Dissociative disorders are "disorders that involve a dissociation or interruption in aspects of consciousness, including identity and memory." (List of Psychological Disorders.) A well-known example of a dissociative disorder is Dissociative Identity Disorder, or, multiple personality disorder. Other dissociative disorders are depersonalization disorder, dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue and plain old dissociative disorder.
Dissociative Identity Disorder, or, multiple personality disorder, is a disorder where a person has two or more personalities. There is no "regular personality", or "main personality", the personalities are all considered equal. When in another personality, the person behaves and acts differently than they would with the other personas. This is not to be confused with Borderline, or bipolar disorder, where the person experiences intense mood swings. With the common use of the internet, Dissociative Identity Disorder is becoming easier to find. The personalities should be considered as different people, as they usually have a different age, gender and race. In rare cases, the person will even act like an animal. When another personality takes over, it is considered as "switching", which can take anywhere from seconds to days. Dissociative Identity Disorder patients can be diagnosed with other disorders including depression, sleep and eating disorders. While in a different personality, the person has no control over the character they are portraying. The amount of personalities can range from 2 to, in very rare cases, over a hundred.
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