What Causes DID?
© karenjoy
What Causes DID?
As we have discussed before, DID (formerly called MPD) is a coping mechanism, a reaction to severe abuse, and according to those who have done the research of its causes, dissociative disorders have clearly been linked to overwhelming childhood trauma. What could cause such an extreme reaction?
Pierre Janet (1930) was one early psychiatrist who pointed out that "dissociated states often followed childhood sexual or physical abuse." Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. (1987) spoke of Janet's findings in his book, Psychological Trauma, and wrote, "Multiple Personality Disorder is probably the most extreme example of how severe traumatization can lead to dissociation and subsequent reexperiencing or reenactment of the trauma" (6). Van der Kolk further emphasized that the experiences of uncontrollable, terrifying life events can have such extreme psychological consequences.
Many of us who have some understanding of DID are well aware that "something" extremely traumatic must have occurred in the lives of those who have DID, but what that "something" was is often not a subject we find easy to talk about (at least not openly). The fact of the matter is, however, that talking about those things in our lives that have caused such an intense need to cope in this way is part of the healing process. It is also incredibly helpful for survivors (as well as others in their lives) to know that many survivors of severe childhood abuse have coped in similar ways and that these individuals are not so alone or unique as they might have feared.
In this article I'd like to share one of those types of abuse that has inevitably lead to DID in an overwhelming number of cases; Ritual Abuse. For those unfamiliar with this form of abuse, a brief description will follow, without sharing too many details in consideration of those who have experienced it. First, however, we must understand that the premise of such abuse is often "religious" (and therefore ritualistic) in nature, which further complicates things. According to Elizabeth Waites (1993) "religion" plays some role in this form of abuse. "Sometimes it is merely the pretext an abuser uses to justify his behavior" (206). Rites and ceremonies are often a part of such cruel forms of abuse and the spiritual consequences upon those who have been abused in such ways (not to mention the mental and physical) are often devastating, to say the least. Satanism is not the only type of ritualistic abuse, but as Waites writes, "Because satanic cults engage in activities that are the antithesis of mainstream social beliefs and practices, they lend themselves to the dissociation of a secret self from an ordinarily adapted self. Some cults deliberately enforce this dissociation." How does this occur? By placing the child in overwhelming, inescapable, and extreme situations of ongoing abuse.
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