Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Case Study - StarryCandy6123

Hello everyone,

A while ago, someone asked if we could make a post about a case study of someone with DID. When looking for one, starryCandy6123 and me realized, that a lot of them are about violent people with DID. While it makes some kind of sense that case studies focus on these kinds of cases, I want to emphasize that a dissociative disorder doesn't make a person more prone to violence than a person without such a disorder (source).

Now, here's the case study about a person with DID, @starryCandy6123 has prepared for us. Please leave your thoughts on the topic and appreciation for Candy in the comments.

Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Case Study - StarryCandy6123

Diagnosis of DID

300.14 Dissociative Identity Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria:

1. When there are more than two people or more, within the client (each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and self).

2. At least two of these identities or personality states recurrently take control of the person's behaviour.

3. Inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.

4. The blackouts are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., blackouts or chaotic behaviour during Alcohol intoxication) or a general medical condition (e.g., complex partial seizures). Note: In children, the symptoms are not attributable to imaginary playmates or other fantasy play (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

Introduction

This case study will discuss the life of a young woman who is believed to be suffering from DID also known as dissociative identity disorder.

This illness is said to be the most understood misunderstood and controversial of all mental disorders. While it is said to be fascinating, it is tragic at the same time. The media has shown a deal of great interest, along with the sceptics, who do not believe.                     (Millon, Blaney, & Davis, 1999).

The young lady we are talking about, has been recorded as having many (DID) symptoms that lead to her diagnosis.   

The Client/Patient

The client/patient in question is described as an 18-year-old female who came from Germany. She moved to the US, where she has been living for the past three years. Four years ago her mother died (the reason for her death, was not known. She was not close to her mother and did not spend a lot of time together, she spent more time around her grandparent's home, who raised her. She has no recorded history of any mental or medical conditions.)  

When she came for an appointment, it was reported that she was undernourished and thin. She did pass out during the examination after her hand was placed in cold water. Everything else looked good such as her strength was good for her size. The client's exam was quite normal and the patient was able to answer questions.

The client was brought in by her father and grandmother. Father and grandmother complained that she steal and tells lies. He accused her of stealing money and a knife from the teacher, which she denied.

The client claimed that she found it, rather than stealing it. Father and grandmother also stated that she stole money for sweets. The client will often claim that another little girl stole and bought the candy.

The father claimed that she did not act at the age of 18. He stated that she requested to be treated like the other little girl. She was heard to say "I'm a good girl now, ain't I? I don't steal anymore, do I?". The father also claimed that she would change her attitude. The client once claimed that she was whipped too much so she ran away, the father denied the claims, but he did when she went back home.

They did not seem to believe that there was physical abuse taking place.

It would appear that the client has not had an extremely stable childhood. Her mother and her father were not very involved in her life growing up, as she was predominantly raised by her grandmother. It sounds as if the client’s grandmother does not hold her in high regard, as the grandmother commented that the client was “a terrible little liar.” Such a statement may indicate the presence of emotional or psychological abuse.

The client had a great interest in kids toys and sweets and she would steal to get them. The client appeared to show signs of immaturity as she would steal and call people names. The client talked at length about the time, she spent it with the other two kids. She claimed that he wanted to go into bushes with the other girl. The client claimed that she did not know what he meant, and that the other girl would not tell her. It was clear that he was talking to two different people. It appears as though the client switches from herself to "the other girl," about whom she was talking. The other girl then appears to be talking about the "client."  She seemed to, be arguing with her two personalities.

Furthermore, the client appeared undernourished at the time of the interview. This may be evidence of neglect and/or abuse at home. However, under normal circumstances, one would expect an 18-year-old to be capable of attaining nourishment for herself by whatever means necessary (perhaps her alternate identities are stealing for this very reason), though the client’s circumstances appear to be by no means normal. The client’s undernourished appearance could be the result of an eating disorder, which co-occurs with DID at a very high rate (Maxmen & Ward, 1995). 

Link to full case study

This post was written by a member of the Trauma Sub-Community Writing Team. You can find a masterpost with all the posts of this team linked here. If you want to join the team, please apply here. Also, please comment if you want to be tagged in future posts.