Each week, we identify one top search term, speculate as to what caused its popularity, and provide an infographic on a related condition. If you have thoughts about what's trending and why, share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!
Clinical Trend of the Week (March 24-30): Dissociative Identity Disorder
A day of recognition intended to raise awareness, and a slew of pop culture references, resulted in this week’s top search term. March 5 was National Multiple Personality Day. Dissociative identity disorder—the technical term for the condition that encompasses multiple personality disorder, as recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)—requires the presence of two or more distinct personality states. Popular culture has long been obsessed with the dramatic possibilities of this disorder. Recently, the A&E Network ordered a new series, The Many Sides of Jane, which will follow a woman with dissociative identity disorder. The popular British show Marcella features a detective with this condition. Even the Incredible Hulk—who is set to appear next month in one of the most anticipated films of the year, Avengers: Infinity War—has been established as having a form of the condition. Hopefully, the national day of acknowledgement and pop culture depictions continue to raise awareness, as studies have increasingly shown the prevalence to be greater than initially thought, and that the symptoms are serious and most commonly stem from abuse.
For more information on dissociative identity disorder, read here.
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Cite this: Ryan Syrek. Trending Clinical Topics for March 2018 - Medscape - Mar 30, 2018.
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