We've all daydreamed, lost ourselves in a movie, even had out-of-body experiences; Don't worry, it's all common, but it's also a mild form of dissociation. Dissociation is a separation within an individual's actions, memories, thoughts, feelings, or sense of the unreal. Among the most incomprehensible or mystifying and controversial is the rare dissociative identity disorder. It is the most serious and chronic manifestation of dissociative disorders. This colossal dissociation of identity from conventional cognition epitomizes those suffering from dissociative identity disorder (DID; formerly known as multiple personality disorder) in which two most different characteristics are said to interchangeably exchange the dissociative disorder. the person's behavior. Dissociative identity disorder is believed to result from severe trauma, occurring primarily in the person's early childhood (usually around age 9), due to extreme cyclical sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse. The dissociative aspect is assumed to be a coping method, because literally every personality has its own mannerisms, voice, age, gender, and even race; dissociating from a situation or experience too painful and violent to assimilate with one's conscious self. Typically, the original personality denies any awareness of other identities. Understanding the development of multiple personalities is difficult, even for highly trained experts; Making a diagnosis of DID takes time. Individuals with dissociative identity disorder are estimated to have spent seven years in the mental health system before diagnosis. This is due to the similarities in the symptoms of many psychiatric diagnoses and the treatment they seek. The DSM-IV provides the following criteria to diagnose dis...... middle of paper ...... you versus the driver, truly believe they have no choice. A person being treated for a dissociative disorder might benefit from antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications, but there is no "cure" for dissociative identity disorder yet; Effective treatment has been shown to include medications, psychotherapy or talk therapy, hypnotherapy, and adjunctive therapies. Long-term treatment is very successful, only if the patient remains committed. Bibliography www.dissociativeidentitydisorder.netpsychology.about.comwww.psychologytoday.comwww. sidran.orgwww.webmd.comwww.medicinet.comwww.fortea.us/english/psiquatria/dissociative.htm: Analytical Overview, Jacqueline Costello. York College of PennsylvaniaThe American Psychiatric Association. (APA) (1994): Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (4th). Washington DC: author