Impact

People who suffer from multiple personality are adults who live with a coping
mechanism that worked well to survive the horrors of abuse in childhood
but is not working as well in a normal adult environment. All patients
with DID suffer to some extent, which usually drives them to find
relief. Some of these forms of relief are healthy, such as psychotherapy, and
some may be unhealthy, such as addictions used to drown the painful feelings.
Some people with multiple personality appear to function normally and
may not themselves know that they have more than one personality. They
may be able to function at a very high level at a job, for instance, while those
close to them sense things are not normal. They may function normally for
years and then have a crisis that seems to develop very rapidly. Other people
with DID have trouble functioning normally and have a long history of psychological
problems. These people may be unable to work to support themselves
and need multiple hospitalizations. It is common for someone with
DID to function at an extremely high level in one area or at one time and,
conversely, to function at a very low level in another area or at another time.
This leaves those around them very puzzled and confused.