Dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia are often confused and used interchangeably, but they are very different.

Dissociative identity disorder is a disorder in which individuals suffer from multiple personalities. They often have had very painful experiences and have created multiple personalities to escape from reality and block painful emotions. A person who suffers from dissociative identity disorder often feels a sense of depersonalization, separation from reality, amnesia, and identity confusion. The distinct personalities exhibited by someone with dissociative identity disorder are not considered to be fully mature, and they represent a disjointed sense of identity.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that involves recurrent psychoses in which individuals hear, see, and believe things that are not real. People who suffer from schizophrenia do not suffer from multiple personalities; rather, they suffer from hallucinations and hearing voices. Schizophrenia is a serious illness in which people’s actions, thoughts, visions, and reality are distorted. According to WebMD, people who suffer from schizophrenia often have problems functioning in society, in the workplace, at school, and in relationships.

People who suffer from either schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder experience suicidal thoughts. People with dissociative identity disorder have a higher rate of attempted suicide than people suffering from other mental health disorders.

For more information about both dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia, contact Solace Counseling. We work with people who suffer from both dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia, and we create a customized treatment plan depending on the patient’s needs. If you found this information helpful, or if you know people who could benefit from it, please share this with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.