Is there a defined boundary between trauma reaction & dissociative?

Question

PTSD sufferers are known to respond uncontrollably if a subsequent similar circumstance arises, until the crisis is dealt with. People with a dissociative identity may be taken over in similar circumstances. Certain research indicates that about 85% of DID cases arise from trauma in early childhood and the remaining cases all have a common factor of (probably inappropriate) attempts at therapy.
The differences between PTSD reaction & DID appear to be 1) the awareness or otherwise of the subject 2) the length of time the subject takes to deal with the crisis.
Is there an objective boundary between PTSD & DID?
What other defined differences exist between DID & PTSD?

Answer 1

Heres some information I found on the differences between PTSD and DID which is also known as MPD.

Both posttraumatic stress disorder and multiple personality disorder seem to develop as a reaction to severe trauma, but in MPD the stressor is more specific. For example, natural disasters may lead to a dissociative reaction, but not to the extent of fragmenting the personality (except temporarily, as sometimes in psychogenic fugue). MPD is created by means of repeated dissociations that occur under extreme stress of childhood abuse in combination with other factors such as psychosocial influence, family dynamics, and individual characteristics (Braun, 1988). The exact mechanisms of MPD are not known. Neither is the relationship between childhood abuse and PTSD. It might be that the onset of an overt manifestation of posttraumatic symptoms could in some cases be delayed for years, or that childhood trauma sensitizes the individual to stressful events later in life. Also, the roll of hypnotizability is unclear, though it has been demonstrated that a high level of symptoms of either PTSD or MPD are related to a high degree of hypnotizability.


The secondary symptoms in both disorders are quite the same, but in MPD the symptom is often associated with only a part of the personality, so that a particular state-dependent identity manifestation may for example be depressed, while another one is not. Both PTSD and MPD are chronic unless treated.


A person with MPD almost always meets the criteria for PTSD, but a person with PTSD qualifies more seldom as a multiple personality. Peterson et al. (1992) state that dissociative phenomena are a more dramatic and serious manifestation of the intrusion of thoughts, affect, images, and memories. They appear to be more highly correlated with experiences of multiple traumas. Although PTSD has features of a dissociative disorder, PTSD does not manifest the repeated state dependent disruption and association seen in MPD.

Answer 2

Your question should be on a clinical psych test!
Maybe this can help:
DID: 1. The presence of two or more distinct personalities. 2. at least two of these personalities recurrently take control of the person. 3. Inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by forgetfulness. 4. the disturbance is not due to substances or medical conditions.
With PTSD: 1. The traumatic event 2. the person's fear, helplessness,or horror. 3. the event is persistently reexperienced. 4. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness, 5. Persistent symptoms of increased arousal. 6. Duration of the disturbance is more than 1 month. 7. the disturbance affects other areas of life.

One immediate boundary is that to have PTSD does not require an alternate persona. With DID there are sudden shifts in identity states,the persistence and consistency of identity-specific behaviors over time, and reversible amnesia.

Answer 3

This might be helpful
http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/