Contextual Study: Dissociative Identity Disorder

    'Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual. The person also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. DID is a disorder characterized by identity fragmentation rather than a proliferation of separate personalities. The disturbance is not due to the direct psychological effects of a substance or of a general medical condition, yet as this once rarely reported disorder has become more common, the diagnosis has become controversial.

    DID reflects a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory and consciousness in a single multidimensional self. Usually, a primary identity carries the individual's given name and is passive, dependent, guilty and depressed. When in control, each personality state, or alter, may be experienced as if it has a distinct history, self-image and identity. The alters' characteristics—including name, reported age and gender, vocabulary, general knowledge, and predominant mood—contrast with those of the primary identity. Certain circumstances or stressors can cause a particular alter to emerge. The various identities may deny knowledge of one another, be critical of one another or appear to be in open conflict.'

(source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder )


    Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5 (300.14)
criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder

• Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality parts. This disruption may be observed by others, or reported by the patient. • Amnesia between parts of the personality. • The disturbance is not a normal part of broadly accepted cultural, religious practice, or part of the normal fantasy play of children. The last two points are commonly stressed with any mental illness. • Causes clinically significant distress and impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. • The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance.

(Source: http://www.dissociative-identity-disorder.org/DSM-5.html )



     Due to more free expression and a wider understanding in modern culture, the issue of mental illness has been explored in a number of different media texts and pop culture. One of the most well known examples of DID is Robert Lewis Stevenson's 'Stange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', with a popular modern variation in Marvel comics' Bruce Banner/Hulk.
















        Norman Bates is a famous character created by Robert Bloch - inspired by American murderer Ed Gein- in his 1959 novel 'Psycho', of which was later adapted into a film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960. After Bates' father dies, Bates and his mother lived alone together until Bates reached adolescence, when his mother met another man. Driven over the edge with jealousy, Bates murdered both of them with rat poison. After committing the murders, Bates forged a suicide note to make it look as if Norma had killed her lover and then herself. After a brief hospitalization for shock, he developed dissociative identity disorder, assuming his mother's personality to repress his awareness of her death and to escape the feelings of guilt for murdering her.

     A more contemporary example of this is in the murder mystery visual novel and anime series 'Danganronpa' character Toko Fukawa. Due to her severe persecution complex that originated from the bullying that she had to live through early in life, Toko is highly suspicious of other people, frequently accusing them of thinking bad things about her. Her unusually quick tendencies to self-victimize quickly characterized her interactions with most of Class 78. We later discover that she suffers from dissociative identity disorder, Genocider Syo being the name of her murderous and sadistic alternate personality.