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When a patient dissociates, whether they are letting a new alter take over or simply ceasing to keep contact with the world, they are trying to escape a situation causing extreme stress or pain. However, anxiety, panic attacks, and dissociation go hand-in-hand. Dissociative identity disorder is more complex than an average anxiety disorder, and treatment also typically needs to be more complex. Anxiety And Panic Attacks Dreamstimeĭissociation is a maladaptive way of coping with anxiety.
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Uncover more symptoms of this disorder now. A protective alter, for instance, may endure abuse so the main 'host' does not have to experience those memories.
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The most prevalent theory is that different alters are a form of self-protection. Unfortunately, there has not been enough research proving how alters form neurologically or why. This can lead to blackouts, which is where the dissociative portion of the disorder's name comes in. When an alter 'fronts,' which means that they are the one controlling the individual's body and interacting with the world, they typically do not have access to the memories of the other alters. Alters typically each have their own name, speech, memories, and distinct body language. Rather than having multiple personalities, a patient with this disorder has several alternate senses of self (alters) that are not unified as a whole. However, calling them 'personalities' is questionable. The most characteristic symptom of dissociative identity disorder that individuals recognize is multiple or split personalities. Multiple Or Split Personalities Dreamstime Of course, effective treatment for dissociative identity disorder starts with understanding the symptoms. Medication is often used when patients also have anxiety or depression, so they will take anxiety medication or antidepressants. In many cases, they will also have hypnotherapy for dissociative identity disorder. Most patients will require psychotherapy for this condition. The disorder has been badly misrepresented in media, and individuals with dissociative identity disorder are no more likely to be violent or predatory than the average population.Īlthough there are dissociative identity disorder treatments out there, they are challenging. Every case is different, and researchers are still looking into the neurological and psychological components. Instead, they have a sense of self that has become fractured enough that the different aspects are no longer integrated.
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It used to be called multiple personality disorder, but researchers have since found that patients do not have several personalities. Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a complex mental health condition that typically occurs after severe childhood trauma.
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