nunes

Derealization

This is an extreme form of dissociation, where there is a feeling of disconnection from the world around you and feeling that the world you are in is not real, people with derealization describe it as watching the world from a third perspective and not being part of the world around them. (Kind of like watching a character in a game)

Derealization happens as a defense mechanism from stressful situations, the feeling that one is not real detaches you from the stress happening.

However, if the derealization persists even after the traumatic situation is over, this can lead to an interference with daily functioning, increasing risks of anxiety, depression and a loss of productivity.

Depersonalization

Because DID is caused by trauma from an early age, many people with DID find themselves struggling with other mental health problems, including depression, anxiety or C-PTSD.

Depersonalization happens when there is a disconnection from thoughts, feelings, memories, and physical sensations, a morbid feeling feeling like you’re watching yourself from outside your body.

Joanne Woodward .. Faces of Eve

Identity Alteration

People with DID will experience a drastic change in their identity between different alters, these different alters may be perceived as a completely different person residing in the same body, taking a change in behavior, personality, tone among other elements.

The constant changing of identities between different alters leads to a confusion about one’s own identity, thus an unstable sense of self.

There have been cases of people with over 100 different alters, for some people these alters may have minor differences, however some can be as different as in sexuality, accent, languages spoken, posture, etc.

Warning Signs of DID

Although there are warning signs that someone has DID, they still might be hard to recognize not only because people who have DID are often quiet about their symptoms, but they may be misinterpreted and misdiagnosed to other similar mental illnesses.

Gaps in memory - Due to dissociative amnesia, people with DID will experience many gaps in their memory and forget things to an unusual extent (whereabouts, personal information, objects), even if the forgotten information is not

Feeling disconnected - People with DID most often experience episodes of dissociation from the world,

Suicidal Thoughts - Due to the fact that many people with DID are dealing with cases of childhood trauma, this might lead to other mental illnesses, and suicidal ideation

Extreme shifts in mood - The constant changing of alters of people with DID may lead to a perceived shift in mood from an outside perspective

People with DID are usually not open about their symptoms, so it is harder to recognize.

Living with DID:

Due to the nature of DID, where there are periods of dissociation and confusion through the changing of alters, these symptoms make living day-to-day life harder.

By: Kazi Rahatul Zannat

Problems in work: Constantly dissociating from reality means that there will be a lack of attention and focus in work, there is a much less significance in getting work done when nothing feels real.

Problems in relationships: Past traumas, and common misconceptions of people with DID may lead family and other relationships not being able to fully comprehend symptoms, the different thought patterns of each alter may also make it harder to communicate.

Mental health problems: As DID is closely tied to experiencing past traumas, and the common occurrence of people with DID not speaking up about their symptoms, they shift to other coping mechanisms, it is uncommon for people with DID to subvert to the use of substances to cope.

Page updated