Dissociative Disorder In Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde?

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Dr. Jekyll overall prognosis is classified as a dissociative disorder, commonly characterized by the disruption in the normal integration of consciousness, identity, perception, motor control, emotion, and behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p.291). Symptoms accompanying dissociative disorder can potentially disrupt all areas of psychological functioning. Usually, the cause of these disorders is found in the byproduct of trauma. For most, the active and receptive modes of the consciousness structure our experiences together so well that we do not notice any division between them. People who develop dissociative disorders have a problem integrating their consciousness together, leading to operation of independent consciousnesses. …show more content…
These individual personalities can be vastly distinct from one another, exhibiting different speech patterns, facial expressions, gestures, attitudes, and interpersonal styles (Putnam, 1991; Vermetten et al., 2006). In the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there is a direct dichotomy that can be categorized into black and white or good and bad. Dr. Jekyll is described to be a distinguished middle-aged man that is both good-looking and tall. Everyone that knows him characterize him as a proper and respected man established in the community. He is personified as the good persona. Mr. Edward Hyde, on the other hand, is described as a strange, small, disgusting, and deformed man that looks somewhat younger than his counterpart. Characters such as Utterson, Enfield and Lanyon describe witnessing an evil and feral creature. He is personified as the darkness. A majority of dissociative identity disorder diagnosis is of women. Males diagnosed with this disorder appear to be more aggressive than females. In one study, 29 percent of males with this disorder had been convicted of crimes while only 10 percent of females were convicted (Ross, 1989). This behavioral pattern explains why Mr. Hyde is …show more content…
Development of this disorder can also be attributed from natural disasters, kidnapping, war, religious persecution, and famine as a defense mechanism. The movie does not go into a great deal about Dr. Jekyll’s childhood but the book does have an excerpt of what it was like for Henry Jekyll growing up. In Stevenson’s book chapter 10, Jekyll writes that during his childhood he was raised in a wealthy family with a bright future ahead of him. Jekyll possessed a healthy body, was hard working and had a decent nature to him. His disposition allowed him to maintain a respectable relationship with the public while holding back his indecent and frivolous side. As he grew older, Jekyll began leading a life of duality, in which he constantly felt guilt for the crimes of his darker side. When his scientific interests began to prosper, he fanatically began to find a solution to split his nature (Stevenson, 1886). Contrary to how most people acquire dissociative identity disorder, it seems that Dr. Jekyll had an innate personality all this time because the book does not describe how his childhood was, his relationship with his family, or impactful experiences. There may be a case for that the prolonged restraint of his darker side since childhood has progressively become a

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