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  • Essay / Evidence of Dissociative Identity Disorder in Fight Club

    In the film Fight Club, we are introduced to an average, middle-aged, white-collar man who appears normal at first glance. However, it is clear that the narrator suffers from insomnia, anxiety and depression very early in the film. The narrator attempts to combat these symptoms in several ways, but the only way he has found effective is to attend support groups every night. The narrator soon creates an alter ego (although we don't know if he is his alter ego until the end of the film) named Tyler Durden. Durden is more attractive, has a better physique, and is overall more confident than the narrator and Durden regularly takes control of the narrator without the narrator's knowledge to perform tasks that the narrator does not believe he has the power to accomplish. This use of dissociation is a defense mechanism used by the narrator to withdraw from situations that may produce anxiety. The narrator has many instances in which he is not able to remember things that happened that day or in previous days, such as having sex with Marla (the narrator imagines Tyler having sex with Marla , while it is he who has sex with Marla). However, it is difficult to determine whether or not these memory losses are due to true dissociative identity disorder (DID) or perhaps physical trauma suffered during his struggles. Although the narrator is seen consuming an alcoholic beverage on the first day he "met" Tyler Durden, it is not apparent throughout the film whether these memory loss/fainting spells are due to alcohol or to other substances. As the film progresses, the narrator continues to have the issues related to anxiety and he...... middle of paper ...... narrator's lack of respect for life, however , the general lack of respect for life perhaps indicated that the narrator wanted to commit suicide, or that the narrator felt indestructible and did not believe that his risky behaviors would cause an early death. It is also unclear at the end of the film whether the narrator actually shot himself in the head or whether it was an intrusive symptom produced by dissociations. References Brand, B. and Loewenstein, RJ (2010). Dissociative disorders: an overview of assessment, phenomenology, and treatment. Psychiatric Times, 27(10), 62-69. Sadock, B.J. & Sadock, V.A. (2007). Kaplan and Sadock Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences, Clinical Psychiatry (10th ed.) Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Stahl, SM, (2011). The prescriber's guide. (4th ed.). New York, New York: Cambridge University Press.