@TraumaTherapySD

  • DID in pop culture

    Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a mental health condition in which the person experiences themselves as having multiple, independent identities or selves. That is why it used to be known as multiple personality disorder.

    As we understand things, predisposing factors for the development of DID are the ability to dissociate, overwhelming traumatic experiences that distort reality, creation of alters with specific names and identities, and lack of external stability, which leads to the child’s self-soothing to tolerate these stressors.

    It is estimated that in any one year, 1.5% of Americans meet criteria for a diagnosis DID. And it is estimated that most individuals who are given this diagnosis have been in the mental health system for seven years before getting an accurate diagnosis.

    In my experience, simply informing someone that I believe that they have DID can be quite scary and overwhelming at first. Part of this is due to the way individuals with DID are portrayed in the media.

    The latest example is Moon Knight on Disney+. At least in this portrayal the person with DID is the hero and not the villain. But thus far in the series, it only feels that DID is used a clever trick to make the plot more interesting. At least in Doom Patrol, the person with DID is a hero and they also do a fairly good job of representing how the mind of someone with DID actually works.

    Source: DSM 5 TR