Identity Confusion & Alteration

Identity Confusion

Definition

Identity confusion is a state of uncertainty about one’s identity. It is a common experience for adolescents, but can also occur later in life or as a result of psychological distress. Identity confusion is not a disorder in and of itself.

Identity Confusion within Disorders

Identity confusion is a very common thing – however, those with disorders such as DID or OSDD will have a disordered form of identity confusion as a symptom.

Identity Alteration

Definition

Identity alteration is the sense of being notably different from a different part of yourself.

Layman’s Definition

Have you ever had your family meet a friend, or perhaps a co-worker meet someone in your social life, and realized that you’re completely conflicted about how to act? It’s not because you’re lying or being false – it’s because you’re really two different people when you’re around these two different people or groups. Different parts of you come out in these different scenarios – your identity shifts. It is very important to distinguish that this is NOT Dissociative Identity Disorder. There are no amnesiac barriers preventing communication between your identity states that make it a disorder.

Identity Alteration within Disorders

While Identity Alteration itself is not a disorder and is a common experience, there are disorders in which individuals experience Identity Alteration to a disordered extreme as a symptom. Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are likely to experience Identity Alteration to a higher degree in a disordered form.

Sources

This Wiki 1.0 article used sources from this list.