Definition

Noun: A relatively rare dissociative disorder in which the usual integrity of the personality breaks down and two or more distinct, independent, and enduring personality states or identities recurrently take control of an individual's behavior. This is accompanied by an inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.

Usage

The term "multiple personality" is used to name the psychiatric condition itself. It is typically used in clinical, academic, or descriptive contexts. * The case study focused on a patient diagnosed with multiple personality. * The film's plot explores the complexities of multiple personality.

Examples

• Early psychiatric literature contains several documented cases of multiple personality.
• She underwent therapy for multiple personality, which manifested in her childhood.
• The phenomenon of multiple personality challenges our understanding of a unified self.

Advanced Usage

• The term "multiple personality" has largely been superseded in formal diagnostic manuals (like the DSM-5) by Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which is considered a more precise and descriptive clinical term. However, "multiple personality" remains in common use in general discourse and older literature.
• "to have a multiple personality": This phrasing is often used informally and descriptively, though it is not clinical terminology.
  • In the novel, the antagonist appears to have a multiple personality, switching between a gentle scholar and a violent mercenary.

Variants and Related Words

• Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (n): The contemporary clinical diagnosis that encompasses what was historically called multiple personality disorder.
• Alter (n): In the context of DID, an "alter" refers to one of the distinct personality states.
• Dissociation (n): A mental process of disconnecting from one's thoughts, feelings, memories, or sense of identity, which is central to the disorder.

Synonyms

• Split personality (Note: This is an older, non-technical, and often misleading synonym. It is frequently confused with schizophrenia, which is a different disorder.)
• Dual personality (A specific historical term for a case involving two distinct personalities.)

Important Notes

• "Multiple personality" is not used as an adjective. One would not typically say "a multiple personality patient" but rather "a patient with multiple personality" or "a patient diagnosed with multiple personality."
• The disorder involves significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. It is not a voluntary or fictional state.
• The term should be used with sensitivity and clinical accuracy, avoiding trivialization or use as a metaphor for normal mood changes or indecision.

Noun

1. a relatively rare dissociative disorder in which the usual integrity of the personality breaks down and two or more independent personalities emerge