Multiple Personality Disorder Essay

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Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) or Dissociative

Identity Disorder (DID) was first acknowledged in the 1700's

but was not understood so therefore it was forgotten. Many

cases show up in medical records through the years, but in

1905, Dr. Morton Prince wrote a book about MPD that is a

foundation for the disease. A few years after it was

published Sigmund Freud dismissed the affliction and this

dropped it from being discussed at any credible mental

health meetings. Since then the disorder has been overlooked

and misdiagnosed as either schizophrenia or psychosis. Many

in the medical profession did not believe that a person

could unknowingly have more than one personality or person

inside one body, even after the in the 1950's Three Faces of

Eve was published by two psychiatrist. In 1993, records

showed that three to five thousand patients were being

treated for MPD compared to the hundred cases reported ten

years earlier. There is still as increase in the number of

cases being reported as the scientific community learns more

and more about the disease and the public is becoming more

and more aware of this mental disorder. There are still many

questions left unanswered about the disease, like "Is it

genetic?" or "Is a certain type of personality more

vulnerable to the disorder?" but many aspects of how people

come by the disorder are already answered (Clark, 1993,

p.17-19) MPD is commonly found in adults who were

recurrently abused mentally, physically, emotionally, and/or

sexually as young children, between birth to 8 years of age.

The child uses a process called dissociation to remove

him/herself from the abusive situation. Dissociation is when

a child makes up an imaginary personality to take control of

the mind and body while the child is being abused. The child

can imagine many personalities but usually there is a

personality for every feeling and or emotion that was

involved during the abuse (BoyyM, 1998, p.1). As an adult,

the abused child finds it hard to keep track of time and may

have episodes of amnesia. Other symptoms that will appear in

adults with MPD are depression, auditory and visual

hallucinations (hearing voices) and suicidal thoughts.

Another major symptom is when the adult has no recollection

of their childhood. The adult with MPD has no idea they were

abused as children and also unaware of the other

personalities living inside of their head.

Multiple Personality Disorder is when there is "the

presence of two or more distinct identities or

personalities, each with its own relatively enduring pattern

of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the

environment and self"(BoyyM, 1998, p.1). There can be

anywhere from two to over a hundred different personalities.

Usually each personality will fall into one of the following

categories: core, host, protectors, internal self-helper,

fragments, child members, preteen, teenager, adults,

artistic/music, cross-gender, cross-colored, animal members,

inanimate members (BoyyM, 1998, p. 2-3). The host

personality is the person who is the multiple, this is the

original personality, or the one that created the other

personalities, but is unaware of them. The most common

apparent identities are the child, persecutor, rescuer, and

helper. The child is the identity that is under the age of

twelve. They behave as children often sucking thumbs,

twisting hair, like to eat cookies, throw tantrums, and use

child-like vocabulary. The Persecutor identity is the

self-destructive identity that is violent and angry.

Persecutor identities usually have a drug/alcohol problem

and generally put the host at risk. The rescuer personality

is usually devoid of emotion but logical, able, proficient,

and responsible. The helper personality knows the most about

the history of the multiple; they generally want to help

everyone for the general good. The helper personality is the

personality that is most helpful in therapy because they

usually know about all the other identities (Clark, 1993,

p.80-83). Subpersonalities are not only part of a person

with MPD but they are also evident in emotionally normal

persons as well. Although, in a normal person, he/she

remembers when their subpersonality takes over, but in a MPD

patient, the personality disconnects from the host that the

host can not remember what happens. When a traumatic

experience happens, whether positive or negative, a

subpersonality will develop. In a normal person, the

splitting is broken into an "ok self" and a "not ok self".

In a multiple, the personalities are more defined; they are

broken into smaller fragments that disassociate from the

human host (Rowan, 1990, p. 7, 20).

In the book by Terri A. Clark, M.D., it shows the

distinct the personalities are in several cases. It also

displays how each identity can be different from the other

identities and the host. In one of Clark's cases, Veronica,

one of the personalities of her patient Regina, showed up

for the weekly appointment instead of Regina (note that it

really was Regina, but she was a different identity). Clark

noticed a change in the appearance of Regina on her arrival

and noted the difference in her voice. Veronica (Regina)

continued to speak to Clark as if it was the first time they

had met. Although, Veronica knew about Clark, Regina's

personal life, and therapy, this was the first time Clark

had met this personality. Clark discovered while talking to

Veronica that she had a separate business which she ran on

the weekends, and when Veronica was in control of the body.

Regina had no idea about the business; Veronica used the

fake name and an Art Gallery's telephone number in which to

run her business. Veronica even had a different handwriting

than Regina. According to Clark, each personality has its

own distinct features, such as handwriting, fashion taste,

hobbies, and culinary taste. In most cases, there will

always be personality that writes with their left hand,

while the host and other identities write with their right.

In Regina's case, Veronica wore different clothes than

Regina and she had an interest in fine art. Each personality

of a host, when asked, will tell you they have a certain

type of hair color and cut, height, weight, and even gender

(Clark, 1993, p. 73-78). The problem with having all these

personalities is that they do not mesh well. Consequences

can arise from having so many different traits inside one

body like eating and sleep disorders, depression, anxiety,

and substance abuse (Smith, 1993, p.1). Each alter also has

their own name, these names can come from anything but there

are three common factors that influence the alters name.

Some alters are just born with the name, this is when the

alter is modeled after a real or fictional character. Some

alters are named after emotional responses, such as Sad One

or Angry Janie. Many alters are named for the specific job

they are supposed to do, like Director, Helper or Avenger.

The names chosen have been created by a child so they are

most likely modeled after a fictional or real character.

Although the host will have no idea of the other

personalities and will not respond to the names at first,

the alters respond to the birth personalities name (Clark,

1993, 90-91). The circumstances that the identities get the

host into can also become a problem. The different alters

while in possession of the body can go somewhere where the

host does not know and then leave and the host is left with

no idea how he/she got there and how to get back. In Sybil,

one of the first times she realized she had a problem was

when she had to leave her Columbia University Chemistry Lab

when something broke. The last thing she remembered was

standing at the elevator but when she regained consciousness

she was in the warehouse district of Philadelphia. Miles

from where she had been before in New York and it was five

days later (Schreiber, 1973, p. 23-36). The persecutor

identity has a tendency to leave the host in dangerous

situations.

Carla, one of Clark's patients, had a persecutor alter

named Godiva. Godiva was always putting Carla in sticky

situations like Godiva would pick up men at bars and bring

them home or go home with them. Carla...

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