This condition causes a person to have multiple distinct identities.
It typically develops from significant childhood abuse, traumatic events, or overwhelming experiences.
What Is Switching?
Verywell / Jiaqi Zhou
This can occur slowly, with obvious signs, or very fast.
For example, an alter who is educated might plan to take over during a scheduled exam at school.
Forced switches are agreed upon by some of the alters, but not all of them.
A stronger alter might be pushing out in front of a weaker alter in a particular situation.
Triggered switches are not intentional.
Rather, they occur when a situation forces a particular alter to come forward.
There are a variety of triggers that can lead to switching.
These can include:
Causes of Triggered Switching
Triggered switches can be resulting from many different things.
In some cases, the trigger is not known.
Stress
Stress is a big trigger for switching.
This pop in of switching has been referred to by some as carousel-switching or rolledexing.
These memories can be either good or bad.
An alter switch might occur while a person is looking at old pictures or other memorabilia.
Sudden changes in a person’s emotions, whether positive or negative, can also trigger an alter switch.
Senses
Switches can be triggered by a person’s senses.
Smell, sound, taste, textures, and sights can all cause a particular alter to present itself.
Many movies will depict characters with DID as having a “bad alter"someone sinister or violent.
It is important to note that these characters are not representative of a strong majority of people with DID.
Switching can be triggered by a particular situation that requires specific skills, such as public speaking.
It can also occur when a person encounters another person who has a relationship with a particular alter.
DID is a serious condition that can significantly impact a person’s daily life, but treatments are available.
In some cases, the triggers are not known.
American Psychiatric Association.What are dissociative disorders?
The Recovery Village Drug and Alcohol Rehab.Dissociative identity disorder facts and statistics.
Cleveland Clinic.Dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder).
Dissociative Identity Disorder Research.Switching and passive influence.
Loewenstein RJ.Dissociation debates: Everything you know is wrong.Dialogues Clin Neurosci.
2018;20(3):229-242. doi:10.31887/DCNS.2018.20.3/rloewenstein
Dell.
PF.A new model of dissociative identity disorder.
Psychiatric Clinics of North America.
2006;29(1):1-26. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2005.10.013
