In the case study, Cecelia Vega is introduced to us in the emergency room, brought in by her boyfriend due to attacking him. Even though not comfortable to talk about her history in front of eight hospital staff members, Vega tells them about her history of traumatic events- she and her sister being raped by their uncle at a young age and their mother not believing them. There are three diagnosis looked at when studying Vega’s life. Post Traumatic Disorder (PTSD), being directly exposed to sexual violence, as she was raped multiple times by her uncle when she was nine years old. She was also aware that her sister was raped by her uncle when they were picked up from school. Ms. Vega is twenty-one years old when interviewed, and the rape happened …show more content…
Her normal self is what dominates her life, while her violent self only started appearing about four years ago and lasts for abrupt two hours. During these spells she sees her uncle’s face on the wall, engages in self-destructive behavior, and attempts to bite people. The last time this happened to her, she woke up restrained in chains in the emergency room because her boyfriend called the police out of fear. PTSD and DID can appear in concert in individuals who are subjected to trauma as a child. This is especially true when the trauma is repetitive and the victim is forced to keep silent about the trauma. Ms. Vega fits both of these criteria as she was raped multiple times and her mother refused to believe her when Ms. Vega voiced her pain. Despite the fact that Ms. Vega has dissociated states, they are fueled by stressors related to her childhood trauma. Stressors and stress responses are the two main characteristics of stress disorders and Ms. Vega’s behaviors appear to be dominated by them. Because of this, it is suggested that the main diagnosis be PTSD for Ms. Vega. It can be difficult to distinguish between PTSD and DID when both seem to be at play. However, it is usually the PTSD that invokes symptoms of DID and thus the PTSD should be at the forefront of