do you believe mutliple personality is real

[Mrs Mungo]

I think there are many physical and mental problems that do not have a yes/no test to say, "this is the problem, here is how we will treat it." Medicine isn't magic. People suffer with all kinds of very real problems. That is what I believe in. What name you give those problems is not really relevant to me.

[RegGuheert]

I encountered someone who claimed to have multiple personalities (I know there's PC term for that but I can't remember what it is). Here's the thing though-- one of his personalities was a person with kanner's autism (low functioning). Yes other personalities were perfectly articulate and high functioning/ neurotypical. Obviously the same brain cannot be both autistic, and not autistic. So in that sense I realized this couldn't be "real."

Is the bolded part really obvious, considering their is no consensus about what causes autism and there is no biological test that can be done on someone to determine if they are autistic or not? I guess it is not obvious to me.

 

More importantly, I draw a distinction between the term "brain" and the term "mind". To me, the brain is the physical structure that contains the mind while the mind is the programming that exists within the brain. If that understanding is correct, then I see no logical reason why a single brain could not contain multiple minds or at least have multiple versions of certain functions of the mind with some mechanism to switch between them. (This is done very commonly in computers today. A single computer can have multiple different operating systems and it can be programmed to switch between them, causing it to have very different personalities that are visible to the outside world at different times. Or, more simply, a computer can run different programs at different times.)

 

Even if the individual (or that person's therapist) *intentionally* trains the mind to have multiple different personalities, does that imply that these different personalities do not exist or are not real? Sure, it could be called "acting", but if you act a certain way enough of the time, at some point I would say it becomes hard to distinguish who is the real you.

 

I guess I'm of the opinion that a person can have multiple personalities or at least can have a strong dissociation in their personality that can cause them to have very different outward behaviors at different times.

[GWOB]

I am by no means an expert, though I did take quite a few psych classes for my Criminal Justice degree.

 

I believe it is rare but real. I can see someone who experienced atrocious trauma during childhood displaying separate but distinct personalities. We all have different coping mechanisims. DID patients cope with their trauma by creating separate personalities. Kinda like Mafia personalities sometimes cope with their violence by extreme religiousness.

 

This is drastically different from the various faces we present to different groups. Mental illnesses affect your ability to function "normally" in the world.

 

And like a pp (Night Elf?) said, I wouldn't question an autism diagnosis. Why would someone question a DID diagnosis? Everyone is fighting their own battle. Psychology is a science, not some voodoo magic thing. Many people have craptastic upbringings. Not everyone is perfect.

[Joanne]

The Sybil "case" has been in dispute/under scrutiny for years. That is not new, although some media around it might be.

 

:iagree:

 

And I do believe the correct medical term is dissociative identity disorder.

 

I do believe that DID is a very real disorder.

 

Correct. Clinically from a counseling standpoint, MPD is not a mental health designation (anymore). "They" (the Americal Psychological Association) took it out of the DSM. It was "replaced" by dissociative identity disorder. Every medical science progresses as information and data determines the course of knowledge. The diagnosis criteria manual used by doctors still has an MPD designation.

 

I believe dissociative disorders exist, but are rare. The one equivalent to MPD is the most rare of the dissociative disorders. I do personally know one person who suffers with a dissociative disorder.

 

I believe that therapists can plant ideas that create havoc (iatrogetic), and I remember that with satanic ritual abuse and repressed memory (2 main ones of my lifetime). However, both satanic ritual abuse and repressed memory DO exist.

 

Mental health diagnosis can be a challenge, and care must be made on both sides of an issue. To make this closer to home, ADD/ADHD exists, probably not in the numbers that are diagnosed, but to dismiss it categorically is as dangerous as over diagnosis.

[KidsHappen]

While discussing this please keep in mind that we do have one poster who suffers from multiple personality disorder (I do believe that she was diagnosed before the change in nomenclature).

[Stacy in NJ]

Our means of diagnosis are crude and our understanding of the actual conditions is limited. Hopefully they'll all improve, as well as treatments, with time.

 

Our understanding of "split personality" disorder has improved and we look back and see that folks were misdiagnosed in years past. Again, hopefully, more people are getting more accurate diagnoses and treatment today.

 

 

Well, there are people who don't think autism is real. And people who think depression is nothing but a person being overly dramatic. And PPD is just a new mom trying to get attention away from the baby and onto her. I'm sure we can think of lots more of these.

 

I think the problem is that if a person looks "normal" then they must be normal. If they have physical features like a Downs Syndrome person might have, then it's okay to say they aren't "normal".

 

So because Sybil's story isn't true, then no one must really have a multiple personality disorder. :confused:

[Denisemomof4]

Our means of diagnosis are crude and our understanding of the actual conditions is limited. Hopefully they'll all improve, as well as treatments, with time.

 

Our understanding of "split personality" disorder has improved and we look back and see that folks were misdiagnosed in years past. Again, hopefully, more people are getting more accurate diagnoses and treatment today.

 

this is with all mental illnesses. I've seen my siblings get so many different opinions as to what they have..... and treatment? I find most treatment for mental illness to be a total waste of time. That could very well be because my siblings haven't found a GOOD therapist, but decades of therapy have done NOTHING for either of them.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I absolutely believe in dissociative dxes. I agree that it is probably WAY mis-dx'd (over and under).

I also agree that a part of the mis-dx issue is whether doctors/therapists believe in the disorder.

Some professionals will see a hint and jump right in. Others could have a raging case and never believe it.

 

I follow the blog of a young woman with DID.

I do believe one client of a friend has DID.

There is a poster on the Hive with DID.

 

It exists - just differently than we're going to see in the media.

 

Additionally, I think that psych medicine (all medicine really) is just SO beyond what rudimentary science we have.

We want to believe we're so sophisticated. I think we're sadly mistaken.

Edited December 19, 2011 by 2J5M9K

[kwg]

This woman ended up committing suicide. Tragic.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/11/carole-myers-satanic-child-abuse

 

That story is tragic . I couldn't read it all in one sitting- the things they were talking about.

 

I thought it odd her parents did not do more to stay in contact? Perhaps that was not the point of the article so not the focus. I don't think it necessarily proves anything- I suspect this woman was a victim of bad therapy.

 

I do not know enough about DID to make a judgement. It does not have to coexist with SRA does it? I mean, other trauma can cause it, right? Seems like that is always the focus in the media.

[Parrothead]

.

 

It exists - just differently than we're going to see in the media.

 

This is good, Pamela. This distinction must be made.

[Jeannie in NJ]

my dd has a question

If a person has 2 personalities, are they aware of each other and for ex. if there is an "original" personality, what happens to it (where does it go) when the 2nd personality comes out?

[Stacy in NJ]

At this point, the most positive thing might be that there is great awareness and sometimes sympathy for folks who suffer - both the individuals and their familes.

 

 

this is with all mental illnesses. I've seen my siblings get so many different opinions as to what they have..... and treatment? I find most treatment for mental illness to be a total waste of time. That could very well be because my siblings haven't found a GOOD therapist, but decades of therapy have done NOTHING for either of them.

[RegGuheert]

my dd has a question

If a person has 2 personalities, are they aware of each other and for ex. if there is an "original" personality, what happens to it (where does it go) when the 2nd personality comes out?

If my computer analogy is somewhat accurate, then I would guess that it is still there but is simply inactive in a similar way to how other "personalities" of a computer are inactive when they are not seen.

 

ETA: On the first part of her question, I can imagine the personalities not being aware of each other, but I image the opposite could be true as well. I suppose that depends on how "inactive" the other personality really is.

Edited December 19, 2011 by RegGuheert

[goldberry]

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Like-Us-Globalization-American/dp/141658708X

 

This is a great book for any that are interested in psychology/mental illness. It doesn't discuss DID/MPD specifically, but it does discuss alot about how culture affects mental illness in general. Great read.

[Dobela]

I believe it is real. In the last few years I watch a friend go thru diagnosis. She was horribly abused as a child and 'compartmentalized' the abuse. She wasn't aware of the other identities but would have strange gaps in memory that she couldn't explain. It wasn't until her youngest child began asking her to be "Melody" because he liked playing with her better that she and her therapist (who was helping her deal with the abuse) began looking further.

 

I do believe it is rare.

[kwg]

I believe it is real. In the last few years I watch a friend go thru diagnosis. She was horribly abused as a child and 'compartmentalized' the abuse. She wasn't aware of the other identities but would have strange gaps in memory that she couldn't explain. It wasn't until her youngest child began asking her to be "Melody" because he liked playing with her better that she and her therapist (who was helping her deal with the abuse) began looking further.

 

I do believe it is rare.

 

:grouphug: to your friend.

[unsinkable]

Nevermind.

Edited December 19, 2011 by unsinkable

[dragons in the flower bed]

I thought that MPD (multiple personality disorder) was removed from DSM-IV but maybe I am mistaken.

 

It was. A previous poster said there's a more "politically correct" term for it now, but what happened in fact was that there's a more psychiatrically correct diagnosis that covers many of the symptoms doctors used to think of as demonstrative of MPD: dissociative identity disorder. Everyone dissociates. Everyone slips into alternate ego states (the daughter, the wife, the professional, the mom). Dissociative identity disorder is just dissociating between ego states to a pathological extent. The MPD of the eighties is questionable and debunkable perhaps, but I think DID has more going for it.

 

I've had the dubious pleasure of knowing three people with DID. One was totally in denial, thought his psychiatrist was a quack, lived as though he didn't have it, and creeped me out by periodically being very obviously a child in adult clothes. I felt better years later when one his relatives told me about the diagnosis he had denied.

 

One probably could come under the category of handy hysteric because she got out of the diagnosis something she otherwise couldn't have justified asking for. But she had been aware of one alternate ego state since the age of twelve, loooong before the situation came up for which that "hysteric" was "handy". Everyone's reaction to her diagnosis was, "Duh! Why didn't we think of that?"

 

And the third was a person who is just so forgetful and non-functional that she couldn't string two thoughts together to come up with any kind of plot. This person needs to live in a home because she can't make life work.

 

I think it can probably be iatrogenic, but I kind of think a lot of mental illness is iatrogenic. If it weren't for all the therapists running around telling us we're got something in the manual, we'd maybe think there was something really unhealthy about the values and structure of our culture, and we'd work to fix the community we live in rather than trying to adapt our hearts to run on materialism and individualism.

[dragons in the flower bed]

While discussing this please keep in mind that we do have one poster who suffers from multiple personality disorder (I do believe that she was diagnosed before the change in nomenclature).

 

Yes, and her FIL is dying of cancer, and she is stressing about having Christmas in a hotel room and all split up, and I really hope she just misses this thread altogether.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, and her FIL is dying of cancer, and she is stressing about having Christmas in a hotel room and all split up, and I really hope she just misses this thread altogether.

 

Me too.

[Mosaicmind]

dd is taking psychology next semester and we were discussing this. I know that recently Sybil turned out to be fake but other than that, is the disorder real? Anyone actually know a person that had split or multiliple personalities? If so, how were you sure that it was real?

 

 

UMMMM!!! YES. I have Dissociative Identity Disorder, it's not known as MPD anymore. If you want to know more pm me. I am willing to tell you about anything.

[annandatje]

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Like-Us-Globalization-American/dp/141658708X

 

This is a great book for any that are interested in psychology/mental illness. It doesn't discuss DID/MPD specifically, but it does discuss alot about how culture affects mental illness in general. Great read.

 

 

A beautifully written play that examines cultural interpretations of mental illness is Blue/Orange. If I recall correctly, it does not touch on DID/MPD. The psychiatric patient in play believes he is Idi Amin's son.

[Mosaicmind]

The Sybil "case" has been in dispute/under scrutiny for years. That is not new, although some media around it might be.

 

 

 

Correct. Clinically from a counseling standpoint, MPD is not a mental health designation (anymore). "They" (the Americal Psychological Association) took it out of the DSM. It was "replaced" by dissociative identity disorder. Every medical science progresses as information and data determines the course of knowledge. The diagnosis criteria manual used by doctors still has an MPD designation.

 

I believe dissociative disorders exist, but are rare. The one equivalent to MPD is the most rare of the dissociative disorders. I do personally know one person who suffers with a dissociative disorder.

 

I believe that therapists can plant ideas that create havoc (iatrogetic), and I remember that with satanic ritual abuse and repressed memory (2 main ones of my lifetime). However, both satanic ritual abuse and repressed memory DO exist.

 

Mental health diagnosis can be a challenge, and care must be made on both sides of an issue. To make this closer to home, ADD/ADHD exists, probably not in the numbers that are diagnosed, but to dismiss it categorically is as dangerous as over diagnosis.

 

I know we have had our disagreements, but thanks for this. My DID was a result of SRA. I have had many brain scans when different personalities came out and all of this documented. I have been studied by psych who didn't believe and now do.

 

I hate that there are people out there that are faking this disorder, this is serious. I have to prove myself to everyone I know and people have literally spat in my face and called me a liar.

 

My abuse is real and my "other parts" are real also. I never had a counselor conjur them up for me. I came to my counselor with these issues and that's where my treatment started. This is one of the reasons I am becoming a counselor myself, people like me need people who believe.

[Mosaicmind]

my dd has a question

If a person has 2 personalities, are they aware of each other and for ex. if there is an "original" personality, what happens to it (where does it go) when the 2nd personality comes out?

 

I have over 10 other parts. At one time none of us were aware of the others, but that is how we were programmed. Over time and through therapy we have come to know who each is and what our jobs are. I am the "core" person, although some would tell you that there really is no core because through Satanic Ritual Abuse the person is systematically abused and split so many times that the core is lost. But, when I am not "out" i am just inside. I have a room inside that I picture which is where I go. Sometimes I am aware of what is going on and other times I am not.

[Scarlett]

I know we have had our disagreements, but thanks for this. My DID was a result of SRA. I have had many brain scans when different personalities came out and all of this documented. I have been studied by psych who didn't believe and now do.

 

I hate that there are people out there that are faking this disorder, this is serious. I have to prove myself to everyone I know and people have literally spat in my face and called me a liar.

 

My abuse is real and my "other parts" are real also. I never had a counselor conjur them up for me. I came to my counselor with these issues and that's where my treatment started. This is one of the reasons I am becoming a counselor myself, people like me need people who believe.

 

Thanks for the post. Just curious what SRA stands for.

 

Love your ID name....:)

[Mosaicmind]

Thanks for the post. Just curious what SRA stands for.

 

Love your ID name....:)

 

Satanic Ritual Abuse. That's another can of worms that I am not sure i want to touch right now. I do also want to say that most people with DID do NOT act like Sybil. My personalities are very similar to each other with slight differences in mannerisms, speech, and how we dress. Now, my young parts of course act very differently but they do not come out in public.

[OnTheBrink]

20ish years ago, I was an office manager for a mental health center and we did have one client who was dx'd MPD. I believe it was real with that client. There were two others who claimed to be MPD, but I could never buy it completely that they were. They seemed to enjoy it too much and like the attention it got them.

 

So, in answer to the question, yes, I believe it is real. I do believe it is rare.

[Mosaicmind]

Yes, and her FIL is dying of cancer, and she is stressing about having Christmas in a hotel room and all split up, and I really hope she just misses this thread altogether.

 

Thank you. I am cool. I love educating people about my disorder. I have learned over the last 11 years that those who don't believe are just not educated and have this picture of how I ought to act and I don't act that way so they make rash judgments.

 

I just ask that if anyone has any questions to please pm me and don't just jump to conclusions. There is so much crap out there about DID that it makes me sick.

[cjbeach]

I have no background in psych or any personal background with DID but during my psych rotation, I had the honor of doing it at the former Pennsylvania Institute. They had a closed Dissociative unit (this is driving me bonkers- spell check keeps fixing the spelling). I was not allowed on the unit to observe, but had an interview with the director of the unit and it was very, very interesting.

I did not at all walk away questioning the reality of the diagnosis after that interview. My interview was mind-boggling. The unit had seen quite a lot of dissociative disorder patients and they had a good handle on the diagnosis/ patients. The unit was a closed unit because these patients were so psychologically brittle. Their diagnoses were real, no question -- but rare.

Just the interview I had with the director about the diagnosis (for a research paper) and the case studies I read, solidified the reality of the disorder for me.

I walked away thinking that I don't know that I would have the inner strength to endure the horrors these patients endured (the ones I remember from the studies were physically/mentally/emotionally abused to extremes).

I had conversation with the director about the complexity of our brains and how it will seem to shut down during severe emotional distress. Just as some bodies react physically and become physically ill during severe emotional distress, it is entirely plausible that DID is an extreme psychological coping mechanism to severe emotional distress.

Re: the Sybil woman. So she may not have DID but wow, she definitely has to have something psychologically wrong with her to go to the extremes with her pseudo diagnoses that she did.

Edited December 19, 2011 by cjbeach

[KnitWit]

Lisa, (MosaicMind)

 

I think you are awesome! I admit I was concerned about you also when I first read this thread.

 

I know it might sound weird to say, but you are more *stable* than many *normal* (for lack of a better term) people I know! :)

 

:grouphug::grouphug:

I pray for you often.

[2cents]

Thank you. I am cool. I love educating people about my disorder. I have learned over the last 11 years that those who don't believe are just not educated and have this picture of how I ought to act and I don't act that way so they make rash judgments.

 

I just ask that if anyone has any questions to please pm me and don't just jump to conclusions. There is so much crap out there about DID that it makes me sick.

 

:thumbup: I'm so glad you are not hurt by the speculation and are still interested in educating people about this disorder. :grouphug:

[kwg]

:iagree::iagree:

:thumbup: I'm so glad you are not hurt by the speculation and are still interested in educating people about this disorder. :grouphug:

[dragons in the flower bed]

Is the bolded part really obvious, considering their is no consensus about what causes autism and there is no biological test that can be done on someone to determine if they are autistic or not? I guess it is not obvious to me.

 

:iagree: There have been documented cases of a person's eye color changing when a different "alter" takes over.

[Jennifer in MI]

Yes. I believe it exists.

 

Lisa, (MosaicMind)

 

I think you are awesome! I admit I was concerned about you also when I first read this thread.

 

I know it might sound weird to say, but you are more *stable* than many *normal* (for lack of a better term) people I know! :)

 

:grouphug::grouphug:

I pray for you often.

 

:iagree: I am so glad you came here Mosaic! And, I'm glad you're not hurt. You are on my mind a lot. I'm grateful that you are willing to open up and educate us all.

[Mosaicmind]

:iagree: There have been documented cases of a person's eye color changing when a different "alter" takes over.

 

Yes, mine have changed several times and my one friend who knows me very well stepped back from me the first time she saw it. I don't have pictures so I can't "prove" it but I do have EYE-witness accounts :lol:

[Mosaicmind]

Yes. I believe it exists.

 

 

 

:iagree: I am so glad you came here Mosaic! And, I'm glad you're not hurt. You are on my mind a lot. I'm grateful that you are willing to open up and educate us all.

 

I want others to know that we are not freaks and we are "for real". I ask only that you listen with an open mind and heart and hear me. I would do the same for you. I can't wait to finish my degree and be able to help others that are suffering from this disorder.

 

One of my professors is trying to get me to speak to some of her classes on campus about DID. She said that psych classes just don't cover it enough because of the speculation and controversy that surround it. Maybe seeing a "normal" stay at home mom, who home schools, goes to school herself, and still lives with this disorder and yet can live a very meaningful and fruitful life. I am not falling apart all the time; yet there are days and sometimes weeks. I have been hospitalized, with the last time being years ago. For the most part I am maintaining and working through my junk and working towards integration someday, although that is no longer a goal of mine anymore.

[Scuff]

I'd love to hear more of your story, as you have time. I imagine you're getting lots of pms.

 

In general, it's been said that this is not like what it's portrayed on TV. What is it like, then?

[mommaduck]

I have over 10 other parts. At one time none of us were aware of the others, but that is how we were programmed. Over time and through therapy we have come to know who each is and what our jobs are. I am the "core" person, although some would tell you that there really is no core because through Satanic Ritual Abuse the person is systematically abused and split so many times that the core is lost. But, when I am not "out" i am just inside. I have a room inside that I picture which is where I go. Sometimes I am aware of what is going on and other times I am not.

Lisa, I'm curious. Are they considered parts/sides of a whole person or entirely different personalities? The reason I ask is because it might explain how I was viewing the concept when I answered, "No for MPD. Yes for Split PD." Is there a clinical difference between SPD and DID or does one simply fall as a sub-cat of the other?

 

Curious how biologically eyes could change colour with different personas. I've seen eyes change colours, but not drastically. The person I know has an unusual blue that would turn to purple fire in a rage.

 

Many Blessings to you. I hope you weren't offended by my initial response. I did admit that I lack education on this subject.

[KatieH]

I use to be really fascinated by DID, so I read a lot of books on the subject. The two that stand out most in my memory are Katherine, It's Time and When Rabbit Howls.

 

I think it's likely real, but exceedingly rare. I think many cases are sadly faked (sometimes after encouragement from a therapist) or actually symptomatic of other disorders.

[Denisemomof4]

I have over 10 other parts. At one time none of us were aware of the others, but that is how we were programmed. Over time and through therapy we have come to know who each is and what our jobs are. I am the "core" person, although some would tell you that there really is no core because through Satanic Ritual Abuse the person is systematically abused and split so many times that the core is lost. But, when I am not "out" i am just inside. I have a room inside that I picture which is where I go. Sometimes I am aware of what is going on and other times I am not.

 

you are fascinating. I'm really sorry for the horrors you have suffered, but I'm glad that you want to educate people on your condition. I have that same passion for educating people about RAD.

 

:grouphug:

[annandatje]

this is with all mental illnesses. I've seen my siblings get so many different opinions as to what they have..... and treatment? I find most treatment for mental illness to be a total waste of time. That could very well be because my siblings haven't found a GOOD therapist, but decades of therapy have done NOTHING for either of them.

 

Unfortunately this appears to have been experience of my mentally ill sibling although sibling supposedly has had access to high quality care from a variety of qualified respected medical professionals.

[DawnM]

Yes, my friend's mother has it. It has been horribly devastating to the family and has caused a great deal of heartache. I could tell you story after story about her dealings with it. The mother was horribly abused as a child and this was her mind's way of coping.

 

Dawn

[Lizzie in Ma]

Since at least two people on this forum have been open about having multiple personalities, I think this could be a very upsetting topic for them to see debated.

 

Indeed. :iagree:

[Julie Smith]

Since at least two people on this forum have been open about having multiple personalities, I think this could be a very upsetting topic for them to see debated.

 

I am one of those people. I think so far everyone has talked nicely and I personally have no trouble with what is being said.

 

Right now I am not in the mood to talk about it. So I'm staying quiet.

 

But it was nice to see the concern raised by some members of the board.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I am one of those people. I think so far everyone has talked nicely and I personally have no trouble with what is being said.

 

Right now I am not in the mood to talk about it. So I'm staying quiet.

 

But it was nice to see the concern raised by some members of the board.

 

I'm glad that both you and MosaicMind are fine with the thread. :grouphug:

[Julie Smith]

I'm glad that both you and MosaicMind are fine with the thread. :grouphug:

 

Thank you for your concern Jean.

 

And I hope those on the board who aren't public about having MPD are also fine. :)

[KidsHappen]

Curious how biologically eyes could change colour with different personas. I've seen eyes change colours, but not drastically. The person I know has an unusual blue that would turn to purple fire in a rage.

 

I don't have MPD but my eyes change colors quite a bit. The actual color is blue with brown around the iris. Sometimes the brown ring is very thin and my eyes look blue. Sometimes the brown ring is somewhat larger and my eyes look green. Sometimes they are blue-ish green, almost a teal color. I am bi-polar but I really don't think that has anything to do with my eyes changing colors.

 

Four of my six children have blue eyes and while they never actually change colors, the blue can vary from ice blue to a dark blue. The other two children have brown eyes and they vary from a light rosy brown to a dark brown. Finally, one of my step dds had blue eyes as a child and now has green eyes. So although I don't know the mechanism by which eye color can change, I do know that it can happen. Eye color is still an inexact science. It wass just in the last ten years that they figured out that more than the combination of two genes controlled eye color.

[Scarlett]

I am one of those people. I think so far everyone has talked nicely and I personally have no trouble with what is being said.

 

Right now I am not in the mood to talk about it. So I'm staying quiet.

 

But it was nice to see the concern raised by some members of the board.

 

(((Julie)))

 

Sybil fascinated me. Now I learn hers was not 100% real.

 

I think all of us can relate to compartmentalizing......when things get too rough we retreat to our happy place. It isn't a stretch to me to believe that sever abuse or trauma can lead to a dramatic version of that.

[Mosaicmind]

I'd love to hear more of your story, as you have time. I imagine you're getting lots of pms.

 

In general, it's been said that this is not like what it's portrayed on TV. What is it like, then?

 

If you have seen any movies or the tv series, United States of Tara, these are so far out of the norm for people with DID that it makes me so mad!!! Most of my parts/alters/others act like me and unless you know me very well you would not know that it was "me"/ Lisa who is not the one out. Now, that is not to say they we all don't have our own way of doing things. Some of us like to wear jeans and t-shirts all day, while others like to look nice and ready to head out the door at a moments notice. One of my parts is extremely depressed and she does good to get dressed.

 

But, there are only a select few of my parts that are vastly different than me and they usually are not out amongst others that they do not know because they do not feel comfortable. There are times when I am triggered, pushed, or put in very stressful situation that these parts come out and then all hell breaks loose. I have to do alot of explaining when this happens.

 

I have parts that are anorexic, have problems with drugs and alcohol, or are OCD. I used to be on all kinds of different meds for anxiety, depression, mood stabilizers, ect.....but finally when I found the right psychiatrist who knew alot about DID and knew that it was pointless to be on most of these drugs she took me off. You see, it really depends on "who" is taking the drug whether it will work or not. I have been to the dentist office before and a part has taken the 2 valium I need for sedation but when "I" got to the office to start my procedure I was wide awake and not affected at all because I was not the one who took the drugs.

 

I hope this explains some....

[Nakia]

If you have seen any movies or the tv series, United States of Tara, these are so far out of the norm for people with DID that it makes me so mad!!! Most of my parts/alters/others act like me and unless you know me very well you would not know that it was "me"/ Lisa who is not the one out. Now, that is not to say they we all don't have our own way of doing things. Some of us like to wear jeans and t-shirts all day, while others like to look nice and ready to head out the door at a moments notice. One of my parts is extremely depressed and she does good to get dressed.

 

But, there are only a select few of my parts that are vastly different than me and they usually are not out amongst others that they do not know because they do not feel comfortable. There are times when I am triggered, pushed, or put in very stressful situation that these parts come out and then all hell breaks loose. I have to do alot of explaining when this happens.

 

I have parts that are anorexic, have problems with drugs and alcohol, or are OCD. I used to be on all kinds of different meds for anxiety, depression, mood stabilizers, ect.....but finally when I found the right psychiatrist who knew alot about DID and knew that it was pointless to be on most of these drugs she took me off. You see, it really depends on "who" is taking the drug whether it will work or not. I have been to the dentist office before and a part has taken the 2 valium I need for sedation but when "I" got to the office to start my procedure I was wide awake and not affected at all because I was not the one who took the drugs.

I hope this explains some....

 

 

I really do not understand the bolded. You have one liver, one set of kidneys, one central nervous system, one body where the med is metabolized. I don't understand how what you stated above can happen. Is there a scientific explanation?