Dissociative Identity Disorder Case Study Sample

Dissociative identity disorder does exist. However, its development is what is in doubt. Trying to explain the development of the disorder as being caused by childhood trauma creates even more doubts as to the existence of the disorder. This makes the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder greatly controversial in the present-day Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Nevertheless, the existence of the disorder is a reality that makes the functioning of diagnosed patients difficult.
The fact that it is possible to create false ‘realities’ of chronic childhood cruelties in therapy make it possible to manipulate the thoughts of a person thereby making it likely for therapists to trigger dissociative identity disorder in therapy. It is believable that the dissociative identity disorder exists and that it is possible to generate false but believable severe and sustained traumatic memories of abuse and subsequently nurturing the disorder in therapy.
It is possible to determine whether a person has alters because dissociative identity disorder have distinct states. That is, people with this disorder have distinct ways of being themselves and are unable to remember what they did in their altered state. Such people may act in a different way in their diverse states.
Alters serve an important purpose of repressing severe early traumatic experiences. This function of the disorder is usually supported by the existence of evidence showing abuse in documents such as medical and police reports. Where a person is having difficulties coping with certain traumatic events, psychotherapists may teach the patient to enact multiple personalities as a way of dealing with their conditions.
A person may claim to have the dissociative identity disorder in order to escape carrying out his duties. For instance a military officer may fake the symptoms of the disorder in order to gain compensation or avoid military duty. It is also possible for a person to fake the symptoms of the disorder in a bid to escape punishment or attract the attention of caregivers.
With regard to Kayla and Julian, the latter’s condition is characterized by an obsession of his perceived ugly face. He is obsessed with his facial appearance. He does not want to show his face and hides behind dark glasses. He is not sure he suffers from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) but his hideous acts are clear symptoms of the disorder.
Kayla believes she has bulbous eyes, protruding chin, and prolonged nose hence believing she looks like a witch. She is obsessed in looking at the mirror. She has to wait until it is dark at night to go out because she believes she is very ugly. She developed the disorder after developing freckles and subsequent bullying at school. Her attention has shifted to her nose and has undergone several nose jobs in a bid to correct her perceived ugly nose. She fully understands that once diagnosed with BDD a person cannot accept herself as being pretty. Like Julian, she does not want people to see her ‘ugly’ face which she perceives as a disability.
Factors that seem to influence the beginning of BDD in the two sufferers include the fact that both are obsessed in parts of their bodies which make them feel ugly. They seem to be in considerable emotional distress over their perceived ugly looks and have become antisocial. They spend a lot of time looking in the mirror obsessing over their look.
The numerous nose jobs done on Kayla are unwarranted. The fact that a seventh nose job has the potential of permanently deforming her nose should be reason enough for surgeons to decline another nose job. Instead, she should be encouraged to see a psychotherapist more often in a bid to correct her condition. If the previous six nose jobs have not changed her perceived flaw, a seventh nose job will surely not do it.
Kayla’s family agrees to pay for the surgery because they feel obligated to help their daughter overcome her illness. Her family also has difficulties convincing her not to go on with the surgery.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is exhibited by Jennifer's mother. This is characterized by the fact that Jennifer had been frequently hospitalized and undergone forty operations for symptoms that her mother had previously fabricated. Jennifer’s mother tries to make Jennifer and people to believe that her daughter has had numerous chronic disorders. The mother’s insistence in her daughter’s perceived illnesses have led to Jennifer developing the Munchausen syndrome.