What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

I think I read that they changed it because it caused confusion in that it is not a personality disorder... but a dissociative disorder

...and also it is misleading because there are not 'multiple personalities'. Rather there is one personality that is not integrated. Dissociation is a mental defense mechanism that prevents the integration of traumatic experience. When trauma is experienced by a young child who has not yet formed a stable sense of self, and that child does not have external support to process the traumatic experience, the various aspects of the trauma - mental, physical, emotional, and sensory impressions - cannot be processed. If the trauma recurs over time these dissociated experiences of the trauma become more developed states of being. They cannot be integrated into the child's psyche, so they remain split off and become more discrete over time. Eventually these dissociated states can develop a separate sense of identity, thus the name.

Dissociated aspects that are 'called upon' more frequently become more complex dissociated states (identities) while other dissociated aspects may have a very limited function or experience and are perhaps more like holders of a single dissociated experience as opposed to a fully developed alter.
So the name change reflects a better understanding of what it actually is and how and why it develops. It isn't that people have 'many personalities' existing within them. It is more like that because of critical experiences and conditions in early childhood their personality was unable to develop in the usual way. The child was unable to integrate his or her overwhelming experiences into one functioning identity and instead the dissociated self-states developed separately.

Wow good points. Thanks guys!

I second what Luce and E.S said.

What is DID? A mind screw.

short version the name was changed because its a dissociative (feeling numb, feeling spaced out, feeling disconnected... ) disorder not a personality (behaviors ie acting paranoid, avoidance, getting into fights with relationships .......) disorder.

personality disorders focus on one area of a persons life where as dissociative disorders affect all aspects of a persons life.

neither personality disorders nor dissociative disorders (with the exception of DID here in america) requires a person to be traumatized or abused. that said ........Some..... who have been diagnosed one or the other or both have gone through trauma or abuse.

hope that has helped.

I found this somewhat brilliant. I have also come to realize during my 56 year ride with this condition that it is an elevated form of survival. Few have the option to send out the samuri to fight the monsters, like
we do. They take the worst of it, saving our hearts and our souls. We
pay a price only other multiples can conjure, but I'd rather be like this
than be a sociopath. That's what happens to those who don't have their
own samurai. The study of brain science is still in it's infancy and they don't
have a clue how we do this. But most DID's I've ever known are strong, brilliant, creative people with more will to survive than most other people
will ever comprehend. We are champions. Don't let anyone tell you different.