Multiple Personalities
In early times, evil spirits were thought to possess people and make them act in strange and frightening ways. By the 1800's, the study of this hysteria led some doctors to believe one person could have separately functioning personalities.
In this rare research film from the 1920's, a woman has different personalities who believes they are separate people. One is a male that is not comfortable in women's clothes. Another is a small child. The affliction has been known by different names, but recognized for centuries. Today it is called multiple personality disorder.
Why have they become tormented and broken into different personalities? What is the childhood pain that lies buried in the unknown depths of their mind? How can they search for the deadly memories that holds the secrets of their paths and the promise of their healing?
In the aftermath of the Sybil story, DID (dissociative identity disorder) is still something that will divide the psychiatric community. Some therapists help create personalities -like Sybil- to help the patient deal with childhood trauma. As such, some cases raise questions and will continue to do so because they might seem unethical and may worsen psychological damage.
In John's case, he found out about his personalities in therapy. I also wonder why he switches when a new situation/setting/task etc presents while at work, and why do the children personalities only appear in therapy? Sure, one showed up while at home with his dog but I would not feel safe if my life depended on a police officer with DID. As much as I sympathise with patients, some will cause skepticism in me.
The DSM-5 provides the following criteria to diagnose dissociative identity disorder:
1. Two or more distinct identities or personality states are present, each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and self.
2. Amnesia must occur, defined as gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/or traumatic events.
3. The person must be distressed by the disorder or have trouble functioning in one or more major life areas because of the disorder.
4. The disturbance is not part of normal cultural or religious practices.
5. The symptoms can not be due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (such as blackouts or chaotic behavior during alcohol intoxication) or a general medical condition.
Also, as someone from Europe, DID is much more prevalent in the United States (1% of general population) while it's not in the EU. We often tend to look at it as a cultural phenomenon rather than a widespread factual one, and as such it raises even more questions. Some psychiatrists will only see 1 person who has DID I their career.
It is actually called dissociative identity disorder now, not multiple personality.
how can that guy be a police officer isnt that a bit dangerous.. he can switch at any time.... like... wtf.
Yea.I agree, the idea someone like him could pull me over creeps me out.
Not all people who are multiple just switch all the time, or even lose time.
Excellent documentary. Understanding these MPD individuals helps me understand all of us from another vantage point. I can see the goal of these individuals is to become whole again, truly mature, and this is the goal of us all, even though most of us are not considered sick. I believe wholeheartedly that those who are aware of their blocks or obstacles and strive to overcome them are much closer to wholeness than the average person. I believe that is our universal goal: to grow unfettered, and pull in as many positive rays as we can to grow more and feel more and express more.
Excellent editing of what I'm sure must have been hours upon hours of video documentation.
I feel privileged that I was able to see this moving documentary. Thank you.
This was a good documentary. Very hard to watch what these poor people went through. It would be interesting to have a follow up documentary to see how they are doing today.
This was a great documentary. It is always interesting to see how the mind coupes with its ever-changing environment. Regularly, our intelligence pushes us to adapt or to flight, and through experience, we develop a complexity to our personality. When the mind is faced with an environment that denies both options, to see their splits, not only taking the complexity of personalities, but also, most importantly and more critically, the memories with them. Maybe this is an evolutionary step forward in the state of consciousness, perhaps wielded in a primitive manner. The most interesting thing that strikes me though, and one that the film did not seem to take notice, was with Barb in the cereal isle when she switched to the 5 year old girl. Pat took off the glasses saying that the child had problems seeing through them. Now, did the child think she had problems with the glasses, but could not really see without them, or did her vision physically change with the personality switch. If the latter, then we might as well throw out all our understanding on physical medicine to date because its all wrong. That moment blew my mind.
I have another personality left over from my own childhood trauma, her name is Jade. Jade is everything I'm not; tough, selfish, mean, angry, self destructive. She was the fighter that got me though it, but now that its over she has nothing to do so she fights with my mom. I know she had good intentions, even though she's mean to me, she came around to protect me emotionally. As I get older it makes it worse becuase I can't fight with everyone. Personally, Jade is really upset that she's "losing" me in a way. Its really hard to describe.
But I never black out. I lose control of my body, but I still see whats going on. It makes it really hard because I can see and hear myself being incredibly nasty to whoever Jade thinks is threatening me. She also caused me to become clinically depressed and made me attempt suicide 3 times.
There was nothing I could do except sit back and watch while she slowly destroyed "ourself".
We have conversations and function like two people. But we're not friends.
I don't think.
I think that in the era this film was made the psychiatric/ therapeutic system seems WAY too eager to "discover" "repressed" memories.
I think this is not always a good approach. I would never let someone do it on me.
Haha that's the 80s for ya
Yeah right, a 10 year old police officer who carries a firearm?
Apparently so.
I know you can't believe everything you see but I didn't see anything that makes be doubt it.
I have DiD ( multiple personalities) and borderline personality disorder followed by depression. All my life i have lived with different parts of myself, i have four personalities, Alice, Elisa, Sarah, Rose ( host aka me) . The oldest is Alice she is 16 , loves to drink/smoke and is often linked with my impulsivity behaviours (also linked to BPD) Elisa is 4, Sarah is 6 and I am almost in my 20's. I can assure you, this illness is VERY VERY REAL. Some nights i find myself drawing and painting for hours, i go into a daze often switch back and forth ..these days its more Alice (impulsivity,Anger,Sadness) but while i was dating my ex boyfriend my alters would come out and literally manifest themselves to him. Sarah The six year old was most fond of my ex boyfriend..she always told me that she loved playing and listening to his music...ive gone through alot of abuse and trauma in my short life and ladies and gentlemen if you are telling me creating different parts of yourself to hide away the pain isint real, then what is. We all inside, have parts of ourselves we manifest in our lives.
Have you heard of internal family systems?
It is interesting because it says that everyone has, as you said "parts of ourselves we manifest in our lives" It even divides it into three parts whose ultimate goal is to reduce or eliminate pain.
I haven't tried it yet and don't have multiple personalities, but doc has suggested it. I'm always wary of trying something because of the concept of being a guinea pig... but..,
I think the concept of a "shadow" is pretty common, many people just won't admit it.
Good luck on your voyage.
Ah? Cop? Gun? Severe mental illness? WTF?
It almost doesn't seem real. I don't mean to imply that these people were faking their disorders or inventing their trauma. It's just such a surreal state of mind to conceive of. The cop was especially interesting. I'd like to know if there have ever been cases of conversations between personalities. Not like through a journal but literally constant switching between personalities. As sad as these stories are, things like this really do make me marvel at the minds abilities.
Conversations in the manner you describe are possible, in fact very common. Look up "Astraea FAQ", "Amorpha Myths" (it won't let me post a link). Many multiples know they are, and cooperate to live a normal life. Check out the "Plural Activism" podcasts.
Barb's husband seems like an incredibly good guy. I can't imagine having to put up with a partner who has MPD. Wow..
Thankfully I have been to many Dr.'s getting the loving therapy that I needed, to resolve my childhood abuse issues, and am now living as one integrated individual person! Living with the "Hollywood" stigma of a person with "multiples" is hard enough without having the ignorant people misuse God as a weapon towards people who have already been abused enough in their lives.
God is love. Jesus was loving. We need to be loving to each other as well.
were where you in my church? i felt constantly alone, i would literally be at sunday school (this is recent i am near my 20s) and i would switch into my child personality and sit by the children and play and laugh with them. My ex broke up with me because my mental illness was too much to handle, sometimes i feel so ashamed to be me..living with this is so hard..specially when nobody can understand or think its funny and a joke. I literally have gone through so many suicidal attempts thanks to my alters..
I don't even have to watch this documentary...why?...because I was diagnosed by five different doctors as having Multiple personality disorder, now called Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D.). I will speak to any who are reading these comments, from my vast knowledge on this subject. I am also a Bible teacher and student of the Holy Scriptures, and have been for 30 years.
Are we on the same page? I know the Scriptures God gave us, and I also know anything you want to know about living with D.I.D. ! God is Love. God sent His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus to live and die for us. Jesus death gave the ransom to buy back what Adam lost. Jesus cured many demon possessed people, including children. Is having D.I.D. being demon possessed? NO!
It is showing ignorance to type away your personal feelings, without having the facts. Your personal feelings could hurt other people, and then God will hold you "accountable". Please read your whole Bible, and then ask one of Jehovah's Witnesses to explain to you what you've just read. God's Holy Name is Jehovah = YHWH Ps.83:18 Ex. 6:2-4
the mentally ill are quite often drawn to religion.
If jesus really existed dont you think someone would have mentioned him in his day? (I think if someone was walking on water and literally raising the dead someone would have made note! -these are obvious allegories btw) We have full accounts of his supposed contemporaries but not a peep about him for the better part of 100 years.
Read Josephus. He mentioned Jesus. All the other writings about Jesus were placed in the Bible. Even the Jews believe Jesus existed. They just didn't embrace him as Messiah. Whether to believe Jesus is divine or not is up to the person.
Wow. I would've never know that other Jehovah's Witnesses had the same problem as me. I'm only 15 and have a couple of different personalities, but I've never been abused or anything. I just sorta split into 6 different people: Laid back, Sparky, Serious, Intelegent, Shy, and Social. It doesn't help anything that I switch.
Hi, are you still answering these comments? It's good to hear of a fellow worshiper who recovered from D.I.D.
At the end of the movie, we see a a text: "...and these people also show us that when allowed to give up its secrets, the human mind can heal itself."
It makes me wonder, does it generalize to society at large. If so, there are tremendously important reasons for Wikileaks to exist.
Excellent point, and I've always seen the benefits of genuine sharing of knowledge. Wikileaks is wonderful and that soldier Manning is a wonderful human being to divulge atrocities he'd witnessed and knew about. I believe also that true transparency is definitely healing by its very nature, just as you suggest; and we can see the obverse effect in our govt and their secrecy.
I love youtube. com for similar reasons. People display their knowledge and info and it's a wonderful sharing experience. Sites like youtube will make human beings grow faster than ever.
this was made in the early 90's on HBO lots have changed in treatment and such
Troy, I really, really hope that you're kidding. There has been ample evidence to support the existence of MPD/DID. These people were brave enough to put their entire livelihoods on the line to make an important point to us. The suffering that we see in this documentary is not them "believing a lies." The fact that you, personally, only had "multiple personalities" in the sense that you didn't want to like or accept the truth and you were excessively prideful, doesn't negate the suffering of those who truly have this disorder. I can't imagine that the police officer on this video chooses to turn into a frightened child, hugging a teddy bear, nor do I think that Barb would check herself into a psychiatric hospital because she's scared of personalities that want to kill her because she desperately wants to be someone who wants to kill her. I'm far from an atheist, and no disrespect, but this is just ridiculous.
I speak from experience. I used to have what these people call multiple personalities. Yet it is
They are believing a lies!! They have made up different personalities/persons that they want to be. They don't like or accept the truth, they were abused they did have these bad things happen to them. They just don't want to accept reality.
Sad to say but they are prideful, humility defined is a right view of yourself in relation to God and man with the proper heart response.
The right view of themselves is that they are the person that had this evil happen to them and man meant it for evil but God means it for good. Genesis 50:21 They have a wrong view of themselves because they have a wrong view of God.
The Bible defines the hate and anger they have as sin and needs repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to save them from the punishment they deserve for being angry and Jesus will cleanse them of their anger and give them love to their enemies.
Take each statement that is being said and define it biblically and you will be able to make sense of everything that is being said. Psychology is a lie and the Bible is true.
Depression is downcast in the bible, which says "Why are you downcast oh my soul, put your hope in God" Psalms
Stress is anxiety. Stress, anger, downcast, obsessive drinking are all sin and need repentance and also faith in Christ.
And the priest that abused the man is a hypocrite and needs repentance as well.
Blessed are those who read and obey the scriptures!!!
BS to you and your views troy from someone that loves and has a close relationship to God and has DID believe however you want but I don't know why ppl think they are right and all the medical evidence for DID is wrong. scripture can't make DID or any other disorder disappear. when ppl use God and the bible for all answers they can also be in denial. Dissociation is a coping mechinism to survive terrible things. but praying and god alone isn't going to fix everything God can be used as an automatic excuse or reason not to have to deal with our problems for some ppl. Just like some may use drugs to deal with pain some may use god to deny what really is or what really happened to them or even so they don't have to face the truth
Troy, you use your religion like a drug. You are just hiding. You and all your judgements. My God provided me with the ability to feel a wide range of emotions. Including anger. My God does not punish, he loves. My God gave me the strength to survive. He provided me with many different ways to cope, to go on, and with his love, I am gently guided into healing.
You point one finger at "us", and three back at yourself.
Everything cannot be always explained by the Bible and obeying the scriptures. It can help sometimes but it is in no ways a panacea for everyone.
Interesting documentary! As a med student, and having studied some neuroscience, the brain and its many functions and how they correlate with our behavior .. it is simply amazing.
My simple opinion is this: Psychology is a behavioral science; behavior is ever changing, ranging from day to day, person to person, unable to be definite...therefore psychological analysis is never definite.
I've read most of the posts here and some were very intriguing. We will all, at the end of the day, have our own views on this subject...the key is to never dismiss nor discriminate..Having an academic background does not automatically give validity to a point... There are so many other aspects we must factor in if we decide to search for enlightenment, truth and wisdom!
The truth hurts
WOW! I was not expecting that ending quote about how "the mind will invent ways of bearing the unbearable." It spoke to me in ways that words cannot describe because words themselves cannot describe the unbelievable. But your mind can protect you from the unbelievable. So who knows, maybe we all have this inside of us and its just waiting to tell you the truth.
P.S. Please don't pretend to know more about everything then you do, live in the realm of possibility. You just may become enlightened.
Well... that was extremely unsettling...especially the cop sitting in the chair hugging a teddy. Not that Im trying to be critical, I understand this is a serious disorder, but this doco was disturbing...
Well, the stories that are being shown are extremely personal and that should be the main reason why they don't go deeper. But still you have a kind of inside on what causes it, syntoms. But still I agree with you since this is a theme that isn't really widespread in the place I live (Portugal).
So these people and their stories were so interesting that I found myself disliking this documentary because every story was cut short. They didn't provide all the information you wanted to know about these people, and they didn't provide any sort of conclusion to their story. This might have been better if they had concentrated on one person and told the whole story.
so, to get a gun...didn't the police officer have to answer the question: have you ever been treated for a psychiatric disorder? And, I guess that didn't make any difference?
very true, i hadnt thought of that... Iv always thought Id never be allowed to have a gun licence because Iv been treated by a psych before but now, I wonder if I could get a licence? Which wouldnt be a good thing....so I wont...
amazing. i found myself wishing that this would be 5 hours long because it is just SO interesting. i've known about MPD for quite a while but it is still so awesome and interesting to see and learn about because it's something that i will never personally experiance. it is amazing how well your brain can try to protect you when you go through such tramatic experiances. it makes me realize just how brilliant our bodies are as human beings.
DID/MPD definitely exists, happens a lot more than most people realize, and is caused by severe, repeated child abuse. For more information, see
childabusewiki(dot)org and type in "dissociative identity disorder"
Wow, that is amazing.
They are so strong, and we are so fortinate to here their stories.
Amazing doco. Very powerful.
@ Lori, using poor grammer and structure of ALL SORTS OF KINDS OF STUFFS, I will say, you are an elitist acanemic. You suffer from anemia caused by too much academia. You have no substance in your blood enabling you to pump a rich heavy source of perpetuating life in your brain. You, basically, don't have the resources anymore inside to know that education and expression do not equal intelligence or any ability to reason a subject to a classically logical conclusion and now cannot grow in anyway outside the limitations of your condition.
You spoke early on in your comments that you were considering not addressing a person's ideas since they were expressed, as you intimated, poorly and from a mind that you believed lacked a formal education.
Jesus, I hope you are not a therapist...you must have some beside manner with anyone sick or poor or uneductated if you do. Your reasoning suggests you would tell them what they thought and what conclusions to draw since they were in your poor intellectual dietary state, seen cloudily as unable to have any rational conclusions from information they retained at all.
I wonder, if someone had an idea and did not express it well in your language, would you dismiss them if they were named Socrates, maybe even Plato, or does the fact they could not speak clearly to you in your language and had not attended your schools to learn the "proper structure" of representing ideas to masses of students and teachers cause you to dismiss them since they had to be translated into our languages and grammar usage by another person? Yet, speaking Greek and Latin, these men have structured logic in many ways and are seen as founders of classic reasoning...oddly, their languages for thought and speech, are extrodinarily different than ours in spelling, structure and usage of each particle of a dynamic sentence. Tenses are flexible in these languages, the usage gender, nouns, nominatives, are all quite incoherent if translated word for word into English, in fact, they CANNOT be translated directly in a majority of cases. They used slang as well, did you know this? Have you ever wondered, if you are not well? Maybe you don't see well? You seem to take in visual information and direct it in some very odd ways suggesting scarring inside your visual cortex...you seem to be unable to see anything outside a certain framework...are you sure your visual to thought process has not been damaged? You see poor usage of a language and you seem to be unable to respond without an increase in negative deductions and emotions...maybe you have a illness, like ignorance? It mimics rascism, bigotry and other visual to conclusion disorders exactly. What you see, you conclude upon without any further thought as alien, less than you in intellegence and worst of all, less worthy to have a forum for their expression and freedoms. You also seem to be highly aggressive to these visual cues. Are you sure you can think about more than what your eyes tell you?
Back to the founders for logic and science, I wonder,
does the fact that they did represent the highest proper use of their own languages impress you enough to accept them as having important theories and ideas? Or does it concern you what content lay in their well spoken words in any way? Did you listen to them simply because they spoke in a manner you approved? Oddly, they would be unlikely to listen to your reasoning above to ignore a source of input from a conclusion drawn without more study that the source was flawed, as insane reasoning, and dangerous reasoning from a ingnorant mind.
If someone lacked any formal education and made a comment here, have you taken the time to see if they represent the top echelon in their communities or tribe or families or socieity? Have you asked for a translator? Have you asked if they had any desire to learn your language or have you demanded that this form of expression is the idicator of intelligent ideas in a human being?
Are you a natural elitist, or were you taught to be one? If taught, you are one HELL of a student.
ahahahaha....that was the greatest response of all time...beginning to end, I salute you...well said!
He said "poor grammer." Ha!! Ironic.
Wow, some people commenting are so open to knowledge of all kinds they have mastered these subjects so thoroughly they are able to tell us they don't exist or who is a "nut" or not...they use words like "nut" since they are experts in psychology or medical science and even neuroscience...wow...I am really impressed these experts have taken the time from their certainly overwhelmingly arduous lab studies and teaching and explorations into these myriad fields to even watch this documentary or furthermore, comment to us who are not as well educated amazing users of classical logic. Thank you!
I guess what I should say spambot, and anyyone else here who is simply dismissing my experience as though you are an expert on what does or doesn't happen in my mind is this
Spambot!! That is hilarious XD I'm going to steal that from you like I did with the dude who used "thumb whores" as a response in YT....
NO. SUCH. THING. AS. MPD.
NO. SUCH. THING. AS. REPRESSED. MEMORIES.
I think it is a scam that these therapists are suggesting that these people suffer from "repressed memories"..... I bet a million dollars that the so called "memories" that "caused" their disorder did not really happen. That is, these memories were made up or implanted by the therapists. Psychoanalysis is dangerous. If this therapy does help, it probably helps by giving these people a comforting surrounding with people who care and support them for a certain amount of time.... Anyone check out the guy who made the comment saying that demon possession really does exist.... and he says he has personal experience of it.... What a freakin nut.
I don't have multiple personalities,but I don't remember most of my childhood,until age 17 and 90 percent of it is bad.I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER THE REST!So repression is real,but not so sure about multiple personalities
Wow conspiracy much? Although, it's true. You don't really know REALITY.... unless you chose the red pill XDD
Or was it the blue pill... LOL
She's faking...
I wonder "spambot": when you say grow up do you mean I should be more like you? That's usually what people mean when I hear them say that. Really, people almost always say that just because they can't think of anything else to say. Basically "Grow up" is just another way of putting your fingers in your ears and saying "lalala I'm not listening!!" but with the bonus meaning of "It's you that needs to change, not me!"
And don't worry, I know I have a multifaceted personality.
But you know... so do several other people who happen to live in in the same brain/body that I do. I'm not entirely sure why it bothers you so much that someone like me is so different from you. Maybe you think Us being multiple gets us a lot of attention and respect? I'll tell you, it doesn't really go over well at parties. In a lot of ways I might get a better reaction if I claimed to be from another planet. At least not all of them are evil in movies. So far multiples haven't had the PR benefit of an E.T. or Avatar movie. Generally we're portrayed as either severely unstable(some plurals are but then, so are some "normal" people) or maniacal killers(I don't know of any multiple serial killers, but even if there were the same argument applies).
Right now, we're gearing up to do a public project on multiplicity for school that will out my group to both my peers and my professors. We not only risk losing their respect, but also being permanently marginalized in the department and the college. Since this is our second attempt to finish school, we're really worried about the ramifications of this for our future. That is very important to us, but it's also important that I maintain my personal integrity and not avoid this topic when an opportunity to speak out and raise awareness, just because the subject is a contentious one. It's probably so contentious because it's important.
So maybe I see things a bit differently than most because my perspective is naturally influenced by my "roommates". They think a bit differently because of me as well. But you think a bit differently because of the people you associate with too right? In the end we're both human right? We both have lives with some sort of family and friends and have our own peculiar likes and dislikes. I think really we probably have more in common than either of us might be comfortable thinking about.
The main difference that I think is between us right now is this: I'm willing to listen to your opinion about life, and not dismiss you, even though you're being rude to me, but you are dismissing me out of hand just because you don't want to have to think about how "There are more things in Heavent and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy" (Hamlet)
So I guess what I should say spambot, and anyyone else here who is simply dismissing my experience as though you are an expert on what does or doesn't happen in my mind is this: thank you for showing in such a public way, just how tough it is for people who are thought of as "different" to actually be themselves in a public way.
But many more thanks to those who actually put just a bit of time or thought into this issue. You are the people who give me the hope that choosing to not hide anymore and to be honest about who We are won't necessarily end with complete ostracism or being sent to a mental hospital just for being different.
Because in the end I'm just enough of an optimist to think that most people will listen and respect others once they break out of prejudiced ways of thinking. :)
and kent: it's rubbish. Grow the f*ck up.
I always felt it's simply a case of someone not wanting to accept that they have different facets to their personality, plus a certain amount of play-acting.
A drunk,abusive 10 yr. old cop
What in the hell is going on in this world? I think I have multiple personalities...and I can prove it!:
- sometimes I feel like paying bills....sometimes I don't.
- sometimes I feel like going to work..sometimes I don't.
- sometimes I feel like being around my wife..sometimes I don't.
- sometimes I want "ATTENTION"...sometimes I don't.
No wonder I not a pschologist. I'd probably go into one of my Dr. Phil personalities and live off of Oprah and the pharmacutical companies....Where's Penn and Teller and one of their "Bulls$&t" eposodes when you need um'.
People with so called multiple personalities are people who are pretending to have more than one personality. Pure and simple.
These are people with borderline personality disorder looking for attention. The therapsts are money hungry and are just feeding into the attention seeking behavior. They should be reported to their board.
Gretchen's problem was being sexually assaulted as a child. Why does rape happen?
WOW.... 1920's??? Really??? I can see this was well researched.
Date fail.
Somehow I don't think this film was made in the 1920's...
Alden, most stories of DID are similar but don't assume they are because they are copied from some sort of movie or text. There is a reason for their similarity. It is not copied but it is the similarity of experience and how we as human beings cope with torture, mayhem, and many of the things we are forced as children and later as adults to do. The only similarity is the fact that we are all human beings.
@D. It sounds like you just copied exactly the plot of the movie Sybil with Sally Field in it, like exactly.
The first story is a classic example of planted memories. There were hundreds and hundreds of cases like this in the 90's. "Truth serum" is no longer used in therapy. It's kind of funny how most of the time these "repressed memories" only come to light when therapy has begun. Don't get me wrong, memories are repressed, but they cannot be trusted to be true memories if they don't come back on their own.DID does exist, but it is rare, and only occurs as result of severe, prolonged childhood abuse.
How the hell did that cop pass the psych testing required by most police forces. What happens when 10 year old Johnny makes an appearance at a crime scene?
Poor Pat deserves much better than this. No one could blame him for leaving, and taking his daughters far, far away.
Lori, whichever personality is posting isn't very nice. Wait until someone kinder appears to post again.
A.T. Heist, you have no idea what you are writing about. Go back to bed.
Everyone has multiple personalities, the trick is not to name them.
I was not going to post at all, but just read and laugh to myself at the childish bickering, but this one just cracked me up. I had to comment hahah props.
I need to go to bed as well, but I'll end for today by saying that I know that DID exists as a disorder and know a couple of groups personally that were formed because of childhood trauma. I don't really understand why you seem unwilling to listen to the ideas that I'm presenting: that one does not have to fit the medical model to be multiple.
And it's not that I think your reaction is extreme, just a bit limited in it's scope and to a certain extent condescending to those of us who are plural without having been abused. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you because I am tired and need to go to bed as well(I'm on third-shift and am already up past my bedtime!).
Also I think I'll have to say that as long as you keep saying "people who suffer from this problem" or insisting that everyone who is multiple is "disordered" it's going to be hard for me to not react negatively. I realize that that is the case for plenty of people but it's not how things work for me and my group, so it feels as if you are dismissing our existence or treating us as a disease, which seems discriminatory in and of itself.
I do appreciate that you are trying to support multiples in your own way, but the way you are trying comes off very much like other forms of supportive discrimination and sorta rubs me the wrong way.
Anyway, thanks for the interesting discussion today. :)
Kent, I am getting tired and I am going to bed as I am in Asia and it is now Wednesday morning. As I stated to the other poster, DID is a response to a horrible situation and can be instrumental to a person surviving. In an earlier post, I mentioned that many returning veterans had a slight case of DID but the time spent as POW and in other related combat situations made their PTSD worse. The same would be for a child being abused, the child would "go away" and another personality would take the abuse so the child would survive. The alternative would be much worse for the child or the veteran.
I get tired of people who suffer from this problem being discriminated and even abused again. Perhaps you think my reaction was extreme and you have the right to believe in whatever way you want as I do in mine.
Aw Randy, I think everyone is special including myself. I really enjoy my life and all of the magic that I see in it everyday. Sure, there are troubles in it but there are great things in it too. DID is one of the magical things that human beings are capable of doing to survive horrible conditions. Unfortunately, not everyone of us can do it nor even understand it.
So Randy, if we are all the same person, and genetics determines who we are and the differences are small enough to be dismissed, would you mind if I simply assume that you are exactly the same as everyone else? Would you mind if I called you by a different name for the rest of this conversation and assumed that your opinions were held for precisely the same reasons as Lori holds hers? Perhaps I should not differentiate between your arguments? At what point do we differentiate one another and define ourselves as selves?
I am also curious, if you deny that you are different from anyone else, and if so, why you would become involved in a discussion centered on the foundational assumption that "personality" exists? Why should you care if anyone believes differently from you if we are indeed all the same? Surely then our reasons for disagreeing with you would be just as valid as yours are for disagreeing with us?
Lori, I didn't assume anything. I know at least a couple of people on here via internet fora related to the topic. This thread was linked to in one of them.
I also do not have a disorder. I have never been diagnosed with anything and do not plan to. If we were to apply the medical model to my group I am not even the original and would not be considered "real" by most in the mental health community. I do still wonder if you have read anything about the subject from people who do not identify as being "disordered" multiples? Do you have some reason you see the medical model as more valid than a non-medical, healthy model?
Furthermore, the idea that no-one can "understand" is philosophically speaking true of any experience. It does not mean that people cannot have valid ideas or gain certain levels of wisdom on particular subjects. Your attempt to exclude Randy's perspective from the discussion by saying this is dismissive at best.
Randy, I would agree with you to the extent that I don't think people who are multiple are different from people who aren't any more than any one person is different from another. However, within my experience, each person differs very greatly from each other person! I would think that everyone should be treated with the same amount of respect and given the same rights, but that their individuality should be respected as well!
Denying that people are different and function in different ways, despite having a basic similarity in physical systems seems absurd. Everyone is special to some extent, and I don't think that de-emphasizing differences or denying them is particularly helpful similarly to Lori's statement that she can never be understood.
It seems to me that the binary of everyone being either "special" or "the same" is a false one and that people can be both special and the same simultaneously. I think that if one examines one's own opinions of what it means to be human that this becomes clear. We are each human but we are not all the same human.
Oh, I am sorry, Lori, you must be the exception.
You ARE special. I can see you from here! WOW!
I stand amazed!
Your glory astounds me! I shrink in your august presence!
You are the only one in my 57 years of life on this miserable rock, that presents a radical new view of humanity!
...nice...
Oh, and as I have said many times:
People are really quite boring and predictable. Knowing how they work and think is what made me such a good con-man, back in the day.
You all respond to stimulus in predictable ways.
You know why that is? Because I am you and you are me, and we all know each other very well, but you deny it. I don't. You try to pull away and be "special".
Nope. All the same. 99.9% of our DNA is identical, only that last little fraction of a tenth makes us unique, and that is all very superficial.
Randy, I am a college professor and I also know what I am writing about. I also have advanced degrees and actual experience. Nothing beats that sort of combination and I did finish my degrees. Yes, I am special. That is why you will never understand. By the way, DID cannot be distinguished from so-called normal brains because they are formed by environment. Even that was explained in the film. We are not all the same.
@Lori
No, not really.
You know, the book and TV series that made this "disorder" popular, was "Sybil" (which I read and watched in the 70's, Sally Feilds was AWESOME!), but that has been proven to be a hoax.
You are not "special". Everyone feels this way. Everyone on this planet, who ever existed and who will ever exist has personality "disorders" including diss-asociative (sorry about the spelling), disorders.
And I went to medical school. I am a doctor, however, not a medical doctor... my PhD is in World History and Classical Literature... lol!
Although, I went to law school and medical school, I just didn't finish.
What I am saying is, I have held the human brain in my hands and I in my dissertations and study I realized there are no "disorders". There are only human brains with frontal lobes and everyone is exactly the same.
Serial killers, saints, sadists, holy men, scientists, cannibals, rich, poor, black, white, blah, blah, blah
All the same. For better or for worse.
Randy, again you miss the whole point. It is having separate and different personalities and that is totally different from what you describe.
Kent, you assume too much. You assume you are the only one with DID that is posting here. You are wrong.
Every human primate on this planet, with a frontal lobe, is a Multiple Personality.
There are, at least, two people living in your heads, sometimes more, (I probably have an entire Roman Senate up in there, constantly arguing...)
When you are blacked out drunk, or stoned, or sleep walking, who is in control? When the corpus-collossum is severed in severe siezure patients and you get "Alien-Hand" syndrome, (where the left or right hand defies you and tries to kill you... it happens, look it up....) who is in control there?
I can be compassionate to a fault, but also angry and cold and cruel. And so can most of you. All of you are capable of incredible kindness and also unspeakable cruelty.
When you dream, all of the "people" in your dream are really just you. You make them, they are you. When I write novels all the characters are me, like in a dream. Etc.
Having multiple personalities really just means you have a human brain in your skull.
Lori, Please read everything I am writing here carefully and with as little emotion as possible. It isn't intended to marginalize what you are saying, but to suggest an alternative to you:
I believe if you hadn't misunderstood what Wayne wrote then perhaps on reading it you might see that he is trying to point out that multiples are normal people and that "normal" people should realize that they are human being just as they are.
People don't have to "suffer" from having more than one identity. It seems (to me at least)that you see people living in plural groups with pity, while the majority of us who are plural would rather be treated with the same respect that anyone else is due.
Your urging people to have "compassion" on multiples implies that there is something wrong with us. We appreciate that you care about the plight of those with "DID" but I would encourage you, as an educated person who wants to be well-versed on all aspects of this subject, to read the FAQ I have linked by clicking on my name.
While you seem well-versed in what the medical establishment has to say about "DID" I would suggest that there is an entire other element to the subject which you don't seem to be familiar with; the opinions of those of us who are multiple and are sick to death of being told by "normal" people that there is something wrong with us for being this way.
As much as we appreciate the first step of compassion, that compassion in the end must be discarded with the realization that people who are plural don't have something innately wrong with them.
Far to often, the "disorder" bit comes because society tells the person that they need to eliminate one of the core elements that makes them who they are. That lack of acceptance is often just as hurtful and traumatic as the abuse that may or may not have been the origin of their plurality.
I hope this helps make things clear.
Kent, maybe I am sick to death of people who suffer from DID having to suffer from the abuse of ignorant people. I see nothing admirable about people such as Wayne. You surely must know that not too long ago those who suffered from this condition were torched and burnt at the stake as witches. Even the educated within the profession of psychology often do not accept the reality of this diagnosis.
Veterans who come back from war are often imprisoned when a stay in a mental hospital would be not only more compassionate but certainly a more fairer response to their honored service. I know many who are now completing their service from war in a prison.
There are far too few people who defend those with this condition than those who condemn. I stand by what I wrote.
Lori, perhaps you should examine your own use of English before being dismissive or critical of people's opinions merely because of their writing. Whether a person uses proper grammar and spelling does not necessarily mean that they are uneducated, but could indicate that they are simply not very good at writing, were tired, or had clumsy fingers, and made some mistakes(as I both you and I did in our posts).
For myself, I would agree that MUCH of the work done in examining the plight of multiples is done online, but would also point you to my post and observe that if you try to apply the "DID" label to everyone who experiences life in this manner, then you are necessarily falling into the trap of accepting the terminology foisted upon multiples by the mental-health community and that this is detrimental in itself. In this respect I must find myself agreeing with Wayne, and admire his willingness to post despite his possibly detrimental use of language.
I must say that I very much enjoy his observation that only the "geniuses" can be so dumb as to insist that the whole thing has got to be based on abuse. For myself, I find that the true geniuses are the ones who think outside the boundaries with which society limits what can be defined as "True".
Wayne, everything that I wrote in my post is from good solid research. I thought about answering your post because your English shows that you do not have very much education. I suggest you look things up a bit before you show your ignorance. Many of the work done with DID is on the Internet.
Don't believe B.S. It keeps multiples invisible in the real world. like there has to be abuse and there is an age it has to start at - wrong. Only the geniuses can be this - bzzzt.
Psychs make guess abt things - everybody thinks its gospel coming out of their mouth. You are right a multiple can be anyone, your boss - your kid's schoolbus driver - your BFF. Calling it a disorder is wrong too because it isn't nuts.
Multiples don't all do like that women rolling on the floor. she is in a deliverance excorcism - Told she'll get better if she does this. Did she? Did anyone follow up to talk to these people later?
It is amazing that so many professionals still deny the existence of DID. It is real and its effects are felt in many people in varying degrees. For example, soldiers who had a mild form of it came home with a severe form after being POW's.
Oh, there are many people with DID who have knowledge of what the alters have done. That is not uncommon and many professionals have this form of PTSD. I can see police officers, and other professionals including doctors who have this condition. In the severe form, it can be a problem but in its mild form it can be a help in some ways. Many writers and other creative people have it.
In order for people to have DID, one does have to have above average intelligence, creative abilities and some say the sexual and/or physical abuse must start before the age of three.
I have to agree with the writer who says that there is a lot of prejudice against those with DID. I just don't think people are aware of those around them who have it. It was once thought to be rare. It is not. There are many people who have it and pass unnoticed in the population. It is the extreme form that gets the attention.
I really wish to emphasize all Kent has already said. I'd also like to share my personal veiws and opinions.
We of Oure Gaiya, have been looking at various ways we could "out" ourselves. Whenever we've made a post to online multiple sites, asking for their support and advice, the response has been overwhelming.
No one, and I do mean no one, has felt safe enough to join us in our endeavor. We're in a position to be able to let others know of us, however most aren't. Jobs, careers and even families can be at stake.
It's this type of sterotyping that keeps multiples in the closet. It's the shows like US of Tara, books and movies, that make people ask why a multiple can carry a gun. It's the medical community who either invalidate our very existence, or feel we have a disorder if we do.
It makes me furious to think that the rest of my life will be spent trying to find ways to make our voices heard.Not because I will, but because I even have to.
However, I truly pity the people who through their sterotyping prejudices are losing the opportunity to know a lot of fabulous people.
It's obvious that is an acrtress!!!! You are sooo stupid people!
My experience w/sadistic mother who did to me what was done to her as a small child, but added to it ... resulted not in true MPD for me, as my mother, but a variation - severe FRAGMENTATION. Various personas are aware of each other & reside inside like children in a boarding school, or on a walking tether, each holding onto their own loop of the rope, led by the teacher. When a situation arises that's overwhelming to the main persona, she goes through her options, like flipping through the wardrobe deciding which one to put on for the task at hand. After, she thanks them and dismisses them, always appreciating them being there.
Note: As I got stronger on my healing journey, I realized the memories finally coming through the mist were a sign that I'm making progress. I'm now strong enough for that information, and use it to heal myself further.
Sadism, cruelty, sexual perversion cause extreme nuclear damage to the psyche. I've had so many "helpers" who could never accept what happened to me, so could only contribute to my healing in some limited way. Finally at almost 60 yrs. old, just last year I found a healer who KNOWS what I'm dealing with and speaks to the "inner children" in the way I need. We're moving toward wellness, stability & balance at quantum speed. I cannot adequately express my profound gratitude. Almost all my life I've been trying to stay alive and to repair the damage that was done.
I finally rejected my death wish & decided to embrace life (not just concede to it) and to be of optimum health physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually - to the best of my ability. It's not fun but it is my challenge - I am winning.
can someone clear one thing up for me? someone that can tell me i'm not the only one wondering why a guy with 20 personalities is carrying a gun and wearing a badge???
a-quiet-mind, god doesnt exist and if he does...he doesnt like your stupidity
ahh, look at that awesome 80's fashion :-)
Thats a trip Barb's eyesight changes with personalities. Ive heard of changes in voices,IQ levels and physical abilities but that is a new one for me.Hats off to her husband. What patience. However, this made me hate sexually abusive people more than I already did and I didn't think that was possible. Pieces of shyte need to start getting the chair for crimes such as the ones described by these 3 people. For even thinking of doing things like that. Especially to a kid! Wish they didnt put those kind of people in P.C. while they are locked , where nobody can touch them.Seperated from the G.P. because they wouldn't last a day once someone found out why they were there. How very unfortunate. Society excepts rehabilitation for people who do those things. You cant rehabilitate a perverse attraction to those kind of actions. Thats like trying to rehabilitate a person from being gay or stright. More than likely , not a chance. At least these 3 people have some help and people around them that care. Imagine their life without them. This was intresting to watch but really hit a spot w/ me , obviously. Slainte.
Most of the personalties were trigged by external stimuli, what would happen if you were to place people with this disorder in front of a mirror then present them with the stimuli that triggered the personality change, then have that new personality look in the mirror and ask them who that person is.
In the documentary they saw them selves as separate people who they still come up with the same conclusion if there own reflection was staring back at them?
Am wondering how John is still in the police force in light of his diagnosis? Let's face it, his access to a gun in light of his condition is, in my opinion, a ticking time-bomb. He has 20 personalities (I would imagine that at least one of those personalities is aggressive?). It's also stated in this video that he has problems controlling his temper.
KT: Multiple personalities are not just people convincing themselves of the reality of "imaginary friends". Please visit our website, astraeasweb.net -- we have a lot of information from many sources.
Wow! 9 out of 10 stars! Very powerful stuff.
Could it be those people simply convince themselves that they have so many personalities? Perhaps like an imaginary friend which you act out in such a scale he/she becomes real
They don't call MPD anymore.
They call it Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID
This is a very fascinating disorder. I learned about this in my abnormal psychology class.
wat if the other personality on multiple is wat a person is and the daily lived is just to reflect wat people around expect?
I feel especially bad for the husband of Barb....how he could take that kind of responsibility on is beyond me...
Eli: Plenty of multiples, even without therapy, are aware that something is going on. They may leave notes, etc.
You can know you're multiple without having a doctor tell you. You can communicate with each other and work as a team. Not all multiples need therapy to be able to organize and do this.
Control isn't an issue. Cooperation is.
This is an old film and it plays to stereotypes. A lot has been discovered since then, by multiples -- not just by psychiatry. The psychiatric view is only one aspect of a complex set of experiences.
I've linked to our website, you can read what's there and drop us a line. We'll be happy to answer any questions you have.
The cop in this said that he is always aware of what his personalities are doing, but how is that possible?
In MPD when you switch you have amnesia and don't remember what has happened. (at least this is what has been said about MPD)
And if you were aware of the other personalities you would be able to control them (because it would be you)
Unless it is like some Fight Club thing where the person sees his own personality.
Of all the cases (which are few) of MPD I never heard of someone who was aware of their personalities.
Can anyone clear this up for me?
After taking many psychology classes and completing research papers focused on the subject, it is interesting to see the difference between what was known in the 1980s or 1990s versus today. For example, Multiple Personality Disorder can no longer be found in the DSM-IV or the future DSM V. Now it is classified as Dissociative Personality Disorder due to the dissociation of oneself into separate identities. Not all cases are this severe, and some are rather benign.
This is a highly controversial disorder and many professionals say that it not exist. It is alarming how much attention this "disorder" has gotten where the patients receive a great amount of attention for their "other" personalities but little is done to boost their recovery.
I don't think the theory of demonic oppression or influence on these people should be negated fully. Demonized people often result from sexual abuse even without the multiple personalities.
Many people need deliverence as well as counseling to get better. I'm speaking from personal experience not just theory.