Symptoms
The following criteria must be met for a person to be diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder:
- The person experiences two or more different identities or personality states, each with its own way of thinking and dealing. Some cultures see these situations as the experience of being possessed.
- The person experiences memory loss and gaps in recalling daily events, personal information or traumatic events.
- The person must be distressed by the disorder or have difficulty functioning in his life as a result of the disorder.
- The disturbance is not part of normal cultural or religious practice. A child with an imaginary friend, for example, does not indicate a mental illness.
- The symptoms are not due to substance abuse or other medical conditions such as seizures.
People with DID also often suffer from symptoms of PTSD and trauma, such as:
- depression
- suicidal thoughts
- sleep problems
- anxiety
- obsessive-compulsive symptoms
- psychotic symptoms.
People living with DID can have different symptoms that can occur at different times. Some people may have many obvious alters that they switch between all day long, while others have alterations to which they only have very occasional access.
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