Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder

Several years ago, I made the mistake of talking to a pastor about the fact that I was suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. We were attending his church at the time, and he had seemed to be a very caring and compassionate person. He had even taken some psychology classes in college, so I expected him to be understanding about my struggles with this disorder. I was, at that time, in the midst of integrating and my life was somewhat tumultuous. However, after sharing this personal information with him, I found that he had little understanding, knowledge or compassion. I think he was actually afraid of me. He also made a statement to me that Dissociative Identity Disorder was the same as Schizophrenia. I politely told him that they are two distinct disorders. He backed down slightly and replied that DID could become Schizophrenia. With that limited knowledge, I think it explains why he was suddenly afraid of having me show up in his church. We did change churches not long after this conversation and I continued to work towards integration.

So, you can see, that having any kind of mental or emotional disorder can cause a lot of problems simply because it is so poorly understood by most people. I still remember the sting of humiliation that I felt at the hands of this well-meaning pastor. He was simply ignorant of the facts and did not mean to cause me any harm. Since I was already in a somewhat fragile state, I decided to move on and find another church and a therapist to help me with the rest of my integration process.

I would like to compare the two disorders, Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder. Since I am not a professional, this is by no means a comprehensive comparison, but it will help to shed light and more understanding about these two mental disorders.

Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is probably one of the most stigmatized mental disorders. It seems that in so many cases, dealing with this disorder is just too much for some family members and the person suffering from the disorder loses family support and any help that they could provide. People suffering from this disorder tend not to stay in treatment and tend not to take the medications that have been prescribed for them. This can definitely cause a lot of upheaval within the family. Schizophrenics sometimes hear voices that seem to come from outside themselves. Not all schizophrenics hear these voices, but many do. If medication is administered on a regular basis, the schizophrenic can function normally within society; it is when they fail to maintain a regular schedule of medicating that problems arise. There are several types of schizophrenia as well, such as paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Symptoms of Schizophrenia provided by Schizophrenia.com
Delusions
Hallucinations
Disorganized Speech
Catatonic Behavior
Lack of emotion
Low Energy
Lack of Interest in Life
Lack of facial expression- flat affect
Social Isolation
Disorganized Thinking
Slow Thinking
Difficulty Understanding
Poor Concentration
Poor memory
Difficulty Expressing Thoughts
Difficulty integrating thoughts, feelings and behavior

Because so many of these symptoms appear in other mental diseases and disorders, it is easy to see how diagnosing Schizophrenia can be so difficult and time-consuming.

Treating Schizophrenia is also time consuming. Various medications are given and what works well for one person may not work well for another. Once an effective medication has been applied, most schizophrenics are able to live a normal life and function well in society. Medical Science is currently developing new medications for this disorder and soon there will be more and better treatment options.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Just as schizophrenics hear voices that seem to come from outside themselves, most people with Dissociative Identity Disorder hear voices that seem to come from inside themselves. People with DID also do not suffer from hallucinations, delusions, or have problems with speech and understanding. The problems arise when there is a switch from one alternate personality to another, which could cause someone to think the person has a very poor memory, when in fact, they do not; they just were not fully "present" for a short time.

Dissociative Identity Disorder results, for the most part, in the face of extreme physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse. When the person is unable to tolerate a situation, they "flee" by fragmenting the mind, or splitting off. One alternate personality will remain to endure the abuse and store that information away from the conscious mind. Memories of abuse become compartmentalized. Abusive memories that are similar are often telescoped together and not always stored as separate incidents, but rather, as similar incidents in the same compartment of the mind. The more intense and lengthy the abuse, the more fragmented the personality becomes.

I have a dear friend who endured many years of SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse). Today she is completely integrated, attending college in order to prepare herself to teach upcoming psychology students all about this mysterious mental disorder known as Dissociative Identity Disorder. She was poly-fragmented due to the severity of her abuse. Today she is an extremely high functioning college student, ranked at the top of her classes. She functions well in life and has achieved most of her educational goals already. She is truly a most remarkable woman and I admire her drive and determination.

So, to say that Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder are all the same, is completely in error. While it is true that both mental disorders require a lot of time and patience to overcome, given the right treatment, both disorders result in the person becoming a fully functioning individual. Both disorders also require patience from the people in the lives of those who suffer from the illnesses. If family members are willing to learn about the disorder, and come alongside their loved one, it helps tremendously. Support and understanding are needed along the way, but can't that be said of everyone? We all need support and understanding as we make our way through life, some just need a little more for a while. Hopefully, one day society will better understand all mental diseases and disorders and will not be so frightened by them that they hinder the progress of the one who is afflicted.

Sources:

Personal experience

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-differences-between-bipolar-disorder-schizophrenia-and-multiple-personality-disorder?pp=2

http://www.schizophrenia.com/diag.php