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Dissociative Identity Disorder

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By chanelrivas
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Dissociative Identity Disorder was formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. This was changed in the year 1994 because of further understanding of the disorder, and realizing that the disorder was a result of early childhood trauma. Dissociative Identity Disorder is when a person possesses two or more personalities, which take control of the body and mind at different times. A person who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder forgets and often blacks out at times in which a different personality takes over. This forgetfulness is often described as “beyond ordinary forgetting”. During these times of “blacking-out” is when a secondary personality takes over, and that is the reason for the forgetting. The main identity is called the host identity and often is unaware of the secondary personality or personalities.
Before the 1980’s Dissociative Identity Disorder was a rare disorder that did not seem to have much attention. Dissociative Identity Disorder was not mentioned by more then a sentence in the DSM that was under the category of “hysterical neurosis”. There was no separate listing for Dissociative Identity Disorder until 1980 where a group of interested therapists lobbied to have Dissociative Identity Disorder become a full part of the DSM. (Acocella 6) As defined in the DSM-IV TR Dissociative Identity Disorder is “the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of behavior.” (526)

Dissociative Identity Disorder 2
In the DSM-IV TR in order to diagnose Dissociative Identity Disorder these guidelines must be met:
• Traumatic stressor: The patient has been exposed to a catastrophic event involving actual or threatened death or injury, or a serious physical threat to him- or herself or others. During exposure to the trauma, the person's emotional response was marked by intense fear,

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