Sydney Geisinger
Nicole Labella
English
April 22 2013
Last year I wrote a script for a project at school. I was very interested in mental diseases at the time, and formed a storyline around Dissociative Identity Disorder, (DID). The main character is Josh Sunder, he is a detective for the Maine Police department and has Dissociative Identity Disorder. His other personality is named Darrick and is also a murder. Josh is clueless about Darrick because he has a drinking problem and blames his blackouts on cheap whisky. The story follows Josh as he, essentially, chases himself. When I was assigned this Fed Ex project I chose to delve deeper into the mystery of Dissociative Identity Disorder. I found that the most common questions were; who gets DID, what happens when you have DID, and if DID can be treated.
Almost no one has Dissociative Identity Disorder, but those who do are not the average person. These men and women who suffer from DID are part of the .01% of the general population (WebMD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, 21). But, this doesn’t mean that they are the only ones, scientists believe that there could be up to 7% more that are undiagnosed (WebMD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, 21). Most people develop Dissociative Identity Disorder before the age of nine because of repeated abuse. This abuse could be in many forms including sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and even neglect (WebMD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, 16). These poor children are in such a bad place that their mind literally makes another personality to help them deal with their situation. This could also occur so that it seems that the abuse is happening to someone else not them. (NAMI, Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder), 7)
One of the most interesting things about Dissociative Identity Disorder is what happens to its victims. When someone has DID their personalities are usually completely different from themselves, they could be the opposite gender, a different age, race, ethnicity, etc. The dominant personality is called the “host personality” this is the person that shows up the most . The personalities change with triggers, that can be anything; smells, sounds, tastes, pictures, etc. (WebMD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, 15). Kim Noble is a prime example of Dissociative Identity Disorder. When Kim was three she was abused by her parents and developed another character that didn’t remember the abuse. She struggled through school because no one knew why she acted so strangely. Later she was diagnosed with DID. Kim has 100 known personalities including Hayley, Judy, Ken, and Patricia. She has personalities that like to clean, cook, paint, etc. and come out at that time, so for example when Kim eats she becomes Judy, a 15 year old who thinks that she's fat. One misconception about Dissociative Identity Disorder is that the patient has to stay locked away somewhere but, Kim has a life she even has a child named Aimee (The Guardian, Kim Noble: The woman With 100 personalities, 1-44).
Dissociative Identity Disorder is not a treatable disease but, this doesn’t mean that the patient wouldn’t need a psychiatrists help. Having DID can be very confusing, and damaging at times. For example Kim Noble was bulimic, anorexic, and even suicidal. At one time one of her personalities was involved in a paedophile ring, when her other personalities found out and called the police she got menacing hate letters. "Threats of retaliation escalated until one day a man threw acid in her face and someone tried to set light to her bed with her in it." (The Guardian, Kim Noble: The woman With 100 personalities, 19) Thankfully Kim got out and was fine but, at that point she knew she needed help and after 6 years of being treated for Dissociative Identity Disorder she finally accepted what she was, and understood what was happening to her. Therapy also can reveal other personalities, any personalities that are not dominate. Through therapy most DID patients uncover 13-15 personalities but in rare cases have been counted to over 100. (WebMD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, 15). Just because Dissociative Identity Disorder doesn’t have a cure does not mean that the humans with DID don’t need treatment.
The three most asked questions about Dissociative Identity Disorder you have just read all the answers to; who gets DID, what happens when you have DID, and if DID can be treated. In conclusion, Dissociative Identity Disorder is developed under nine because of repeated abuse, does change a persons life but, usually, not so much as they need to be in a mental institute, and doesn’t have a cure but, patients would benefit from therapy. Now that you know more about DID I hope that you will share this knowledge with someone else so theses questions are answered for them as well. And remember, next time you see someone walking down the street think about who they are because they could be part of that 7% still undiagnosed.
To see my Prezi click here!
Review/Comments
I was very excited to be allowed to research anything I wanted in this project and chose to focus on DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). DID was part of the script I wrote last year, I didn't know too much about it and was interested to learn more about this rare disorder.