friends.
Possession-form identities in dissociative identity  disorder typically manifest as be-
haviors that appear as if a “spirit,” supernatur al being, or outside person has taken control,
such that the individual begins speaking or acting in a distinctly different manner. For ex-
ample, an individual’s beha vior may give the appearance  that her identity has been
replaced by the “ghost” of a girl who co mmitted suicide in the same community years
before, speaking and acting as though she were  still alive. Or an individual may be “taken
over” by a demon or deity, re sulting in profound impairment , and demanding that the in-
dividual or a relative be punished for a past act, followed by more su btle periods of iden-
tity alteration. However, the majority of possession states around the world are normal,
usually part of spiritual practice, and do not meet criteria for dissociative identity disor-