Split Personality Disorder Test

How does this split personality disorder test work?

This is a useful assessment to help you decided whether you undergo serious signs for a dissociative disorder.

There are 20 questions ranging from general ones to in particular situational ones. You are asked to choose whether that is true for you, false or not applicable.

Once you finish the test you are going to be offered some guidance on whether you might suffer from this condition or whether is the case to consult with a health professional.

What is the split personality disorder?

Split personality disorder it is known officially as the dissociative identity disorder (DID) which is basically the existence of two or more alternative identities that switch and take over the patient’s life.

The person’s identity is fragmented in different personalities that can be completely opposite. These are referred as alters and have their own identity, history, characteristics and behavior.

The switch between the primary identity and an alter is triggered by certain events or stressors. The primary identity is aware to some extent of the others and there are different relationships between the alters.

Dissociative experiences range in mild to severe symptoms but diagnosis and means of analysis are still controversial.

There is also a theory in which these moments are triggered in easily hypnotized persons and can appear in response to therapy suggestions.

Some studies say it might be triggered by severe trauma in early childhood and or repeated abuse, either physical or emotional. In such cases, DID is developed as a coping mechanism with those experiences.

The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation studies the prevalence and announced a rate of around 1% in the general population and that women are more likely to develop such a condition.

Causes of dissociative disorders

Dissociative symptoms are mostly attributed to traumatic experiences and are not accounted for by any other medical conditions or substance abuse.

There are however linked to memory disruptions and coping mechanisms to high levels of stress or emotional abuse.

Sometimes this disorder can be linked with Post Traumatic Shock Disorder (PTSD). There are many reports stating that there is high prevalence in the cases of sexual and physical abuse in the childhoods of those later developing this disorder. 

Symptoms of DID

There are various symptoms that can point to such a disorder and their intensity varies from one individual to another as well as the resolution or aggravation of some in time.

It is also to be noted the number of alters, respectively the moments and situations that trigger the identity switch.

Some people can even meet others that call them by different names and know them from completely strange situations.

Split personality disorder treatment

As dissociative identity disorder is yet a controversial subject, still studied and ways of diagnosis are still perfected so is any type of treatment.

It is considered to have no cure and there is little chance for a natural resolution so unfortunately the key to controlling the symptoms and the occurrences of alters stands in therapy measures from psychotherapy, hypnotherapy and others.

Although drug based treatment it is not the route to follow, as DID is often accompanied by other disorders such as depression or anxiety, there are certain drugs introduced in the overall treatment as well.

The latest discovery in this field is EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) which is a technique that aims to address the cause of the disorder and help the patient heal the traumatic event whose recollection triggers the disorder.