Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID for short, is a mental illness that serves as a fascinating coping mechanism. Formerly called multiple personality disorder, it arises from a person's need to escape reality, usually as a result of repeated childhood trauma. DID is the development of distinct personalities. A personality who has suffered abuse and one or more who have not and are generally protective of the individual. Through my research, I have discovered that there are many misconceptions that constitute alternative identities, even among healthcare professionals. It is sometimes confused with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder and psychosis with ego fragmentation that resembles personality changes. People with dissociated disorder have dissociated part of their self or part of their mind, so it is safer to say that they have different personality states. They are often unaware of changes in state and have no memory of events that occurred from one to the other. In order to be diagnosed with this disorder, they must meet the five criteria outlined in the DSM. The first criterion being...