Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : May 3, 2026 11:46 AM IST
Image credits by: A visual representation of split personality disorder.
When people hear the word "split personality", they often tend to link it with the movies and the vision of a person flipping between the two extremes, usually good and evil. Those depictions might make you glued to your screen, but they do not reflect the reality of split personality disorder. It is also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Many people think that dissociative identity disorder means being two-faced, but the reality is far beyond that.
Split personality disorder was also known by the name multiple personality disorder. It is a severe form of dissociation which involves the cognitive brain to cope with trauma, stress by disconnecting from thoughts, feelings, memories, and sense of identity.
People who usually suffer from split personality disorder are likely to have two kinds of identities. One is their own identity, and the other is their adopted one. These identities usually control the person's behaviour, and many times. The main personality is unaware of what is happening to them.
Split personality disorder is a severe disorder, and a person is likely to develop it because of past experiences that they might have come across during their childhood. It is mostly related to traumatic experiences, especially before the age of six. It includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and even extreme environmental stress.
According to a psychologist, for some people, this disorder is a creative way to escape unbearable situations. In children, when the brain is in the stage of development, it can be really overwhelming for them to overcome the trauma. This switch to a different identity becomes a coping mechanism for them.
Individuals who suffer from this disorder have to go through a lot like waking up with blackouts in memory, they might not be able to track that which of their identities in control if it is their own real identity or another identity, they might pick up a specific role of either a child, a caregiver, a protector or sometimes even a memory holder which is very common, they adhere to it to survive emotionally.
Many times it might happen for the individual that they forget about the conversations they had with people and even the actions they took because they were controlled by different identity during a particular time and when a different identity take over that particular person may start speaking differently, but they might have an entire different body language habits, and even different clothes a person can go from being shy to aggressive without any warning.
A person who deals with this disorder always remains confused about who they actually are two kinds of feelings might persist within them. At first, they may feel like they are not a single person, but maybe more than that, and sometimes, even they feel like they're watching their life outside their own body. They might feel that the world around them is some sort of dream and not real.
Dissociative identity disorder can be misdiagnosed a lot of times, as people might think that they have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but in reality it is something else.
A proper diagnosis of the disorder includes detailed interviews of the subject, and then there is a trauma history assessment, which is followed by observation of the person as an of the identity switches.
No medication is available to cure this disorder, but some medications can help with depression and anxiety. It is always better to understand the person who is suffering from it.
Trauma-focused therapy: it is a very important part of the treatment done to heal the top of the person. It is different from regular talk therapy, but it focuses on a specialised and evidence-based approach.
Dialectical behaviour therapy: This therapy is meant to understand the struggle of intense emotions. It helps individuals to keep themselves in control and avoid self-injuries, and try to induce healthy coping skills and work towards improving their lives.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa, a 2007 film, was a psychological thriller that brought this split personality disorder inform of the audience in the form of a film. This movie stars Vidya Balan, who plays the role of a modern, educated woman who begins to behave oddly after moving into a supposedly haunted place. It was revealed in a movie that she was not possessed by any ghost, but she was actually suffering from split personality disorder, where she transforms into Manjulika, a dancer from the past.
This film was quite clear in delivering the message about how often people misinterpret mental illness as possession or madness, but it can be something else, too. But the portrayal of a quick cure in the movie was something that is falsely portrayed because individuals who suffer with it can take years to cope with or heal from it. However, it opened doors for awareness, but it was much more dramatic to entertain the audience.
Overall, even if there is no cure to dissociative Identity disorder, if someone is going through it is advised for them to remain under supervision and take the help of a mental health expert so that they don't indulge in self-harm.
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