Multiple personality disorder, even in the 21st century, causes the division of specialists in psychiatry into two camps. Some are sure that such a “deviation from the norm” in a patient is far-fetched, while others are sure that the disease really exists. They cite a lot of evidence from real life, accompanying them with the symptoms and causes of the multiple personality syndrome, and also give a scientific explanation for this phenomenon in psychiatry. In the article we will talk about what multiple personality syndrome is.
What is this?
Dissociative personality disorder (multiple personality syndrome) is the general name of the patient's condition, in which, in addition to the main personality, at least one more coexists at the same time. This second is called subpersonality. It is able to take away the right to control the entire body of a person, his feelings, mind, will from the main (dominant) personality, which is given to a person from birth.
Some psychiatrists believe that dissociative identity disorder arose under the influence of manyfantastic stories, as a result of watching non-scientific programs, operating with non-scientific terms and facts. Other experts are sure that people suffering from multiple personality syndrome really exist. And proof of this are the works of doctors describing such disorders long before the advent of psychiatry as a science (approximately the end of the 18th century).
Does this syndrome really exist?
It is often difficult to admit that one person has several personalities at once. And the patient himself can often claim that his personalities do not know anything about each other, they have completely different opinions, their behavior patterns are completely different. But there is no doubt that split personality syndrome really exists. Today, experts treat this phenomenon with minimal skepticism and do not try to immediately reject it, but try to explain and characterize it from a scientific point of view.
Distinguishing multiple personality syndrome from schizophrenia
Don't confuse the concepts of schizophrenia and multiple personality syndrome, as these are completely different phenomena in psychiatry. Thus, people with schizophrenia do not have multiple personalities. Their disease is characterized by the fact that, under the influence of chronic psychosis, they suffer from hallucinations that make them see or hear things that are not really happening. The main symptom of schizophrenia is the patient's so-called delusional idea. Approximately 50% of patients hear voices that do not exist in reality.
Split personality syndrome and schizophrenia have one thing in common: people suffering from these diseases are more likely to commit suicide than patients with other mental disorders.
Who is most likely to develop the syndrome?
The reasons for the appearance of dissociation are still not clearly identified, but there are common points. So the root cause of the appearance of multiple personality syndrome is born in a person, usually up to 9 years. It can be associated with the strongest emotional experiences, the deepest stress, psychological or physical abuse, improper upbringing and attitude of parents, especially when they behave unpredictably and frighteningly for the child.
Description of the disease by the patients themselves
Patients with multiple personality disorder may describe their condition as follows:
- The concept of depersonalization, when the patient says that he is "out of his body".
- Derealization, when the patient describes the world around him as unreal to him, as if he is looking at everything that happens through a distance or a veil of fog.
- Amnesia. The patient makes every effort, but cannot remember important personal information about himself. Often he forgets even the words that were spoken a few minutes ago.
- Confusion in self-awareness. A person suffering from multiple personality syndrome is in a state of complete disorientation. He cannot clearly answer the question of who he considers himself orrepresents. Often he catches himself thinking that he hates his personality at the moment when she is engaged in some kind of activity (violating traffic rules, drinking alcohol).
- There is no clear understanding of where a person is, what time it is now, what situation he is in.
A person with multiple personality syndrome has one host personality that can provide basic real information about him. Other dissociative states (other personalities) are not mature, they can only tell about individual episodes and feelings from life, their memories are scarce and one-sided. It so happens that the host personality is often not even aware of the presence of other personalities.
Multiple Personality Syndrome: Causes
Among all the reasons that can become an impetus for the formation of a dissociative personality syndrome in childhood, one main one is violence. It can be both emotional and physical. In any case, violence causes irreparable harm to the psyche of the child. The next reason is the wrong upbringing of parents, when the child experiences a strong fright next to them or the strongest psychological discomfort.
Recently, drug addiction and alcoholism are causing a mental he alth crisis, provoking the appearance of a dissociative personality.
Signs (symptoms) of the disorder
How does multiple personality syndrome manifest itself? The signs of the disorder are as follows:
- Amnesia when the patientcannot reveal basic information about himself as a person.
- The presence of two or more subpersonalities, each of which has its own model of behavior, its own character, habits, gestures, race, gender, conversation, accent, etc. A subpersonality can even be an animal.
- Switching from one personality to another. This process takes from several minutes to several days.
- Depression.
- Mood swings.
- Suicidal tendencies.
- Sleep disorders (both insomnia and nightmares).
- Feelings of anxiety bordering on panic or phobias.
- Frequent use of drugs or alcohol.
- Rituals and compulsions.
- Hallucinations (both visual and auditory).
- Eating disorders.
- Severe headaches.
- Trance state.
- Self-harassment and violent tendencies, including against oneself.
Many patients say that being under the guidance of this or that person, they cannot control their bodies or their actions. In fact, they are outside observers of everything that their personality does with their body and the world around them. Often, they are ashamed of such actions, they admit that their master personality would never have done such a thing and would not even dare.
Multiple Personality Syndrome: Examples
According to the most conservative estimates, the world today knows about 40 thousand patients suffering from multiple personality syndrome. most famous aspsychiatry, and society as a whole, are the case histories of such people as Louis Vive (one of the first officially recorded cases of dissociative personality), Judy Castelli, Robert Oxnam, Kim Noble, Truddy Chase, Shirley Mason, Chris Costner Sizemore, Billy Milligan, Juanita Maxwell. Most of the patients listed were severely abused as children, resulting in dissociative identity disorder.
Billy Milligan
Billy Milligan is a man with multiple personality syndrome. He became known to the general public thanks to the absolutely incredible court decision against him. So, in the United States, the court found him not guilty of committing several serious crimes at once because of his multiple personality syndrome. Billy Miligan underwent a thorough psychiatric examination, the results of which not only did not constitute a medical secret, but were even published in newspapers, magazines, and were told on television. At the trial, 4 psychiatrists confirmed the diagnosis of a dissociative personality under oath.
Billy has received numerous mental he alth services. Billy Milligan's Multiple Personality Syndrome has been much discussed. Society is still divided into two camps and is arguing about who Milligan really was: a skilled swindler who managed to fool a large number of psychiatrists, scientists, judges, juries and police around his finger, or whether he really suffered from those who lived in him 24 personalities and did not belong to himself.
Billy Milligan's Multiple Personalities
The cause of Billy Milligan's split personality syndrome was the abuse and humiliation he experienced as a child. Psychiatrists counted as many as 24 personalities in him. Each of them had its own name and received a detailed description.
After being declared insane by a court, Milligan is sent for treatment to a psychiatric clinic at Athens State Hospital. Thanks to highly qualified personnel, as a result of the work done, 10 personalities were found in Billy Milligan, and after a while - another 14.
The personalities of this person were of different age, gender, nationality, different in character, inclinations, habits, behavior. Some of them spoke with an accent. So who got along in a man who was diagnosed with "multiple personality syndrome"? Kevin, a 20-year-old who takes turns with Phil - both ruffians, capable of crimes, go out to guide Milligan in turns; 14-year-old boy Danny, who was terribly afraid of men; David, aged 8, who was in charge of pain storage; Adalana is a 19-year-old lesbian who is credited with committing one of the serious crimes; boy Sean is a deaf disabled person with disabilities and many others.
After 10 years of intensive treatment, Billy Milligan was released from a psychiatric hospital. The result of the treatment was the conclusion of the doctors, which stated that the patient fully identifies himself, which means that he got rid of all subpersonalities. After leaving the clinic, Milligan disappeared to communicate with the press and society, it is not known for certain whethertreatment is the real result, whether he got rid of all 24 personalities and whether they returned to him over time.
Manga
The problem of multiple personality syndrome has always interested not only psychiatrists, but also artists. So, a popular work, the main theme of which is the syndrome of multiple personality - manga MPD Psycho. It is a Japanese comic. Their origin dates back at least one thousand years.
The MPD Psycho manga features an amazing and interesting story from the mystical detective genre. It contains overtly violent and gory scenes, often straddling the line between madness and logic. The protagonist of the manga is a detective who uses intelligent methods to solve a crime. He suffers from multiple personality disorder. He has to deal with the disclosure of regularly committed bloody crimes. The main clue is the presence of a barcode under the killer's eye. But the detective himself has exactly the same mark. How can all these coincidences be connected?
Scientific works that provide the most complete information about the multiple personality syndrome
Dissociative Personality Syndrome has dominated the work of many scientists for decades. One of the first descriptions refers to 1791, when a doctor from Stuttgart E. Gmelin described a German woman who, under the influence of the bloody events of the French Revolution, becamesuffer from multiple personality syndrome. Her other self is a Frenchwoman who spoke perfect French.
A special place is occupied by books by Chinese experts not only on the study of the syndrome, but also on the methods of its treatment.
In official documents until the middle of the 20th century, specialists registered and described in detail about 76 cases of a dissociative personality.
Writers also paid close attention to the topic of multiple personality syndrome and devoted their works to it. The general public was told about what multiple personality syndrome is, books: "Three Faces of Eve" and "Sybil". The first was created by psychiatrists K. Thigpen and H. Cleckley in 1957. The book tells the story of the dissociative personality of their patient, Eva White. The second famous book "Sybil" was published in 1973. Her character also suffered from this disorder.
Today there are no preventive measures that could prevent the development of multiple personality syndrome. The main reason for the appearance of the disease is psychological or physical abuse of children. All forces should be thrown to prevent such situations. If violence did occur, then measures must be taken, as well as refer the child for help to a psychologist who will help to survive the severe stress from the injury.
