Dissociative identity disorder (DID), also known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), is a serious mental condition, affecting people around the world. Many people don’t know too much about this condition, hence the “Multiple Personality Day” was born.
We all celebrate DID on March 5th every year to bring more awareness and understanding towards people who suffer from DID. The main trait of a patient suffering from DID is dissociation and multiple or split personalities. But there are other symptoms related to DID, memory loss, out of body experiences, detachment from emotions, and a lack of self-identity, being some of the most common.
DID is actually a coping mechanism, not a mental condition per se. Patients suffering from DID have gone through a highly traumatic past and in order to cope with it their personality split. Usually, for them, the triggering traumatic event is usually forgotten, which is also the point, or the aim of their personality split.
The changes for developing a DID are higher in children growing up with frightening and unpredictable parents as research studies show.
It takes a victim to make a victim. Parents of DID patients are victims too, who didn’t know how to cope with their trauma and took it out on their children. Aggression, violence, and lack of empathy are not personality traits, but rather coping mechanisms to numb the pain and suffering that people feel inside.
The National “Multiple Personality Day” is a great day to look at yourself and connect with who you truly are. It is a day for exploring your personality traits and examining the roots of those traits. Take time to observe how these traits change depending on who we are with or what we are doing.
If you know someone affected by DID, take a moment today to listen and share their story, show them love and acceptance. The more educated we are regarding DID’s, the better chances that we will find the cure for, and the more loving and accepting we are towards those suffering from it.