Dissociative Identity Disorder: An American Phenomenon?

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a condition where individuals will display various distinct personalities or identities. Another name for this disorder is Multiple Personality Disorder. The diagnosis for this condition requires that at least two personalities are routinely taking control an individual's behavior with an associated memory loss that goes beyond just normal forgetfulness.( MedicineNet.com) When discussing DID there is much controversy surrounding the topic, including that it does not exist outside of North America.(Ross) This diagnosis is more commonly found in females and is concentrated more heavily in North America, especially the United States. Women are diagnosed more with DID and they also tend to have more alternate personalities. The disorder tends to become dormant as individuals enter middle age, but the symptoms can resurface during periods of stress. DID seems to be a cultural disorder because it is rarely found outside of North America, specifically the United States.(MedicineNet.com)

An interesting way that psychiatrist has chosen to help relieve people that are suffering from DID is Art therapy. It is helpful for them to distinguish how many personalities a person has who has DID. I found a video about a woman, Kim Nobel who uses art therapy specifically painting to deal with her multiple personalities. Each one of her personalities is evident in the paintings she creates because each is completely different. This is very interesting to me because she is using aesthetics to help relieve some of the problems she has stemming from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Below is a link to the Video of Kim Nobel:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Art-Therapy-and-Dissociative-Identity-Disorder-Video

Works Cited

"Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) Symptoms, Treatment, Causes, Signs and Diagnosis by MedicineNet.com." Web. 14 Dec. 2010. .

Ross, Colin A. "Dissociative Identity Disorder." Dissociative Identity Disorder (2006). Springerlink. Web. Oct.-Nov. 2010. .

Unknown. "Art Therapy and Dissociative Identity Disorder - Video - Oprah.com." Oprah Winfrey's Official Website - Live Your Best Life - Oprah.com. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. .

Down the Rabbit Hole

Have you ever thought about what it might be like to see the world like in Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Just like this picture? What if you actually could, and not because of hallucinogenic drugs? Well, for some people, this experience can actually happen.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is an actual medical term that is used to describe certain types of ordinary migraines (AIWS). The name for this syndrome came around in 1955, and was first described by John Todd, an English psychiatrist, who obviously named it after the work by Lewis Carroll (Medterms.com). This term is used to describe migraines in which a person's vision is distorted, which gives him or her the perception that his or her limbs are of incorrect proportion, or that external objects are of the wrong proportion (AIWS). People who have read Lewis Carroll's book will remember the times when Alice ate the cake, and drank the potion to either become larger or smaller. This is how a person with Alice in Wonderland Syndrome feels while experiencing the particular type of migraine. Katie O'Brian describes the symptoms she has due to this form of migraine in an piece about her on ABC News. She claims that they usually happen early in the morning when she first wakes up. Everything seems tiny to her, just as in the book (Youtube). A very important piece of this syndrome is that it tends to be hereditary (Medterms.com).

This is a huge connection between the Arts and the Sciences. The fact that John Todd chose

to use Lewis Carroll's book to describe a medical phenomenon shows that he must have been

at least somewhat literate in other subjects other than his own. Also, without Carroll's work, what

would the nonscientific name have been? Whatever the name would have been, chances are it

would not have been as identifiable as "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." This name gives people,

who may not have even read the book, imagine what these people who suffer from the visuals see.

Now, do you believe what these people see?

Here's a link to Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberywocky", try to say it 10 times fast!

Works Cited

"Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." youtube.com. YouTube. 16 Oct. 2008. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Carroll, Lewis. "Jabberwocky." Jabberwocky. Jabberywocky.com. 1872. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

"Definition of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." medterms.com. MedicineNet, 31 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Hemsley, Rik. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Tenniel, John. Alice When She Was Tall. 1865. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.