Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D) is when a person has two or more so called “identities” or personality states.
In many cases; it’s more like an individual’s personality is fragmented and different parts of their history and self-image can take control.
In some cases these fragments present themselves as multiple people; the identities are complete, each with its own behaviour, tone of voice and physical gestures.
However, the name of the disorder was changed from multiple personality disorder to D.I.D because in many cases the identities are only partially independent, with few distinct characteristics so it would be untruthful to say that there are ‘multiple’ complete personalities.
D.I.D is more subtle than its portrayal in the movies. People with D.I.D are prone to amnesia. They can’t remember what they’ve done or said, they space out and lose track of minutes or hours and they have no recollection of when they have hurt themselves. The loss of memory isn’t due to drugs or alcohol, but a switch in self-states. An individual with D.I.D can spend an average of seven years in the mental health system before being diagnosed.