Proof of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Summary: Is dissociative identity disorder (DID) / multiple personality disorder (MPD) real or fake? It is a real condition that stems from past trauma, denial, and/or dissociation. Proof comes from how it correlates with hypnosis. However, factitious disorder, hypochondria, and iatrogenesis, are all ways it can be faked, or even unintentionally or intentionally caused by someone else, or the individual themselves. Self-diagnosis can also be dangerous, so be careful.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Hi everyone! In this video I’m going to be discussing the proof of dissociative identity disorder. If you would like to know more about DID and/or how alters are created, please watch my videos on them. [DID | Alters]
DID is a very controversial disorder. Many people do not believe it exists. Or, others think it is a combination of amplified disorders, specifically borderline personality disorder. The reasons vary, but I think they are all valid in a sense. Rather, I see the reasons why certain people do not believe it. I think people with the actual disorder need to look at both sides and why many people think it is non-existent or fake. As well as why people associate it with attention seeking behavior. In addition to the disorder’s correlation with borderline personality disorder. [Borderline]
Personally, I believe it is a real disorder. However, not everyone who has it, truly has it in the sense I will be talking about here. The main way I see of proving the disorder exists is through hypnosis.
Origin (Reason to Dissociate)
DID usually doesn’t form out of nowhere. There is an underlying reason for dissociation to occur. This is the same principal as PTSD. You cannot have PTSD unless you have witnessed or experienced trauma. Just like you cannot truly have DID unless you have been in a severe situation where you needed to dissociate, intentionally or unintentionally.
This is where many people think DID develops from early childhood trauma. This is because a child’s mind is much more vulnerable and susceptible than an adult’s mind. This is also a good time to mention that an individual’s personality begins to develop from the environment they are exposed to when they are a child. A child that continues to dissociate from trauma will end up developing this skill and as they age it may manifest into something severe.
The reason to dissociate is usually to protect oneself, a defense mechanism, because one cannot do so on their own so an altered personality state is formed to help them through the difficult time, or to be in denial about something that happened to them or a part of them they do not accept or deny.
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It’s not possible to truly have DID without past trauma and/or a need to escape or deny something. Now, there are exceptions which I will get to in a minute when it comes to hypnosis. But, there are disorders and neurological conditions that can amplify or even cause dissociation, including multiple personalities. And, differentiating these two is as simple as looking at trauma and denial. As I said, if past trauma, denial, or dissociation is not present, it is not DID that is being referenced here. That is what I mean by ‘true’ DID. A dissociative disorder that was caused by the need to escape and deny something that happened or a part of the personality.
Correlation with Hypnosis
The only real proof I see of dissociative identity disorder is its correlation with hypnosis. [Dissociation & Hypnosis] There is evidence to suggest that individuals with DID are highly hypnotizable. People with PTSD are seem to be quite hypnotizable. When you really think about this, it makes a lot of sense. I have a video on meditation and self-hypnosis [Meditation & Self-Hypnosis] where I said this:
I find self-hypnosis extremely beneficial for those suffering from mental illness or just anxiety in general.
I think it is a very powerful way of dealing with dissociative disorders as well. So, if we’re on the topic of dissociative identity disorder, I’m sure some people can see the similarity of what I mentioned earlier. It’s like the altered states of an individual’s personality was split up to handle a negative situation, such as the abuse for example. The brain cannot deal with negativity, so it will try and compensate by creating a personality that can deal with it since the host cannot. It is amazing what the brain can do, but sometimes what it does can be disastrous to our conscious life. I also found information stating that many people with DID are highly hypnotizable. And, this actually makes so much sense when you really think about it.
For example, a child that has endured severe trauma will dissociate from it by believing it happened to someone else. The power of thought is incredible! That constant belief becomes so strong that it splits the personality. Sometimes it may start as just an imaginary friend, but when it stays with them as they age, it becomes very real and can turn into complete dissociation where the host identity and created alter will co-exist, a lot of times not simultaneously conscious. The alter may develop a life of its own and may be aware of the host identity, for many times it was created by the host. The host however, may not be aware of the alters because it dissociated from the trauma and blocked it out. The blocked out parts and/or repressed feelings are usually the altered personality states, and they will occasionally hold the answers about the past, and possess what the host and/or other parts are suppressing.
All this correlates with hypnosis because, in this case, the abused child practically hypnotized themself, unknowingly, telling itself that it didn’t happen to them, and believing 100% that it happened to someone or something else. But, since it did not, that strong belief created a split personality. The switch between alters becomes part of hypnosis, often coming down to triggers. Which would explain why people with DID are highly hypnotizable, since they are subconsciously very skilled at it, but may not know how to consciously utilize it. This is why there can be very distinct changes in personality. So much to the point of drastic physical changes that one may not normally expect. The amnesia fits right into this as well. It is very much altered states of consciousness and hypnotism when you get right down to it. So, it’s not so complex after all.
The reason I brought all that up is because I find hypnosis to be a very powerful way of discovering these fragments of memory, the alter personalities, as well as the triggers. That is the key word, ‘trigger.’ What is that trigger and why is it what it is? Perhaps the trigger is what split the personality to begin with? With self-hypnosis, you can discover these things and change or even get rid of the triggers for anything, not just dissociation.
Now, that’s quite a bit of information, but what does it all mean. Well it’s quite simple actually. It means that hypnosis plays a big role in DID. When someone learns to switch alters, they are actually utilizing their ability of hypnosis to tap into a separate memory and personality state. It’s as simple as being hypnotized and waking up sometime later not realizing what happened.
If someone hypnotized you and implanted a trigger in your mind when you would do something. When you come out of hypnosis and that trigger manifests itself, you will do whatever the person told you to do, even if you do not want to or are even aware you are doing it. Then when you come out of it, you will mostly likely not even be aware you did anything and ask yourself, “Where did the time go?”
Learning to switch on command is the same as learning to hypnotize yourself and bring about these altered states of personality. That is what happens when people are able to control switching. Once an individual learns to get a hold of the uncontrolled switching, which is learning self-hypnosis and self-discovery, and especially learning the triggers, a lot of times individuals can be co-conscious with their alters. This means that two or more personality states are consciously aware of what the body is doing at the present moment. As stated in my hypnosis video, you can reassign triggers or get rid of triggers all together. That is extremely helpful when learning to cope with the disorder.
Since people with DID are more susceptible to hypnosis, this should make all the sense in the world that DID is in fact a real condition. But, are the people with DID more susceptible to hypnosis because they learned the ability at such a young age, or at least while their mind was still developing? Or, is it a neurological or difference in the brain chemistry that we are born with? That is the main question and what can be done to cure that.
Yet, there is evidence to suggest either one of these could be true because, not everyone who endures severe trauma and need to escape, develops PTSD or dissociative disorders. Then again, perhaps that individual subconsciously handles things differently. Then again, those with DID do have a history of either abuse or some kind of reason to dissociate or deny something that happened to them or a part of their personality.
It is a tricky disorder to deal with and come to terms with because hypnosis is a very powerful yet dangerous tool. Someone could intentionally cause this upon another individual. Or, someone could bring this upon themself if they are not careful when performing self-hypnosis. We’ll talk about this now.
Intentional & Faking
As I stated earlier, what I consider true DID is when there is a history of trauma and/or reason to dissociation. When under extreme stress and anxiety, the brain does this automatically to protect the individual. It is mostly uncontrollable. Though it is possible to bring about dissociation without these conditions. It is still DID, but was self-inflicted, even if unintentional.
The mind is a very powerful tool, you can get rid of any mental disorder you have with thought alone, but you can also cause any mental disorder with thought alone. When it comes to DID, let’s look at someone who overanalyzes everything. They could be a hypochondriac. They spend so much time thinking about their health that they overanalyze it and bring it upon themself, even if they truly do not have it. They think that because they have an opinion on something one minute and the next it completely changes that they must have multiple personalities.
An example would be, let’s say this individual is being asked if they like a particular food. When asked they could say, “Yes, I love it! It’s so delicious.” And could be ecstatic. A few second later, they respond again saying, “No, I hate it and anyone who likes it has awful taste.” That is black and white thinking, which is actually a major component of borderline personality disorder.
This individual may think they have multiple personalities because they gave two answers and their opinion changed so rapidly. But, in actuality they could just be overthinking everything and have borderline personality disorder. Now not everyone who has DID is like this of course, but that is a possibility for some individuals.
They could also have a factitious disorder, even if they are unaware. I do have a video on faking mental illness for anyone who is interested. [Faking Mental Illness] But, someone with a factitious disorder is usually looking for emotional sympathy from others, when in reality an underlying personality disorder is at play, perhaps borderline. As I said earlier, borderline can share a lot in common with DID, so that should come as no surprise.
There is also what’s called an iatrogenic condition, which is often caused due to a psychologist or misdiagnosis of a mental disorder. What this basically means is that an individual could be experiencing some mood swings and go and see a therapist and they say, “You have bipolar.” The individual may not have any mental health problem at all, but could be dealing with a lot of stress at work, causing the mood swings. But, the therapist said it was bipolar, making the individual think they in fact have bipolar disorder. From there, their mental health will deteriorate because they truly believe they have bipolar. In other words, they believe they have bipolar, even though they really don’t, and guess what, now they do.
The same exact thing applies to DID. Someone goes to a therapist and they say, “You have multiple personalities.” This person then truly believes they have multiple personalities and brings it upon themselves, unintentionally, without even being aware of it.
The mind is a very powerful tool, do not underestimate it. You have to be very careful when it comes to your mental health because if you believe something strong enough, it will happen, including negative things you may not want. So, be careful.
Conclusion
So in conclusions, dissociative identity disorder is a real condition that stems from past trauma, denial, and/or dissociation. Proof comes from how it correlates with hypnosis. However, factitious disorder, hypochondria, and iatrogenesis, are all ways it can be faked, or even unintentionally or intentionally caused by someone else, or the individual themself. I hope this video was helpful. Thanks for watching!
Additional Info
This was a video I did as a detailed explanation as to why DID (dissociative identity disorder) is a real condition. It was quite an easy concept for me to grasp which I outlined in detail in this video. I’ve discovered a big component is hypnotic suggestibility. Of course, one doesn’t have to believe in hypnosis or DID. But, for people that have experience with severe dissociation, it is very real and makes perfect sense that it is, in fact, a real condition.
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