AnnaLynne McCord Refuses to Feel Shame About Her Dissociative Identity Disorder Diagnosis

AnnaLynne McCord, who starred in the television shows “Nip/Tuck” and “90210,” refuses to feel shame in her journey with dissociative identity disorder (DID). McCord, in order to help destigmatize this mental health condition, agreed to have a therapy session with Dr. Daniel Amen filmed and put on YouTube.

“My heart is to change this narrative around the behaviors that follow trauma,” she told him.

DID is characterized by having at least two distinct personality states. This condition was previously known as multiple personality disorder. Trauma is believed to play a role in DID, something that McCord has experienced.

McCord, a survivor of sexual violence, said in the session that trauma has led her to have problems with her memory. “I don’t have anything until around 5. Then from 5 to 11, I recount incidents throughout,” she said. “Then when I was 13, I have a singled-out memory that was one thing, but I don’t have the sense of anything else at that time.” McCord first became somewhat aware that she had another personality when she was 13, who she refers to as “little Anna.”

For people who live with stigmatized mental health conditions like DID, accepting and embracing the fact that you live with mental illness can be challenging. This is why McCord found it important to not let shame define her life with DID so she could work to manage her condition. “There is nothing about my journey that I invite shame into anymore,” McCord said. “And that’s how we get to the point where we can articulate the nature of these pervasive traumas and stuff, as horrible as they are.”

McCord told Dr. Amen shooting two roles at once made her realize she had two very distinctive personalities, her role as Naomi Clark on “90210” and as Pauline in the 2012 horror film “The Exorcism.” “The [interesting] thing about it was that I wrapped that film at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday and had to be happy Beverly Hills blonde bombshell on Wednesday at noon,” she recalled. “I couldn’t find her, she was not accessible. I was dark, I was very deep into this character Pauline, and I couldn’t get [out].”

To see stories from our community about DID, head here. You can watch the session between AnnaLynne McCord and Dr. Daniel Amen below: