Humiliation is not a defined term in the DSM 5, although it is used in a few isolated instances. This presumes a common understanding of humiliation which is unlikely to be as common as people may think. But, like other forms of trauma, particularly those lacking an initial specific motivation occurring out of callousness or lack of empathy, the way humiliation is experienced by the one harmed dictates their future pathological responses.

Generally speaking, there are 3 elements to humiliation in the abuse context:

[1] Denying the status of the victim through a subjugation that undermines the pride, humanity or dignity of that person.

[2] Reducing the victim to passivity as the method for rendering them powerless. It uses a gross power imbalance in subjugating the will of the victim, of even their experience of self-hood.

[3] Violently destroying the personal boundaries of the abused, leaving a damaged psyche. The end result is the decimation of their self-confidence. The person is dis-empowered, often with life-long disabling consequences.

Stepping back, consider the role humiliation plays in the case of corporal punishment. Caning in schools, or in the family, immediately establishes a hierarchy of physical power, with the one who administers the punishment over the one being punished. For the child, if inwardly rebellious and able to silently remain angry, their buttocks may be bruised or scarred, but damage to their psyche is mostly spared. In those circumstances, humiliation is countered by refusal to identify as a powerless victim. Such a child faces punishment with a fighting spirit, rather than surrender.

But contrast that with a critical factor in DID etiology – that the abuse occurs at an extremely early age. For those with DID, humiliation in connection with abuse (physical, sexual and/or emotional) often occurs before the child is old enough to have established a psychological structure with enough stability to even envision fighting their abuser. It is here that the real damage to the child happens, when there is such an intense subjugation as to prevent the child from establishing the foundation for any sense of safety in life. At the same time, the dissociative response often enables the arising of angry alters whose importance to healing is critical, as is discussed in Part 4 of this extended blog post.