IndexAbstractAn Analysis of Dissociative Identity DisorderHistorical TrendsChildhood TraumaA MisdiagnosisEvaluation of DID Proponents' ClaimsConclusionAbstractThis essay argues that dissociative identity disorder, or DID, it is fictitious. It first analyzes the historical trends of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, demonstrating the influence of sensationalism on this condition. In the following section, the essay uses credible articles and quotes from a variety of knowledgeable individuals to argue that the accepted source of DID, childhood trauma, is not a valid cause of the disorder. Through a logical appeal, the article concludes that the lack of a factual and definitive source of DID favors the claim that the condition is invented. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Furthermore, it is stated that the subjective diagnosis tools of medical professionals could lead to misdiagnosis of DID. For this reason, DID may simply be a misdiagnosis of other, more credible mental health problems; The document evaluates a legitimate diagnostic report and expert opinions from university consultants to strengthen these claims. Finally, the article counters two common rationales used by DID advocates to argue that this condition has a scientific basis. Once again, the article reveals that Dissociative Identity Disorder is a condition invented through historical trends, the discrediting of childhood trauma as the source of this disorder, and the analysis of faulty diagnostic tools. the field of psychiatry. A nonfiction miniseries, Sybil, aired on television during this time period, depicting patient Sybil Dorsett's constant struggle with a medical ailment. This condition, called Dissociative Identity Disorder, is primarily defined by the development of multiple psyches within an individual, which generally help him or her cope with past childhood abuse. The show's strange plot focused on Sybil's sixteen different personalities, gaining a large audience and educating the public about this condition. In fact, the number of reported cases of dissociative identity disorder skyrocketed in the following decades, from less than a hundred cases per year. by the thousands. Currently, as more and more patients are diagnosed with DID, it is necessary to ensure that this disorder is a scientifically based condition. Indeed, a thorough analysis of the DID reveals its fictitious nature. Therefore, as illustrated through historical trends, lack of concrete information about the causes of the condition, and possible misdiagnosis due to faulty procedures, dissociative identity disorder is an invented affliction. Historical Trends Because the symptoms associated with DID were less theatrical before the launch of the Sibyl, historical trends highlight the spurious essence of this condition. In the recently added introduction to the primary source “Psychological Consultation Report: Mrs. White and Miss Black” (2006), psychiatrists Corbett Thigpen and Hervey Cleckley provide a brief overview of the history of DID. They state that the first known case dates back to the year 1791, in which the psychologist Eberhardt Gmelin described a young German woman imitating a French aristocrat (para. 10). This patient reveals the most commonly accepted symptoms of DID in the 18th century. , simply containing two psyches of the same sex and age. Similarly, in the article “Essay Review: Multiplying the Multiplicity…”, professors Ivan Leudar and Wes Sharrock (1999) describe the patient MaryReynolds, who was diagnosed with DID in 1815. Reynolds tended to alternate between a devout, shy psyche and a more extroverted, childlike personality (par. 3). Evidently, during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, patients with DID generally contained two separate personalities of consistent sex and age. These signs were much less severe than the symptoms associated with Sybil, who contained sixteen different personalities. Since the signs of DID differ greatly in intensity between Sybil and previous cases, the condition is overall flawed. Due to the current increased potency of DID symptoms, especially since the release of Sybil, historical trends continue to reveal fictional elements of the condition. Soon after this show first appeared, patients diagnosed with DID began suffering from symptoms that matched Sybil's. Five years after the miniseries was first published, patient Billy Milligan was diagnosed with DID, containing twenty different psychic minds of different ages, genders, and sexual tendencies (Leudar & Sharrock, 1999, para. 5). Milligan's DID symptoms were incredibly intense, being more dramatic than any other documented case prior to Sybil's release. Thus, the sensationalism surrounding DID influenced Milligan's diagnosis, proving the condition to be fictitious. Similarly, in the late 1990s, patient Kim Noble was discovered to maintain nearly a hundred separate psyches (Leudar & Sharrock, 1999, para. 5). As evidenced by Noble's severe diagnosis amid Sybil's controversy and fame, the currently intense symptoms associated with DID simply stem from sensationalism. Therefore, the paralyzing symptoms reported after the release of the film Sybil, as illustrated by patients Milligan and Noble, highlight the invented basis of this condition. In addition to historical trends, an analysis of the proclaimed causes of DID also reveals the fictitious nature of this disorder. Childhood Trauma Because the established source of DID, a history of childhood abuse, fails to parallel the signs of the condition, this failure to delineate an accurate cause further exposes the invented core of the disorder. Presumably, a patient develops numerous personalities to cope with painful memories of adolescent maltreatment. However, as the article “Remembrance of Traumas Past” (2017) argues, previous studies of individuals who have “endured prolonged trauma consistently show that their distress stems from an inability to forget, from being unable to remember” (par 8). Thus, previous abuse generally results in the victim's inability to erase these painful memories. Consequently, childhood trauma could not logically induce DID, in which patients are unable to recall their alleged traumatic experiences if not adequately treated, illustrating the spurious core of the disorder. Additionally, victims of childhood abuse tend to experience a wide range of symptoms, including physical and mental health complications (“Remembrance of Traumas Past,” 2017, para. 23). However, symptoms associated with DID tend to remain constant, including a split consciousness and development of multiple personalities. Therefore, victims of childhood abuse are unlikely to be particularly susceptible to DID, revealing the generally factitious elements of the disorder. In general, since childhood trauma is not a likely source of DID and the accepted source of this condition is unknown, the entire disorder is made up. Indeed, the failure to delineate a valid cause of DID leads to fears that memories of childhood abuse arise from treatment sessions, underscoring the invented basis of the condition. During the broadcast “The real 'Sybil'admits multiple personalities were fake” (2011), author Debbie Nathan reinforces the claim that painful memories of childhood abuse are generated during treatment sessions. Nathan specifically mentions Sybil, who confessed to making up her traumatic childhood and DID symptoms early in the therapy process. However, after months of hypnosis and injections of sodium pentothal, which increase the individual's susceptibility to suggestions, the therapist's constant discussion of traumatic experiences convinced Sybil to remember these events (para. 6). Thus, Sybil exemplifies the ability of therapeutic methods to produce false memories of childhood trauma in treated patients, confirming the theory that memories of adolescent abuse are not the source of DID and that the entire disorder is made up. Similarly, after nine years of therapy, DID patient Cathy Kezelman developed traumatic memories of being “raped and tortured by a cult led by her grandmother” (Remembrance of Traumas Past, 2017, para. 28). Kezelman's inability to recall such repugnant memories before undergoing therapy implies that numerous sessions of hypnosis and drug treatment generated these memories, maintaining the claim that DID is fictitious. Accordingly, both Sybil's and Kezelman's therapy-generated memories demonstrate that the presumed source of DID, memories of childhood trauma, arise through treatment. Since the generally accepted source of DID is false, the general disorder of DID appears to be made up. nature. In the primary source, “Psychological Consultation Report: Mrs. White and Miss Black” (2006), psychologist Leopold Winter outlines the equipment he uses to correctly diagnose a patient with DID. Winter assumes that an IQ test, which is administered to each of the delineated personalities within an individual, combined with baseline observations, can accurately determine whether the person suffers from DID (para. 10). Both IQ tests and basic observations are incredibly subjective and, therefore, cannot definitively prove that a patient has this disorder. The subject, for example, may simply become disinterested while completing a second IQ test, resulting in a lower score than the one obtained on the first test. This variation in ratings could be misinterpreted as evidence that a patient contains multiple personalities. Ergo, the subjective tools used could result in the misdiagnosis of an individual with DID, illustrating the invented basis of the disorder. Unfortunately, more recently developed diagnostic tools fail to eliminate the subjectivity of DID exams. Indeed, college counselors Benjamin Levy and Janine Swanson (2008) discuss these advances in the article “Clinical Evaluation of Dissociative Identity Disorder Among College Counseling Clients.” Counselors state that the commonly implemented Dissociative Experiences Scale, or DES, cannot distinguish between symptoms of DID and PTSD (paras. 4-9). Therefore, the modern DES tool could induce a misdiagnosis of DID by misinterpreting the true mental reality. PTSD health problem. This uncertainty supports the thesis that DID is non-existent, being simply the misdiagnosis of other conditions. Once again, college counselors Levy and Swanson (2008) directly argue that the accepted symptoms of PTSD correspond to the signs of DID (para. 12). Due to the extreme similarities between DID and PTSD, one could argue that the former is simply the technology-based misdiagnosis of the latter. Therefore, faulty IQ tests, subjective observations and DESunreliable could lead to a misdiagnosis of DID instead of other medical conditions, implying that the DID is false. Evaluating the Claims of DID Proponents Despite the claims of some therapists, who argue that DID's placement in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health, or DSM, validates the authenticity of the condition, the medical community's general disapproval of DID DDI invalidates this belief. In the introduction of the article “Remembrance of Traumas Past” (2017), the anonymous author refers to the 2015 conference of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. During this meeting, keynote speaker Peter McClellan states that the credibility of the DID is evident through its placement in the DSM (para. 13). McClellan illustrates a common assumption held by supporters of DID, namely that the condition is supported by its inclusion in psychologists' "bible" of diagnosis. However, during the show “Therapists Divide on Multiple Personalities” (2009), psychiatrist Dr. Numan Gharaibeh uses a previously conducted study to justify his argumentative points about DID. He states that only twenty-one percent of the three hundred certified psychiatrists interviewed believed in the existence of DID (para. 6). Thus, despite the placement of DID in the DSM, most psychiatrists continue to consider this disorder to be scientifically invalid. Consequently, based on the many professionals who consider DID to be an invented condition, the inclusion of DID in the DSM fails to disprove the fictitious essence of this mental illness. However, DID advocates continue to validate the disorder through other means. Although proponents of DID use patient reports of successful treatments to ascertain the existence of this disorder, all such favorable results are heralded by the therapist and not the patient and are, therefore, unreliable. . On the show “Exploring Multiple Personalities in 'Sybil Exposed'” (2011), professor Bethany Brand, a supporter of DID, and author Debbie Nathan, an opponent of DID, discuss the existence of this disorder. Brand first cites a study, during which 280 selected patients diagnosed with DID achieved significant improvements in all aspects of life through therapy (para. 32). Brand uses this statistic to support the claim that DID is a real, treatable condition that can be helped. through treatment sessions. In response, Nathan argues that, regardless of diagnosis, all individuals who undergo therapy tend to improve (“Exploring Multiple Personalities in 'Sybil Exposed',” 2011, para. 33). With this statement, Nathan implies that correctly diagnosing the 280 patients did not directly produce improvements; instead, the generally used therapeutic methods included in the experimental treatment sessions induced progress in the areas tested. Thus, Nathan rejects the belief that a patient must be correctly diagnosed in order to improve through therapy, arguing that DID is fictitious in nature. Later in the show, Professor Paul McHugh contributes to the discussion. McHugh proclaims, “All these reports of so-called effective treatments for DID are always made by believers in DID” (“Exploring Multiple Personalities in 'Sybil Exposed,'” 2011, para. 41). McHugh implies that recorded cases of effective DID treatments lack credibility, being reported by therapists who are solely biased in favor of the existence of this disorder. Since there are no plausible methods to validate these reports, which are conducted by a biased examiner,.