Dissociative identity disorder, known as DID, is a condition that forms due to traumatic situations in early childhood that force the sufferer to dissociate herself from the events she experiences. People who suffer from this condition have distinct identities that form within themselves, all with different names, traits, and mannerisms. Earlier this year I watched a movie called Split. The film follows a man with 24 different personalities who kidnaps and imprisons three teenage girls in a remote underground facility. To the majority of the population, this film would appear to be harmless and captivating entertainment. Unfortunately, I and so many others fell into the trap of believing that this depiction of mental illness was accurate. Looking back on it now, I'm horrified to admit that I believed the stigmatizing misconceptions evident throughout this film, that people with this disorder are violent, dangerous, and highly unpredictable. However, this problem goes much deeper than simply misrepresenting mental illness. Mental illness is such a prevalent problem in today's society and comes with many issues, such as unfair treatment of those who suffer, including the misrepresentation of mental illness and ignorance of its existence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Before we go any further, I’d like to take a step back and explain what mental illnesses actually are. Mental illnesses are conditions that cause serious disturbances in a person's behavior or thinking. In short, a person who suffers from a mental illness will not function mentally or behaviorally in the same way as the average person. Mental illness is a major problem facing society today, with one in four people affected by mental disorders. While this statistic only continues to rise, it would be ignorant not to recognize the magnitude of this problem and address it accordingly. However, resentment, ignorance, and fear still surround the topic of mental illness and those who suffer from it. There are many different viewpoints, ranging from denial of mental health issues to those who strongly advocate recognition, destigmatization, and alternative treatment of mental illness. Public opinion, and sometimes even that of those who suffer from mental illness themselves, is that these people are violent, dangerous and highly unpredictable. In past analyses, it has been discovered that five main attitudes surround mental illness. This includes: authoritarianism – the view that people with mental illness cannot be held responsible for their actions and should be controlled by society; benevolence - an attitude that could be placed between tolerance and pity or compassion: mental hygiene ideology - the view that mental illness is similar to other illnesses and should be treated adequately by specialists; social restriction - the view that people with mental illness should be limited in certain social areas; and interpersonal etiology – the belief that the true cause of mental illness lies in problematic interpersonal relationships. Stigma and ignorance of mental illness is currently not a Millennium Development Goal in itself. However, it is linked to the first objective: extreme poverty and hunger, to the fourth objective.