It is the creative attempt of highly traumatized children to protect themselves from the trauma and abuse. When these children dissociate (block) trauma, their "compartments" of trauma become "separate personalities/parts within their one self". Only children have sufficient flexibility (and vulnerability) to adapt to trauma by means of creating alter personalities (Boyy 1).
Multiple Personality Disorder is often referred to as highly creative survival technique. The term "Multiple Personality Disorder"(MPD) has been largely replaced by "Dissociative Identity Disorder" (DID). DID was created in 1994 to replace MPD because MPD was being thrown into dispute by people giving phony demonstrations of alter switching during television talk shows.
Dissociation is an act of disconnecting, locking the memory or pain in a "suitcase" and storing the "suitcase" in the back of the brain (White 2). Dissociation Identity Disorder is the phenomena of completely disconnecting oneself from a memory (or memories) and the emotions around the memory creating a separate identity to hold memories and emotions. Identity is the state or character of being the same one .
(Sidran 9). Dissociation is a common experience; common people experience a mild dissociative episode in which they lose touch with their surroundings. Common people that experience dissociation will experience daydreaming, high hypnosis or losing oneself .
in a movie or book. MPD is an extreme level of dissociation. Another way to describe MPD is a condition where in a persons personality (or identity) has become fragmented no longer integrated, the "same one" (Robinson 3).
When faced with overwhelming traumatic situations which there is no physical escape a child may resort to "going away"(Boyy 5). Children usually use this tactic as an extremely effective defense against acute physical and emotional pain. A child who has been repeatedly physically and sexually assaulted uses defensive dissociation to reinforce their condition.