ON THIS DAY: Multiple Personality Day

Multiple personality day is March 5th.

Photo by Flickr Creative Commons

Multiple personality day is March 5th.

March 5, aside from being the day Joseph Stalin died in 1953, is also National Multiple Personality Day. The day is used by people to either reflect on their own personality and how it may be altered or to bring awareness to Multiple Personality Disorder (AKA, Dissociative Identity Disorder).

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identities that may simply be that: present. Alternatively, the identities may take control of the individual, resulting in severe memory loss that goes beyond the realm of simple forgetfulness. DID is more akin to identity fragmentation as opposed to a growth in the number of new personalities. A splintering effect, if you will.

Despite the original name, DID is not a personality disorder, as personality disorders follow a fixed pattern of behavior over time and involve extreme emotional responses that provide difficulty to the person with the disorder in maintaining stable relationships and functioning within society. DID is a dissociative disorder because people suffering from it, rather than losing contact with the world, lose their connection with themselves (memories, sense of identity, emotions, etc.). Although, the effects of the loss of connection with one’s self can indeed result in social distress.

The causes of DID remain unclear, as the disorder can present itself at any age. That said, a common thread between cases does appear to be physical and sexual abuse, usually during childhood, which may also prompt symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to manifest (or the disorder itself). Treatment for DID is primarily long-term psychotherapy with the aim of dissecting the different identities of a patient and uniting them into one, singular personality. Additionally, antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs may be used to subdue the mental health symptoms that come with DID.

So, this National Multiple Personality Day (now that you know what day that is), try and spend time with someone you know who may be suffering from DID. March 5 is also National Cheetos Day, so maybe share a snack with them, unless they don’t like Cheetos. Then maybe try something else, like a heart-to-heart conversation.