Dissociative Identity Disorder was formerly called multiple personality disorder. It often goes unnoticed among the general population. Those who suffer from this disorder lead a terrifying and disturbed life. Dissociative Identity Disorder Awareness Day, which is observed each year in the month of March, aims to spread awareness of this disorder's existence and create understanding and compassion towards the people who are going through it. At Medicircle, we're conducting an exclusive series on the occasion of dissociative identity disorder, so that the people are able to understand what the disorder is, directly from the experts.

Dr. Poonam Solanki is a founder of Deep Homeopathy and Clinical Psychology Centre. She has accomplished her medical graduation in Homeopathy at IP University, New Delhi. Then she pursued a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology. She worked in the Psychiatry Centre and completed a fellowship to enrich her experience dealing with Psychiatric patients and their Therapist. She has her expertise in body language science with 11 plus years experience of dealing with psychiatric patients. She knows different approaches dealing with such cases. Not only with Counselling, but also improvising diets, changing lifestyles along with homeopathic medicines gives fabulous results in such cases. She has also worked as a Senior Physician and Therapist to deal with cancer patients and dealing with their mental state to fight with depression, anxiety and trauma while going through it. 

DID – A Helpless Condition

Dr. Poonam says, “Dissociative Identity Disorder is a condition where the person is disconnected from his own thoughts and views and the person surrounding them. So, we get to know that person is suffering from some problem. Such kind of  person is helpless. In such situations counsellor or a family member can help them to get healed by doing counselling, proper communication and Therapy. Support of counsellor as well as family members would be important because both together help them to get out of trauma. Positive thoughts, Positive Speech and Positive Motivation help them to heal visually. In the healing process, we do CBT cognitive behavioural therapy, where we surround them with positive thoughts so that it becomes easy to come out of trauma.” 

Trauma, the Reason Behind

Dr. Poonam expresses, “DID is most commonly found in children with traumatic conditions. Trauma that might have happened in childhood. It could be physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Emotional abuse, or the destructive family environment. It basically starts at a very early age but is noticeable in teenage when everything is expressed. And all these years, they develop a kind of void which is more prominent. So, the child behaviour changes, mood swings, forgetfulness becomes very often. Parents take it as a study stress or a peer pressure. They start delivering motivational speeches, but this isn’t going to work. This will not work until you go for counselling therapies and treatment to a Clinical Psychologist.”

One Need to be Calm and Composed

Dr. Poonam adds, “DID is basically self-destructive. Patient basically give harm to themselves not to others. Especially the family members get disturbed by their violent, impulsive behaviour. Their frequent mood swings affect the atmosphere inside the house.

It is important to understand the feeling, the person is going through. It’s very important to judge the situation first, understand the feeling and then cooperate. These types of multiple split personality disorders have unique features. When they get reminded of traumas, they get triggered and become more violent and rude. Thus, one has to be very calm and patient in dealing with such situations.”

(Edited by - Renu Gupta)