In one week, a psychologist at a district hospital in Pune meets three new clients. Geeta, 19, says that at times she seems to watch herself from outside her body, like a person in a film, and her own home feels strange and far away. Anjali, 28, has no pain or other bodily complaint, yet she is sure that she will get cancer one day soon; every night she reads about it and asks her doctor for fresh tests. Sunil, 30, at times speaks in a child's voice and calls himself 'Bittu'; on other days he turns into a stern man named 'Major Singh'. Later he cannot say what 'Bittu' or 'Major Singh' did.
Which of the following names the disorder that Sunil shows?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Dissociative identity disorder
Option (1) Dissociative fugue — Incorrect. Dissociative fugue is unexpected travel away from home with a new identity and no memory of the old one. Sunil does not travel away; he keeps switching between two other selves.
Option (2) Dissociative amnesia — Incorrect. Dissociative amnesia is a selective loss of memory for personal events. Sunil does forget what 'Bittu' did, but the main feature is the switching selves.
Option (3) Dissociative identity disorder — Correct. Sunil switches between a child 'Bittu' and a stern 'Major Singh', and does not know what either did. He assumes alternate personalities that may not be aware of each other, which is dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality).
Option (4) Depersonalisation/derealisation disorder — Incorrect. Depersonalisation/derealisation disorder is a dreamlike feeling of being cut off from self and from reality. Sunil does not report such a feeling; he becomes different persons.
NCERT (2026-27): “Dissociative Disorders … “Dissociative identity disorder, often referred to as multiple personality, is the most dramatic of the dissociative disorders. It is often associated with traumatic experiences in childhood. In this disorder, the person assumes alternate personalities that may or may not be aware of each other.” |