Nora's husband insisted that she go to a mental health clinic when she was unable to explain or remember her frequent absences from home, phone calls from people that she claimed she had never heard of, and check stubs from checks that she couldn't remember writing. At the clinic, Nora admitted there were long stretches of her life that were completely blank to her. Suddenly, using a different voice, facial expression, and demeanor, Nora said to the psychologist, "Don't pay any attention to that old Nora. She's just a bore. My name is Patty, and I'm a lot more fun to talk to." The psychologist suspects that Nora's symptoms are characteristic of

dissociative identity disorder

The correct answer is dissociative identity disorder

The disorder can be defined as a severe psychological condition in which important aspects such as memories, behaviors, feelings and the identity itself are affected. It is configured as a dissociative mental process responsible for the lack of connection to what the person brings in his 'real' personality.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is caused by a major trauma suffered by the person even in childhood. In many cases, these traumatic events are the result of sexual, physical or psychological abuse. By going through these situations, children begin to develop other personalities in order to defend themselves from this harmful exposure. These characters act as objects of self-defense to endure moments of pain and anguish.