Site:Abuse

Personality States and Child AbuseChild Abuse & DID

There is a growing body of evidence linking the dissociative disorders to atrauma history and to specific neural mechanisms.

Before attempting to understand any of the dissociative disorders (DD's), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in particular, it is important to comprehend how normal personality development occurs.

What is childhood integration?

In infancy, behavior is arranged as "a set of discrete behavioral states." [5] These states include eating, elimination, waking and sleep. In normal personality development, these states will link as a child is given adequate care. Eventually the states will group together until a "unitary personality sense emerges." Overtime the "parts of the personality" integrate to share a "sense of having a common identity - they integrate.. [4] These parts are imperfectly integrated, and so still retain their distinctness yet work together well.

What is abnormal integration?

The normal process of integration explained in the paragraph above, does not occur in someone with DID. [16] This inhibition of integration is due to childhood trauma.

What are Identity & Personality states?

These labels can be confusing to the lay person since the DSM, where they are used, is written for health care professionals. On this site, "part(s) of the personality" or alter since is preferred since these terms tend to eliminate the common misconception that anyone can have more than one personality. In addition, the term "alter" will be used when talking about DID specifically, since only those with DID have alters. [5]

What are the symptoms of DID?

Common symptoms include: state dependent amnesia, conversion symptoms, self-alteration, derealization, depersonalization, flashbacks, trances, identity confusion, awareness of alters, voices, [17] thought withdrawal and insertion, made impulses, feelings and actions and non-psychotic auditory and visual hallucinations. These are all symptoms that are common in DID but are not obvious. [28]

What is Dissociation?

In DID pathological dissociation is assumed when using the term dissociation. [10] Dissociation in DID is not simple "mind wandering," which is what many think of when they think of the term dissociation. Both those with and without DD's commonly mind wander and everyone can dissociate to a degree. Is Pathological Dissociation related to DID?

The ability for extreme dissociation seems to relate to abuse as well as disorganized attachment (lack of child - parent connection) during early life. [25] Dissociation is defined by the DSM IV as a disruption in normal integrative functions which include: "consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment.” The authors of the Haunted Self, van Der Hart, Ellert R. S. Nijenhuis and Kathy Steele have worked to define pathological dissociation. [10]

What is switching between alters?

Switching involves a change in the part of the personality that is controlling conscious action. The person with DID switches or changes back and forth from an alter that is in charge of executive functions to a different one that then takes charge. In the normal brain the parts of the personality also switch, but unlike in DID it is usually not overtly disruptive.