DID diagnosis Essay Example for Free

DID diagnosis EssayThey are strangers to themselves. Perhaps that is the most simplistic yet most accurate description of people suffering from a dissociative disorder. Their whole manner can feel like champion big dream, but the worst part is that it isnt eve their dreamits someone elses. E tangiblething seems to operate in slow motion, the outside world seems like an incessantly ungraspable perception, and they feel like nothing much than a perception. nothing more than a classical fleeting thought. This sort of depersonalization is the discern attribute of divisible Identity Disorder, separating it from the amnesias and the fugues (Sidran Foundation, 2003). And this disorder appears to be what Aaron leave behind use as a defense for his murder runnel in the movie Primal Fear. Aaron surely displays the classic symptoms of this Axis I diagnosis. When the psychologist is speaking to him, he stutters and twitches (an Axis III physical characteristic) (Brown Barlow, 2001) and generally seems very incapable of establishing a connection with his surroundings. It is as if he is in a perpetual fog, waiting for either reason to run screaming into the protective mist.That flight appears to happen briefly when the lady recording the sitting starts fiddling with her camera. Then, Aarons polite Aw, shucks demeanor abruptly transforms into a fleeting moment of exasperate cursingalmost as if, for that brief moment, he was a different person. The change seems to go neglected for a while, until an intense argument with his lawyer reveals the truth about Aaron. In all of his previous interviews, the new-fashioned murder suspect has displayed other key physical, Axis III symptoms that should look at indicated all was not right field (Dissociative disorders, 2005).He reported feelings of overwhelming exhaustion, claimed he did not remember the time surrounding the archbishops decease (blackouts which, he claimed, had been experienced since the age of twe lve), and often grabbed his head as if it were about to explode. Once Aarons lawyer starts to scream at him and demand the truth, Aaron jumps up and starts banging his head against the wall, in an effort to murder the trouble oneself in his head. Instead, that simple headache explodes into a sneering, cursing, chair-kicking, lawyer-slapping, sarcastic, non-stuttering, confident, and angry young man who calls himself Roy. His whole demeanor has changed. The key criterion of a DID diagnosis, the alter (a distinct state of consciousness that assumes control repeatedly) (Sidran Foundation, 2003) has been introduced with dramatic flair. Roy is someone who seems to be a living personification of Aarons missing confidence and aggressiveness. As his shocked lawyer looks on, Roy claims state for the murder, boldly proclaiming how Aaron had run to him for help because he was not strong enough to handle things himself.Since Aarons probable Axis I disorder has much(prenominal) a strong impa ct on his personality and development, some(prenominal) Axis II diagnosis should be deferred until Aaron has completed treatment and confronted his other self. But what lies at the groundwork of this contentious new force? Aarons entire early socio-cultural experiences were molded in fear and terror. Patients with DID more often than not have the prolonged agony of severe childhood abuse to overcome (Chaves, Kirsch, Lynn, Lilienfield, Powell, Sarbin, 2007), and Aaron is no exception. The prisoner, in an early interview, briefly mentions his father, who was not a nice man. He also gets very awkward when the subject of sex with his girlfriend is broached. These incidents point to possible sexual abuse (incest is a common forerunner to DID) by the father. In response to the extreme physical and emotional pain accomp some(prenominal)ing their abuse, and more importantly to the overwhelming shame associated with keeping the secret, highly creative individuals may adapt their rich fantasy lifetime as a lifeline (such a coping mechanism may be more popular in an individualistic Western society which encourages open and innovative expression).They can be their own hypnotizer (Brown Barlow, 2001). In Aarons case, his somewhat restrictive religious upbringing (serving as an altar boy) could have contributed to his repressing tendencies in dealing with his traumas. Since Aarons blackouts began around the age of twelve, this is probably the time when Roy made his first display as a protector to Aaron. The protective alters are usually aware of their role, while the host frame trapped in the unconscious world of not knowing. After the early childhood onset, the alters usually re-emerge when certain new lifeexperiences provide triggers or cues (Chaves et al, 2007). For Aaron, the alleged pornography he was forced to move in with his girlfriend for the priest brought out Roy in full-force. The repressed anger he felt for this self-confidence figure in his l ife, who had betrayed his trust, just as his father likely had, became a brutal documentaryization in Roys fierce murderous impulses. In the interviews, the camera the psychologist used probably accounted for Roys brief appearance, as it was a reminder of the pornography.And the lawyers abusive language and actions brought him out, guns-blazing, for the final truth. This volatility and instabilitycharacteristic of many DID patientsoften places them on the lowest ends of the global functioning scale. In Aarons case, his doctors have plainly agreed, as all of his encounters take place in the controlled atmosphere of a prison setting. However, I would send word those doctors to take a closer look at Aaron. Something seems amiss.Perhaps they could utilize some of those personality, GSR, and neurophysiological tests that have proven so effective in spotting fakers (Cherry, 2008). Maybe they should check Aarons room for any possible extracurricular reading. or should I say Roys room? B y trials conclusion, the acquitted young man coldly and even joyfully informs his swindled lawyer that he has performed the crowning(prenominal) con, and the film concludes with Roy taunting and boasting about his victory in fooling everyone. The audience learns that Aaron is likely the real illusion,and this revelation makes the character amoral and devoid of any rooting value. Dissociative Identity Disorder remains one of the most enduring controversies within the psychiatric community. In spite of the documented cases and the current DSM recognition, many ameliorate scholars still maintain that the disorder is a popular myth, brought about by socio-cultural factors of role-playing and a thirst for lividness (Chaves et al, 2007). Skeptics might use cases such as that of Hillside Strangler Kenneth Bianchi as an example.This convicted multiple murderer tried to excite his crimes on a killer alternate personality. He was soon found to be faking, an assumption solidified by the d iscovery of various psychology books in his jail cell (Cherry, 2008). Individuals such as the real Bianchi and the fictional Aaron set the psychiatric communitys standing and progress back decades, but such individuals likely would not care in the slightest, as their true diagnosis is decidedly antisocial unsuccessful person to follow social norms, deceitfulness, lack of remorse, recklessness, danger to others (Brown Barlow, 2001).Or, in the words of an 1885 physician, whose patient sounds eerily familiar (Having) no capacity for true moral feeling all his impulses and desires, to which he yields without check, are egoistic, his conduct appears to be governed by immoral motives, which are cherished and obeyed without any evident desire to resist them. (Vaknin, 2009) Perhaps that Axis II diagnosis should not be deferred after all. References Brown, T. A. Barlow, D. H. (2001).Dissociative Identity Disorder. Casebook in brachydactylous Psychology (2nd ed. ). Pacific Grove Wadswor th Thomson Learning. Chaves, J. F. , Ganaway, G. K. , Kirsch I. , Lynn, S. J. , Lilienfeld, S. O. , Powell, R. A. Sarbin, T. R. (2007). Dissociative Identity Disorder and the socio-cognitive model Recalling the lessons of the past. Psychological Bulletin 125(5), 507-523. Cherry, A. A. (2008). duple personality disorder fact or fiction? Retrieved February 23, 2009,from Personality Research http//www. personalityresearch. org/papers/cherry2. html Dissociative disorders. (2005). The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. Rahway Merck Publishing Group. Sidran Foundation. (2003). Dissociative disorders. Towson Sidran Institute. Vaknin, S. (2009). The history of personality disorders. Retrieved February 23, 2009, from Mental Health Matters http//www. mental-health-matters. com/index. php? option=com_ contentview=articleid=1087