Teen dissociative identity disorder teen did
Dissociative identity disorder (DID), previously known as multiple personality disorder, is a complex psychological condition characterized by having multiple, distinct personalities. It is a severe form of teen mental illness that causes a person to lose connection with their sense of identity, thoughts, memories, emotions, perceptions, feelings, actions, and behaviors. A person with DID usually dissociates themselves with other personalities, which may be violent or traumatic.
Although DID may be considered rare — 1% of the world population suffers from this condition — some cases go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. It may be caused by several factors, such as emotional neglect, abuse, and severe childhood trauma. Anyone who experiences symptoms of DID should be checked, diagnosed, and treated by professionals who specialize in this disorder.

In this article, we will debunk DID myths and understand its causes and symptoms, as well as the mental health treatment for teens methods that can be used according to your child’s condition.

Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder in Teens

Dissociative Identity Disorder in Teens

Dissociative identity disorder is among the five dissociative disorders mentioned in the DSM-5, the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This class of disorders causes a disconnect between a person’s actions, surroundings, thoughts, memories, and identity. Although studies on the cause of disconnection are ongoing, it is believed that the minds of dissociative patients disengage from reality to preserve their sense of safety and security.

Teen dissociative disorder can, therefore, be an adaptive response to repeated childhood trauma. In a 2014 study involving 116 teen consecutive outpatients, 73 reported dissociative disorders, with 12 being diagnosed with DID. Of the 73, 93.9% were found with an additional psychiatric disorder. With such statistics, we must explore teen DID. Keep reading to learn more about this disorder and how to cope.

Signs and Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder in Teens

The signs and symptoms of dissociative identity disorder may differ from one teen to another, depending on the severity of their condition. However, here are some of the most common teen DID manifestations:

  • A blurred sense of personal identity
  • A feeling of being separated from the self and emotions
  • A general feeling that objects or people are distorted or unreal
    Severe relationship, work, or social problems.
  • Inability to cope well with work-related or emotional stress.
  • Inability to remember certain periods, events, personal information, and people, often referred to as amnesia
  • Significant behavioral changes and mood swings
  • Disorientation

Mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors are also prevalent in teens with dissociative identity disorder.

10 Surprising Facts about DID

DID is usually referred to as having multiple, “split” personalities that come and go, depending on a person’s current emotions or triggers. The rarity of the disorder makes it challenging for most people to understand its severity.
To provide a more in-depth insight into DID, here are some facts and statistics that may be of interest to parents who may have a teen dealing with this disorder.
  • DID is one of several types of dissociative disorders. Other types are depersonalized or derealization disorders and dissociative amnesia.
  • There are 2.5 million people in the United States who suffer from DID. Almost 50% of American adults have experienced at least one dissociative episode, but the majority of them do not qualify for treatment.
  • Around 1% of the world population suffers from DID, making the disorder rare.
  • Some people diagnosed with DID are victims of childhood trauma from emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Moreover, as many as 10% of these people reported experiences with childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Countries that experience large-scale trauma, such as war or natural disasters, are likely to have more cases of DID.
  • DID is most common in countries from North America and Europe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 1 million cases of DID are in the United States.
  • More than 70% of people with DID have attempted suicide and other self-harm behaviors.
  • DID was first considered a dissociative disorder. However, it was moved to the trauma-based category. Episodes of dissociation may occur not only in one’s home but also outdoors or even in the workplace, especially when there is a history of trauma and triggers in that place.
  • A person with this condition may experience nightmares, sudden flashbacks, visual or auditory hallucinations, intense emotions, extreme headaches, memory gaps or dissociative amnesia, and loss of consciousness and sense of identity. However, these symptoms may also correlate with psychosis, so consulting a medical professional is recommended.
  • Dissociation may occur due to childhood trauma experienced as early as nine years of age. In terms of gender, women are more likely to be diagnosed with DID than men, at a ratio of 10:1.
  • In order to raise awareness about DID, this disorder has been featured in movies and television. Some examples are “The Three Faces of Eve,” “The United States of Tara,” and “Sybil.”

Debunking the Myths about DID

Several myths about DID circulate on the internet, worrying those who experience the symptoms and are clinically diagnosed. Here are some of the myths about DID and their respective truths.
People with DID are faking it — It is not easy to fake dissociative episodes. People with DID find it hard to openly discuss their past experiences since these may trigger their traumas. Thanks to social media, TikTok and YouTube content creators with DID have raised awareness to end the stigma surrounding this disorder.
However, some attention-seeking “influencers” have caused people to think that those with DID are “faking it.” They quickly “change their personalities” on camera and discuss their experiences with inconsistent facts — most of which were acquired from movies and TV.
  • DID stems from childhood trauma — DID is associated with significant issues in child-parent relationships, but this is not always the case. DID may also be caused by trauma experienced during teenage years or even adulthood, such as rape, harassment, war, or even natural disasters.
  • DID is something new — The first documented case of DID was recorded in 1584, although it was not yet labeled as DID. This patient exhibited the traits of a “spiritually possessed person.” Later on, Multiple Personality Disorder (now referred to as DID) was discovered and diagnosed by physician Jean-Martin Charco in the 1880s. It was characterized by symptoms of hysteria and epilepsy.
  • DID is so rare as to be irrelevant — DID is rare, considering the percentage of its population, which is about 1.5% of the global population. However, over 100 million people have this condition, which is a considerably large number. It is not genetic and is generally caused by environmental conditions. This means that anyone with past traumatic experiences is at risk.
  • DID is not a real disorder — The clinical results and research have proven that DID is a mental health condition or disorder. It is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) in the category of mental disorders.

How the Media and Pop Culture Portrays DID

In 2016, Blumhouse Productions created an American psychological horror movie “Split” which starred James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy. The film focused on Kevin (McAvoy), who suffered from DID with 24 different personalities or alter egos. He experienced child trauma, and he resorted to manifesting other personalities to cope with his abusive mother with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He managed to live with his 23 personalities with the help of his therapist. However, things changed when he kidnapped and imprisoned three teenagers. He then killed his therapist. Throughout the movie, Kevin is portrayed to be a person capable of being friendly and becoming a ruthless killer at the same time.
However, the film failed to represent DID accurately, according to medical experts who studied the disorder. Most media create the misconception that people with DID can be dangerous, but this is not necessarily true. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) recognized DID as a psychiatric disorder that creates “alters” with distinct personalities based on trauma, phobias, or mood disturbances. The alter egos are based on what triggers them, which may or may not always be dangerous.
There are many Celebrities with OCD problems who admitted their mental health issues publically.

Other Known Truths About DID

DID is often characterized by memory lapses, blackouts, and other experiences of “spacing out.” Several situations can cause DID, like sexual or physical abuse, as well as traumatic experiences such as natural disasters or being in combat. According to studies, the disorder is a way for a person to “detach” themselves from the pain of their triggers.
Teens are at risk of developing DID, especially those who experience domestic violence, sexual harassment, bullying, and drug abuse. Alter egos may exist or coexist within one person, but they do not manifest simultaneously. They have distinct genders, ethnicities, and interests. DID’s common signs and symptoms are anxiety, delusions, disorientation, loss of memory, drug and alcohol use or abuse, and depression.
Although most people who experience these symptoms want to get tested, nothing can diagnose DID. Since the disorder is usually caused by past experiences, instead of chemical imbalances in the brain, it is hard to perform clinical tests to conclude that a condition is DID. However, a healthcare professional may also look for physical causes, such as head injuries or brain tumors.

Diagnosing Dissociative Identity Disorder in Teenagers

There is no specific test for teen dissociative identity disorder. The only way to diagnose it is through physical examination, psychological assessments, and evaluations. Psychiatrists often review the teenager’s symptoms and personal health history before conducting relevant physical examinations or laboratory tests to rule out potential physical or medical issues, such as brain tumors or head injuries.

Thorough interviews and specialized questionnaires are also used to eliminate other mental health disorders, such as anxiety. In some cases, patients may be hypnotized or administered a sedative (intravenously) to promote relaxation. It’s also common for teens to be asked to keep a journal between visits to bring other identities or information about a forgotten time to light.

In very rare circumstances, treatment professionals may attempt to contact other identities directly during diagnosis. This is normally done by speaking to the brain or mind region responsible for the behaviors the teen doesn’t recall engaging in.

Challenges in Diagnosing DID in Adolescents

  • Although DID symptoms often show up in childhood, they are often missed or mistaken for behavioral or learning problems such as ADHD by parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals. Therefore, most cases of DID are only diagnosed in adulthood.
  • Teens may fake physical or psychological symptoms to resemble DID for different reasons: a condition commonly referred to as malingering. Luckily, doctors can differentiate malingering from teen DID by looking out for a tendency to create stereotypical alternate identities or overreporting common DID symptoms and underreporting others.

Malingerers also seem to enjoy having the disorder, not knowing that people with DID are usually afraid to let others know of their condition (this shouldn’t be the case, as there is help.)

Causes and Triggers of Dissociative Identity Disorder in Teens

If you’ve read this far, you are definitely wondering what causes or triggers teen DID. Well, here are the common teen DID causative factors and triggers:

Trauma

Teens who experienced overwhelming stress and trauma during childhood, emanating from, among others, severe abuse, neglect, grief, or a severe illness, are more predisposed to developing dissociative identity disorder. Here is an in-depth explanation to help you understand:

Children must learn to integrate different, complicated experiences and information into a unified personal identity as their brains develop, a process that may be hampered by the lasting effects of overwhelming stress and trauma, especially when perpetrated by parents, guardians, or caregivers.

For example, children repeatedly abused when growing up often undergo various phases where their memories, perceptions, and emotions regarding their life experiences are fragmented. The segregation can worsen over time depending on the source of the trauma, prompting a child to detach from their physical environment or retreat into their mind as an escape. Each traumatic experience or phase may lead to a different identity.

Genetics

A teen’s genetics often influences their brain structure and functions. Certain genetic traits or variations can make teenagers more vulnerable to dissociation. Dissociation risks become even more pronounced if such teens are exposed to environmental influences such as abuse, neglect, and early life trauma.

Impact and Challenges of Dissociative Identity Disorder on Teenagers

Teen DID can have significant effects on adolescents’ daily lives. Here are a few challenges teens with DID may undergo, depending on the severity of their condition:

  • Struggles with identity formation due to a fragmented self-concept.
  • Academic challenges due to memory lapses, investing excess time and effort in managing DID symptoms, identity switches, and dissociative episodes.
  • Forced isolation due to stigma or fear of judgment.
  • Difficulties building trusting relationships due to trust issues, fear of judgment, and memory lapses.
  • DID often occurs alongside other disorders, including anxiety, substance abuse, self-harm, and depression. Managing such disorders can drain teens physically and emotionally.
  • Discrimination and negative attitudes as most people misunderstand or lack awareness of DID.

Treatment Options for Dissociative Identity Disorder in Teenagers

You shouldn’t feel alone if you or your teen is experiencing DID symptoms: it is a treatable disorder. The main priority during treatment is achieving and maintaining stability, followed by addressing the traumatic event responsible for the disorder. Therefore, The treatment process happens in three phases, i.e., safety and stability, processing traumatic events, and reinforcing the ability to participate in daily life without dissociating. Let’s explore these phases to help you understand better.

Phase 1: Safety and Stability

At the beginning of teen DID treatment, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals focus on stabilizing the teenager to ensure their safety, which often involves addressing serious symptoms such as self-harm and suicidal ideation. Here are the main things that happen during this phase:

  • Replacing harmful coping techniques with healthier strategies and options.
  • Identifying post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms
  • Psychoeducation- Treatment professionals help teens understand that their dissociated identities represent important memories, thoughts, and feelings that are part of them, despite being difficult to accept.

Phase 2: Processing Traumatic Events

After ensuring teen safety and stability, treatment professionals collaborate to help them identify and process traumatic memories responsible for dissociative identity disorder (DID). Here is what happens during this phase:

  • Teens build distress tolerance and learn to manage traumatic memory reactions in a safe, controlled environment.
  • Compartmentalized experiences are integrated once PTSD symptoms and co-occurring issues stabilize.
  • Teens realize they are not responsible for the painful, repressed thoughts, emotions, and memories and learn to connect their life experiences to their sense of self.

Phase 3: Coping Skills Development

Teens with DID often rely on dissociative defenses to cope. This third phase helps them learn to live without dissociating by teaching new, healthier coping skills for enhanced confidence, self-awareness, emotional stability, and self-regulation.

At Key Healthcare, we offer early intervention for teen self-harm and suicidal ideation as well as eye movement and desensitization reprocessing therapy, which can help teens with DID achieve safety and stability and reprocess traumatic memories. We also teach healthy coping skills and mechanisms, helping teens regulate their emotions and stay resilient amid life’s challenges and uncertainties.

Depending on a teenager’s symptoms and DID severity, we may administer medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotic drugs, and anti-anxiety medications to foster relief or complement our treatment plan.

Coping Strategies for Teens Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder

Teenage dissociation management can be a challenge. However, here are a few strategies that can make coping with teen DID easier:

  • Engage in grounding techniques to foster present-moment awareness. Common techniques include picking or touching nearby items, dipping hands in water, deep breathing, sipping a beverage or taking small bites, taking a short walk while concentrating on steps, walking barefoot, and noticing how the ground feels.
  • Attend specialized psychotherapy, such as our Key Healthcare teen cognitive-behavioral therapy.
  • Keep a journal to record relevant experiences, track emotions, and identify dissociation patterns.
  • Engage in simple visualization exercises to soothe difficult feelings and thoughts. For example, we tend to feel more relaxed in stressful situations by imagining that we are wearing protective clothing.
  • Talk to others with similar experiences. Teens with DID can join peer groups or read about other people’s experiences.
  • Engage in self-care practices, such as dieting, maintaining healthy sleeping routines, and regularly exercising.

How the Media and Pop Culture Portrays DID

In 2016, Blumhouse Productions created an American psychological horror movie “Split” which starred James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy. The film focused on Kevin (McAvoy), who suffered from DID with 24 different personalities or alter egos. He experienced child trauma, and he resorted to manifesting other personalities to cope with his abusive mother with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He managed to live with his 23 personalities with the help of his therapist. However, things changed when he kidnapped and imprisoned three teenagers. He then killed his therapist. Throughout the movie, Kevin is portrayed to be a person capable of being friendly and becoming a ruthless killer at the same time.

However, the film failed to represent DID accurately, according to medical experts who studied the disorder. Most media create the misconception that people with DID can be dangerous, but this is not necessarily true. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) recognized DID as a psychiatric disorder that creates “alters” with distinct personalities based on trauma, phobias, or mood disturbances. The alter egos are based on what triggers them, which may or may not always be dangerous.

There are many Celebrities with OCD problems who admitted their mental health issues publically.

Addressing the Stigma Around Dissociative Identity Disorder in Teens

The stigma surrounding mental health disorders such as dissociative identity disorder (DID) makes it hard for people to ask for help or seek treatment. Most teens prefer suffering in silence out of fear of being judged or seen as different from the rest. Therefore, to create a supportive environment for teens with DID, we must address the stigma surrounding the condition. Here are a few helpful strategies:

  • Dispelling myths and misconceptions about teen DID by providing or sharing accurate information.
  • Using respectful and inclusive language when discussing teen dissociative identity disorder.
  • Encouraging open dialogues on teen DID among peers, educators, and parents to promote understanding and empathy.
  • Championing for societal mental health awareness to reduce stigma around mental health disorders, including DID
  • Allowing teens with dissociative identity disorder to share their experiences without judgment

Seeking Professional Help and Resources for Teenagers with DID

Contact us if you need professional help and resources for teens with DID. We use tailored, individualized, and comprehensive treatment interventions to address a range of mental health issues and co-occurring conditions. Here is how we teens manage or overcome DID:

  • We offer a structured therapeutic environment for teens with DID to recover and develop effective coping strategies
  • We have multidisciplinary teams comprising psychologists, therapists, and psychiatrists trained to address the unique needs of teens with DID.
  • We use tailored treatment plans that incorporate tailored therapeutic interventions for specific DID challenges.
  • We offer round-the-clock care, supervision, and support.
  • We offer educational support, allowing teens with DID to continue their education while seeking treatment.
  • We involve family members in teen DID treatment to foster understanding and empathy and strengthen family bonds and support systems.

Support and Resources for Teens with Dissociative Identity Disorder

Teens with dissociative identity disorder need support, understanding, and empathy owing to the complexity of the condition and the associated challenges. At Key Healthcare, we administer teen group therapy to help teens struggling with substance abuse and mental health disorders such as DID discuss their feelings and experiences, learn from each other, and build a sense of trust and understanding. Most of the relationships formed during group therapy extend past the treatment duration, giving teens a solid recovery support network.

Besides group therapy, here are a few resources teens can leverage for enhanced support:

  • Online forums and communities for teens with DID or mental health issues
  • Frequent consultations with mental health professionals, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists specializing in dissociative disorders.
  • Support organizations such as the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD)
  • Books and reading materials on DID coping strategies and other relevant topics.
  • Online mental health websites such as SAMHSA.

You can support a teen with dissociative identity disorder by:

  • Learning more about the condition
  • Allowing them to talk about their feelings, concerns and emotions while listening actively.
  • Helping them find the right support services
  • Remaining calm when you notice the signs of dissociation, keeping in mind that they automatically dissociate to feel safer.
  • Create a safe and supportive home environment.
  • Encourage and help them adopt healthy lifestyle habits.
  • Engage in self-care practices. Do not be too engrossed in taking care of your teen until you forget to look out for yourself.

Conclusion

Teen dissociative disorder can impact teens in several ways. However, it is manageable and treatable. Contact certified and accredited mental health treatment centers such as Key Healthcare to help your teen find the right help and support. We administer a range of personalized therapeutic interventions to help teens overcome different types of dissociative disorders. We also involve family members in treatment, helping foster a strong teen support network. Feel free to contact us if you need help with teen issues.

Management and Treatment Methods

There are no specific medications yet for DID, but its symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, can be minimized by anti-anxiety medications, antipsychotic drugs, or anti-depressants.

Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is considered the best and most effective method of treating DID. A specialized healthcare professional, such as a psychiatrist, can help patients acknowledge and work with their past traumas, manage their impulsive behaviors, and eventually merge the multiple personalities into a single identity. An intensive outpatient program for adolescents can effectively support this process. Also, an important aspect of psychotherapy can involve positive thinking therapy for teenagers, helping them develop healthier coping mechanisms and reinforcing positive self-talk, which is crucial for their overall mental health and recovery journey.

Talk to Us

While DID is a rare condition, anyone with past traumas might be at risk. It is one of the most controversial disorders nowadays, and it is difficult to understand without medical assistance. It is a challenge for both parents and teens, so it is crucial to seek help from professionals who specialize in this field. This will help you understand your child’s experiences and how they affect their behavior. If your teen is suffering from the symptoms of DID, know that you are not alone. Key Healthcare is here to help you with your teen addiction treatment.