Basics Of A Personality Disorder Multiple Personality Disorder and Dissociative Identity Disorder, also referred to as MPD and DID, are highly questioned disorders, which seem to reach beyond many peoples' materialistic understanding with many details still unclear. The actual occurrence of these disorders is relatively small, but because of the lessened development of the family life due to higher stresses outside of it in today’s civilized society, the disorders have climbed in reported cases. However, due to the disorders being so similar to other mental problems and each other, medical doctors inexperienced to the area often misdiagnose them. Regardless of this, the disorders do have definite, unique characteristics, which clearly differentiate them from other personality disorders. Multiple Personality Disorder has several definite factors with few variables. There is always the presence of alternate personalities, referred to as alters, which is the basis of the diagnosis and one of the only variables, being in the personalities' actual characteristics, number, and assigned tasks. The number of alters present ranges very high, often several hundred, as a specific one is needed for each task needed to be completed in the person's everyday life. Each alter is designed to complete only one task and to preserve the person's life. They cannot grow/change and they cannot learn. All of the alters are governed by a superior personality, the Intellectual Self, of Inner Self Helper (ISH), which does everything in its ability to keep the victim alive. Before anything else takes place within the victim, the Intellectual Self separates from the Emotional Self and gains complete control over the physical body, as the Emotional Self (Birth Personality, Original Personality, or Essence) becomes dormant. Dissociative Identity Disorder naturally shares most of the same features as MPD, but they differ in a few key ways. As with MPD, there will still be the presence of alters, but normally in fewer numbers. The number of alters present have been reported to range from two to one hundred, half of the cases being with ten of fewer personalities. In contrast to MPD, these alters are not governed by a superior personality and are not designed to do specific tasks or necessarily even keep the victim alive, but they none the less arise to cope with the incurred trauma when the Original Personality withdraws. With DID the Intellectual Self has not separated from the Emotional Self therefore the Essence remains present. The alters as well as the Essence must compete with each other over control of the physical body. Their characteristics can differ from anything to age and gender to name and language. These alters' origin is unknown, and is speculated by some to have been created by the Essence. The symptoms of these two disorders are, as stated, quite similar, but do differ from each other slightly. There is a general behavioral pattern for both males and females, which will generally occur in either disorder, but will not always be a factor, being as the many personalities will have different characteristics. Males often socially withdraw, as they tend to externalize their problems. Contrary to males, females tend to internalize their problems, and often develop physical and emotional problems. These characteristics can be seen with many other disorders other than personality disorders, but they will likely occur in personality disorders, as a highly negative process produces it. More definite to MPD, there will likely often be an entire mental absence in the victim at a young age, being when the child's mind has become completely withdrawn in order to deal with the trauma present. This symptom is not as likely to occur in sufferers of DID, being as the victim's mind will be controlled at the time by any personality that has taken it. Partially because of this, a mass loss of memory will occur. In both DID and MPD a massive loss of memory will occur, due to it being erased by the ISH, or, in the case of DID, the Essence not being present at the time to receive the information. In both cases the past trauma is likely to be erased to better deal with the vent later in their life. These symptoms will always be present to some degree with these disorders, but are often still misinterpreted and misdiagnosed. The causes of MPD are entirely specific and only vary in the form of the event. To produce this disorder, the child must experience a life threatening event roughly before the age of seven over the course of a long period of time. If the event is not life threatening, the disorder will not occur. This disorder virtually always occurs within the child’s home environment, because of the extreme degree of distress this causes, and more so a polarization of a developing person’s basic emotional needs. As the child's mind has typically not yet been developed enough to handle highly traumatizing situations before the age of seven, the event must occur before this age. This is the approximate cut-off point for MPD and DID. In the highly traumatizing event that occurred, there must be a polarization of the parents and any siblings(s) that may be present. This means that one of the parents will be the primary abuser, while the other may simply scold the child and not rescue him/her from the vent, or the disorder could have been avoided entirely. A polarization of the siblings is that in the case of (a) sibling(s) being present; the other(s) will not be abused, meaning that the abuse is specifically to this child. The child will often feel deserving of this punishment and naturally be incapable of any rational opinion on the matter. The last condition for MPD to occur is that the victim’s Emotional Self must be Grade V hypnotizable on the Stanford Scale. Again, without this factor the disorder cannot occur, but rather some other/related form of psychopathology may develop. The causes for DID are slightly less specific but share some of the same relative conditions. The key differentiating factor with DID is that the victim will acquire it after the age of seven, when the individual's mind has become developed enough to deal with highly traumatizing events. However the victim's mind still needs to "escape" in order to deal with the traumatizing event present but does not dissociate the Original Personality in itself. The Original Personality only dissociates from the body as other personalities arise and begin to periodically take control. A traumatizing event must still occur, but it need not be within the person's home family and it does not have to be life threatening or long lasting. In the case of DID, polarization of the parents and/or sibling(s) is not necessary to develop the disorder. The victim also need not be highly hypnotizable, as the person’s Original Self does not change, but rather dissociates from the body. When a victim of MPD/DID comes to the point where treatment is needed, when the event has long passed and the long-term affects have become obvious, there is only one method of treatment. The only option for the person is to receive therapy, as the Original Self must regain control of his or her own body. There is no drug available to treat these disorders, because it is a matter beyond what drugs pertain to. However, various drugs are often prescribed to treat other conditions that accompany this disorder, such as depression and anxiety. In the case of MPD, the ISH actually works with that therapist to help the person in regaining his or her Original Personality. The ISH will await the help of an outside source (a therapist typically being the only solution) before working to regain the person’s stable mental state. The ISH knows everything about the patient and his or her past lives. The ISH can take on various different characteristics and does so as to what best suites the individual assisting the process of regaining the person’s Original Personality. In the case of DID, the Original Self must work to overcome and eventually erase all alternate personalities, rather than simply “build up” the Essence as with MPD. With both disorders the alters must be negated, but with MPD the ISH “deletes” them as the person gains the ability to do tasks once done by the alters. The process typically takes many years (depending upon the severity) to work the person back to their original self, and with an experienced therapist will result in complete recovery. It has been said that personality disorders involve something outside of the person’s body and mind, relating to something much more spiritual and unusual. According to records of an experienced therapist with these disorders, identical personalities have actually been recorded to appear in completely unrelated persons in completely different areas of the United States. Regardless of this possibility, the facts for MPD and DID are evident, acknowledging their existence as a factual medical diagnosis. Unlike other disorders and forms of psychopathology, this disorder seems to work with the victim, rather than against. This condition is evident to help the person, in that it preserves the Essence for a later time when it can function correctly. If this condition were not to arise, the victim’s mind would likely be corrupted and lost. In light of these facts, MPD and DID are mysterious yet beneficial disorders if treated properly and should not be underestimated or even feared.
Copyright © 2007 Robert A Ferguson |