I don't think anyone knows and there's surely a Nobel prize awaiting the person who does figure it out. My best guess as someone with virtually no education in the subject, other than the psych 101 course where I learned that, is that there's a deep connection to the placebo effect -- another thing we don't yet understand.

Edit: I should add that virtually every case of DID is a result of severe childhood trauma, usually sexual in nature. The reality is much more tragic than it is interesting.

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