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Dissociative Identity Disorder Analysis

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Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is the “severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual” (psychologytoday,2018,1). Dissociative Identity Disorder was first diagnosed in the late 1800s by Doctor Jean-Martin Charcot. This disorder affects about 1 percent of the United States population. This disorder is more common in females than it is in males. For example, Britney Spears has suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder since 2008. Some of her alter egos include, “The British girl, other alter egos include the weepy girl, the diva, and the incoherent girl” (Ranker, 2018, 1). Therefore, many people have this disorder without anybody even knowing …show more content…

The first myth is that Dissociative Identity Disorder isn’t real. This is false because in 1980 it was released into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III). The second myth is that Dissociative Identity Disorder is the same as Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychotic illness which does not involve alternate personalities or dissociation. The third myth is that people with Dissociative Identity Disorder are violent, but they are no more violent than “normal” people. The last myth says that Dissociative Identity Disorder is a personality disorder. Dissociative Identity Disorder is a dissociative disorder because instead of extreme emotional reactions with the world, Dissociative Identity Disorder people lose contact with themselves (Peisley, 2017, 1). Dissociative Identity Disorder has also been depicted in many movies. For example, Me, Myself, and Irene with Jim Carrey is about a 17-year veteran of the Rhode Island Police and without his medicine his personalities come out. This is false because no medications can “get rid” of the disorder. Another movie about Dissociative Identity Disorder is Frankie and Alice starring Halle Berry who is a black stripper seeking therapy from an imperious white racist. These two movies are other great examples of misconceptions of Dissociative Identity Disorder.As stated above, this disorder has many different misconceptions of the true meaning of Dissociative Identity Disorder that everybody needs to be aware

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