Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

[lYlaximus]

I was in my Abnormal Psychology class today and we were discussing DID

?   Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Host personality
•   Dominant Personality
•   Main Person
Sub-personalities
•   Alternate Personalities
•   2 or more
•   Can be completely different from Host Personality
•   Different memories,
•   Different Speech
•   Behavioral differences

Switching.
•   Happens often with a stressful event
•   Can be different types of events
•   Depending on event a different personality could step in.
•   Sometimes through treatment can get a person to switch.

My question was if the sub-personalities, the personalities that the host switches in and out of also transferred any illness Physical or Mental. Does anyone know if you could have one personality that has a fever, while the Host-personality does not or shows no sign of it??

Thanks
-Max

[PsychVegas]

Dont know the answer definitively, but in theory a mental disorder should not transfer a true physical ailment. Your example of fever is very limiting. I would say that the host cannot transfer cancer, broken bones, rashes, cuts, etc. If cancer cannot be transferred then neither can fever, unless you want to attribute some mental component to fever. If you do attribute a mental component then it is transfer of mental to mental, not mental to physical.

[wasd44]

1. A physical illness, such as a flu, cancer, or nausea, will exist, physically, in a person's body with DID irregardless of that person's "displayed personality."

2. The recognition and reaction to a physical ailment could vary drastically (or not at all.)  For example, one personality may respond to an illness with anger, while another personality may respond with apathy.

From my understanding, individuals with DID introduce an alternative personality to help cope, with repressed memories or other triggers.  So perhaps an individual with DID grew up with, for example, tuberculosis, and introduced a different personality to cope with that.  Thus the two personalities would react differently, though either way the person's body obviously has a TB infection.  Just a hypothetical example.

3. As far as a mental issue being transferred: different personalities may find different ways to cope with issues.  One may be "healthy" (i.e. exercise, talking the situation out, etc), while another unhealthy, i.e. turning to drugs.  So if you could classify the second personalty's coping mechanism of drug use as a mental issue, then I suppose so.  Just my best guess, I am not all that well read on DID or anything.

A good read on DID: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1780   Read it start to finish, not too long, explains the disorder pretty well.

[lYlaximus]

Thanks! Even my psychology teacher wasn't sure so I'm sure she'll enjoy the information.

-max

[lYlaximus]

I found this short paragraph related to the very topic I was asking about however it's legitamacy is questionable as is the website (Link below)

http://www.empty-memories.nl/didmpd.html

Should be under "Alters, Personality parts."

"Often (but not always) alters have their own names and sometimes different gender identities or preferences from those of the original person. It can also happen that alters are animals, because an animal is somehow safer or stronger than a human, especially when he or she had to undergo an 'inhuman' traumatic experience. In addition, alters can have completely different physical conditions. Thus, in people with D.I.D. it can happen that one is sick with fever and another is not;, eye measurements show different results from one day to the next; blood pressure measurements show significant differences, and so on. Incidentally, such differences can be extremely puzzling to physicians."