LLBM2: Multiple personality disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder, also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, is a severe form of dissociation, a state in which there is a lack of connection between a person and their thoughts, memories, feelings, actions or sense of identity. It is thought that this disorder stems from a traumatic experience in the persons life, therefore the disorder is thought as a coping mechanism. The individual literally will dissociate their selves with a situation in which they are unable to cope with.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is characterised by the presence of one or more distinct personalities. This can also be seen when a individual fails to remember personal information that is too far-reaching to be characterised by forgetfulness. There is also highly distinct memory variations, which fluctuate with the persons split personality. A persons different personalities may have their own age, sex and/or race. They may have their own distinct personality traits such as posture, gesture and thir own way of talking. When each of the personalities takes control of the individual and their behaviour, it is called switching. Along with the personalities, they may experience some of the following symptoms:

Depression
Mood swings
Suicidal tendencies
Sleep Disorders
Anxiety
Phobias
Substance abuse
Compulsion and rituals
Psychotic symptoms
Eating disorders

Multiple personality disorder can be seen in a number of films. It is usually seen in murder mysteries, as a red herring plot development. In popular culture we see MPD more than we realise. Here are a few examples of characters who suffered from MPD;