Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a complex mental condition characterized by the presence of multiple distinct personalities (alters) within one individual, often stemming from severe childhood trauma, and requiring management rather than a cure.
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Suppose your body is a ship,
and you are the captain.
This ship is completely under your own control.
Every action and decision is taken by you.
For many people,
this is what happens their whole life.
But what if there was more than one captain?
What if there were 2,
or 5,
or even 10 captains on the ship?
Each captain has their own destination
and each waits for their turn to control the ship.
This may sound quite complicated,
but this is the reality for people
with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).
DID is a mental disorder
that has raised many questions.
What do people with DID experience?
What causes DID?
And is there a way to cure it?
To answer all these questions,
let's take a look at this video.
Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID
is a condition in which one individual
has two or more personalities.
These different personalities are also known
as an "Alter-Ego" or an "Alter".
In contrast, the original or primary personality
is known as the "Host".
The main characteristic of DID is "Dissociation"
or a sense of detachment from one's own mind.
A person with DID will experience this
when the current personality is taken over by an Alter.
This phenomenon is known as a "switch".
When under the control of one of the Alters,
the "Host" may not be fully aware.
As such, when the "Host" regains control of the body,
they may not remember anything that happened
while the Alter was in control.
However,
there are sometimes situations when the main Host
can see what is happening while an Alter is in control.
However, this can only happen
if the Alter allows it.
A person with DID
can have hundreds of Alters.
But the average number of Alters for a person with DID
is around 10 Alters.
Each Alter has its own consciousness.
Each have their own names
as well as unique personalities that differ from the Hosts.
When an Alter takes over a Host,
their demeanor,
manner of speaking,
mannerisms,
posture,
and many other aspects of personality
can change completely.
For example,
a person with DID who is right-handed
may become left-handed
when a left-handed Alter takes over.
Alters can also differ in gender
and age from the host.
Some people with DID
even have alters that are not human.
Each Alter has its own role.
Therefore,
they have different forms.
For example, a robotic Alter
may take control in order to suppress emotions
in tense and stressful situations.
So, what exactly causes DID?
DID is thought to arise from severe trauma
experienced repeatedly as a child,
such as sexual abuse.
The theory is that
Alters are created to protect children
who are going through a traumatic event.
By containing the trauma,
they separate pain away from other Alters and Hosts.
The most extreme example of DID is Jeni Haynes,
who has more than 2000 alters
as a result of being sexually abused by her father
when she was a child.
His first alter
was a little girl named “Symphony”
who took over when Jeni was being abused.
If you are still skeptical about DID,
you might be surprised to hear that
Symphony along with 5 other of Jeni's Alters
served as witnesses in the trial
that finally sentenced her father.
There's still a lot we don't know about DID.
But what we know for sure
is that DID cannot be cured.
A person with DID must learn to live
together with their Alters.
Being in traumatic or uncomfortable situations
will make Alters appear more often.
As such, therapy is important
to help people with DID deal with stressful situations
without having to constantly "switch" to Alters.
Perhaps some of you watching
might feel skeptical and think DID is a made-up condition
that people use to get attention.
If you do think so,
try to ask yourself,
why would someone want to label themselves
as having a mental disorder
knowing that it will only complicate life?
DID is real.
And many psychologists say so too.
People with DID are survivors.
Survivors of prolonged abuse and trauma.
All of us need the help from others
when we face difficult times.
And for people with DID,
that help first came from themselves.
That's it for this video.
What do you think?
Are you convinced of DID?
Or are you still skeptical?
Write your opinion in the comments column below
and don't forget
to like, share and subscribe to Neuron,
so you don't miss our new videos.
If there is a topic that you want us to discuss,
you can also write it in the comments column.
You can see the links we used in this video
in the description section.
Thank you for watching
and see you in the next video.
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