Dissociative Identity Disorder Paper

Dissociative Identity Disorder is the correct medical term used for Multiple Personality Disorder but what is it exactly? The mind is a beautiful and scary creation that can cause destruction along with creating beauty. Psychiatrist and other medical experts have been debating the true phenomenon of the illness for years, yet still cannot conclude the true identity or even the origin for that matter. Over the years there has been historical and crime ridden individuals who have been diagnosed with DID the most famous of them all is Billy Milligan. The individual who was subject of a highly publicized court case in the 1970s included robberies, rape, and possible murders. In court, the Psychologist Dr. Willis C. Driscoll diagnosed him with the disorder identifying of 24 personalities that lived and controlled his everyday life.
Dissociative Personality Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder) is a severe
condition of which two or more identities take control and alternate between and control their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
The true beginning of the disease is still unknown, but according to Dr. David Spiegal of Stanford University of Medicine “DID is a disorder that tends to stem from early childhood trauma from extended physical or sexual abuse, likely inflicted by a parent, neighbor, teacher or other authority figure.” (2015). A person diagnosed with the disorder most likely doesn’t know they suffer from the illness. Since each individual case is different and ranges from mild to severe each patient has a unique experience with the sickness. Some personalities have a more controlling aspect and a dangerous mix of anger and desperation. This side could commit crimes and other vague destructive causes that can affect everyone around them. This is partially due to the physical or emotional abuse that a person endured in their early childhood of development. A softer personality could be a young child of either gender in some cases. This personality tends to take over if a person
is feeling sad or in desperation of escaping the real world and growing up. The ‘young child’ is the personality that wants to live care- free and almost go back to playing and running around freely. If a person was abused routinely the child personality takes them back to feeling happiness in a time where dark clouds covered their life. In the case of Billy Milligan stated above he had these distinctive personalities that would take over during different times of the day or weeks. The disorder is still controversial in the medical field and a cure has not been identified. The treatments for the illness include psychological medications and cognitive behavioral therapies. There are some cases of people overcoming the illness, but overall the personalities will always be there waiting, watching, and ready for their time to shine.