An Introduction To Dissociative Identity Disorder - Page 2
© Pamela Perez
What causes such a level of trauma that an individual, a child in particular, would have to go to such extremes as to need to dissociate from all memory of it? According to Psychologist Diane Langberg (1994), it is currently thought that this disorder results from "severe physical and sexual trauma, accompanied by psychological trauma." She further states that "DID clients report the highest rates of childhood physical, sexual, and other forms of abuse and trauma among those suffering from any known psychiatric disorder." Most of these victims of abuse describe abuse that was "profound, relentless, and intolerable," usually occurring before they were five years old, in an environment void of nurturance. Dissociation serves as a protective measure when other sources of protection and safety are not available to the victim of such traumas. Kubetin & Mallory (1992) explain that when a person is "overwhelmed with severe abuse, torture, or terror, particularly during childhood, the protective mechanism of dissociation may come into play." Combined with certain other environmental conditions, such as repeated trauma and extreme abuse, the likelihood of dissociation being the chosen as the (and often only) method of 'escape' from these intolerable conditions becomes even higher. DID is being identified and studied more than ever before. Though researchers who accept "multiplicity" (referring to Multiple Personality Disorder or, as the more modern terms describing a child's ability to dissociate and split off, DID), they are not entirely agreed on how the syndrome develops, only that early childhood trauma is a factor (Mayer, 1988). Individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder most frequently report having experienced severe physical and sexual abuse as children. Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder for those attempting to recover from the devastating effects of child abuse and severe trauma, and the resulting years of pain and loss that it causes them, is a long and difficult process. And yet there is hope of a positive outcome if disorders such as DID are brought to treatment, and healing can indeed take place. It cannot be done alone, however, and much help and support is needed for the abuse survivor in order for healing to occur. According to the Sidran Foundation, dissociative disorders are highly responsive to individual psychotherapy, along with other adjunctive therapies, and the prognosis is good when proper treatment is undertaken and completed.
While some aspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder, not unlike Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, can be controversial in some areas, those suffering from this condition deserve to be heard, to be believed, to be helped, and to be able to receive whatever resources we have available in order for them to reach wholeness and healing.
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