Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder

3. Recognizing the Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Symptoms of DID may include:

• Amnesia: People with DID may experience memory gaps, being unable to recall certain periods of their youth. They may temporarily forget how to perform well-known skills, like using a computer or driving a car, and may discover evidence that they have done something that they have no recollection of doing.
• Multiple identities: Someone with DID will display alternate identities that are easily recognizable to friends, family, and other observers.
  • These alters act and speak differently than the person usually does, indicating that another alter has taken over. People with DID may refer to themselves as "we" or in the third person (he, she, they), and they may not understand why they are doing so. Some alters may be more aware than others.
  • For example, alter A may know about alter B's activities, while alter B may not know about alter A. Personalities can interact with one another, and the person may report hearing voices.
• Dissociative symptoms: People with DID may experience depersonalization, which is feeling detached from oneself, or derealization, which is feeling detached from reality.
• Other symptoms: Other symptoms may include depression, anxiety, headaches, substance use disorders, suicidal behavior, and self-mutilation. They may experience hallucinations, but these are not the same as those that occur in psychotic disorders. In DID, hallucinations come from another identity inside their head, trying to interact with them in some way.