Final response to the semester

I’ve never had to do such extensive research for a project before. This semester in Intermediate Composition was a challenge for me to stay interested in my topic. We wrote paper after paper about the same thing.. On a more positive note, I think that having the same topic all semester makes the research easier. If you know what you’re looking for, seeking out resources online isn’t so tedious.

I’m glad I chose DID for this project because It’s a difficult topic. There are so many different opinions,  and controversies about it. I didn’t want to do somthing easy, because I wanted to actually learn about something I didn’t know anything about frm the start. I began this project knowing nothing more than the fact that DID is Multiple Personality disorder. I didn’t know how the disorder worked, or how you aquired the disorder. I know now that It’s caused by trauma. I know the terminology related to DID, and I can actually understand some of the journal articles I’ve read on the topic.

Unfortunatly, although I understand alot about DID I still have so many questions. I’ve never met a person with the disorder, so I don’t know what it’s like. Even though the articles I’ve researched share scientific and logical information about this topic, they don’t share details about what it’s like living with DID, or what it’s like being a family member of someone with DID. I know research papers aren’t supposed to include these emotional details. But how can I help wondering what it’s like?

Writing the papers for me was easy, but finding new information was hard.  Most articles I found only offered definitions of the disorder, relation to trauma, and treatment options. There weren’t many articles about the controversies. Alot of the resources I found were older too, around 1999-ish. This made it difficult to find new sources that were credible for my research. I did come upon a few really good articles. One suggested that the propensity for dissociation may be developed before a child is even born, in the womb. This was really interesting to me because I also read many articles that suggested that DID is genetic, and many people with the disorder have at least one close relative who also has the disorder.

After I finish this year at urbana, I plan to attend Capital University in Columbus, OH for pre-art therapy. I think that my research on DID will be able to help me understand my studies better, and help me to be of more assistance to my future patients. I also came upon an article that says hands on therapy, like music and art therapy may be the next  step in helping to heal people affected by DID. I hope to make a difference in the mental health field. Maybe my research on DID can help me be a better, and more knowlegeable therapist in the future.

Overall, I liked this project. It was a little difficult to stay focused all semester, but I think my research writing has improved in grammar and in researching techniques.

DID and PTSD

I recently read this article relating DID and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The author, Tull, says that DID and PST overlap in certain areas. The author also says that For example, painful, traumatic events can cause tremendous emotional and mental disruption in a person’s life. “As a result — along with developing post traumatic stress disorder or other psychiatric disorders — a person may develop something called a “dissociative disorder” as a way of coping with the trauma.” Tull’s article states that people with PTSD are more likely to develop DID.  

This article was short, but I thought it was interesting to relate DID with PTSD. I think that the disorders are very similar in terms of trauma, but they may or may not have different effects on the brain. I haven’t done any research on this topic, so this post is just concerning the similarities of the two disorders.

Other dissociation disorders

Besides DID, there are a few other disorders related to dissociation.

Dissociative amnesia:

This disorder is when a person has trouble remembering important personal information. Usually there has been a traumatic event, or abuse that causes the memory gaps

Dissociative Fuge:

This disorder is when a person frequently finds themselves in places they don’t remember travelling to, or are not familliar with. This travelling usually happens after a stressful event, or after unpleasant memories from a traumatic event have been recovered. This person seems normal to all outsiders. The condition is usually recognized or diagnosed when relatives find the affected family member living with another identit

Depersonalization Disorder:

This disorder is when a person feels detached from normal life. People diagnosed with this disorder describe it as “watching themselves on a movie screen, or in a dream.” They feel like their bodies and minds are seperated, and oftentimes feel anxious and depressed.

Types of alters II

On this website: http://dissociative-identitydisorder.webs.com/typesofalter.htm,  I found good descriptions for types of alters. Although they don’t have the same names as the types I listed earlier, these actually have definitions. I’m not really sure if this information is credible..

1.) Presenter:  this type went through daily life, but have little memory. This personality has a hard time cooperating with the other’s because it can’t remember the trauma. The presenter makes sure everyday activities get done.

2.) Protector:  This type of alter makes sure the person is safe from threats, or potential perpetrators. Once this alter has worked on the anger and guilt associated with abuse, he or she can make good friends to which he or she is very loyal to.  There are physical, sexual and emotional protectors.

3.) Littles, or child alters: These alters are self-explanatory.  This type of alter remember the strong feelings associated with the abusers, and seeks love and outside nurture. Sometimes the littles are depressed and struggle with feelings of abandonment. This alter likes to play, likes cartoons and candy, and enjoys other child-like activities such as coloring and singing. They like to hug “safe” outsiders and value any attention those “safe” outsiders provide for them.

4.) Cognitives: This is the thinker type of alter. He or she does not feel any emotions. Sometimes called the controller, the cognitive sometimes takes charge and sometimes help other alters’ emotions balance if a flood or trauma memories takes over

5.) Internal Helpers: This type of alter is usually also an intellectual. He or she has ideas on how to get better, and always know exactly what’s going on with all of the alters.

6.) Internal sabotagers: This type hates therapy, he or she does whatever possible to create misery within. Some are loyal to the abusers, and have “twisted Ideologies.” Sometimes this type is simply scared because he or she doesn’t realize that it is possible to get better.

** There were a few more listed, but I just summarized the main points.

Mental Illness is not “cool”

I recently stumled upon a blog created by someone named “shadowlight”>> http://shadowlight8.wordpress.com/  I was scrolling through the entries and found one that caught my eye. It’s called ” Mental Health and “Coolness”. This blog brought up faking DID, and the tought of that disgusts me. It’s one of the reasons why mental health professionals have such a hard time diagnosing and treating the disease. On one sentance the author asks a rhetorical question ” How is saying : so yeah, I was raped and abused as in infant and so my mind sort of split as a defence mechanism, so now I don’t remember large chunks of my life, I get awful headaches, doctors don’t trust me with medication, I can’t hold down a job and I get confused by really simple stuff, cool?” The author of the blog says this heartless pretending is probably because fakers like this want the attention. To me, this proves that the person faking probably has other underlying issues that need to be dealt with if they are pretending to have such a tradgic disorder as DID. But cases like this suck the seriousness out of DID, it makes the skeptics more skeptical, the clinicians more confused, and the general public more ignorant. Pretending to have any mental health issue, not alone DID, is sick.

types of alters

According to Swartz (2001) There are five main types of Alters: A depressed, exhausted host, A strong, angry protector.A scared, hurt child, A helper, An internal persecutor who blames one or more of the alters for the abuse they have endured. I haven’t done any research on the types of alters before, so i figured I should make myself familliar with the terminology referring to the different personalities.

First, the host is what I have interpreted as the person who interacts the most with the outside world. I’m not really sure about the rest of the alters. i’m really tired and am going to bed. more research soon.

 

 

 

http://allpsych.com/journal/did.html

DID, Possession and Exorcism

http://www.spiritreleasement.org/blog/?p=7

The response included in this post is based on this article ^^

This article is based upon the similarities between DID and “Spirit Possession Syndrom” or SPS. SPS is ” The condition of spirit possession, that is full or partial takeover of a living human by a discarnate being, has been recognized or at least theorized, in every era and in every culture. This condition has been called possession state, spirit possession, spirit possession syndrome, spirit obsession, or spirit attachment (Hyslop, 1917; Wickland, 1924, 1934; Allison, 1980; Guirdham, 1982; McAll, 1982; Crabtree, 1985; Fiore, 1987; Baldwin, 1992), and Dissociative Trance Disorder (APA, 1994, pp. 728-729).”

 The article says that an attachment can be intentional, neutral or comepletely random/accidental. It also says that between 70-100% of people are influenced by one or more “spirit entities” at one point in their life. Baldwin also says in this article that a mental or physical symptom, “repressed negative feeling” and other factors can act similar to a magnet, and attract a “discarnate entity” or spirit with the same issue. Other ways to attract a spirit are altering consciousness with alcohol or drugs, includeing anesthetics during surgery and organs transplanted from the attached body to a new body.

A couple similarities between DID and SPS:

1.) Hypnosis is a common method to treat DID and it is also a method of  “probing for any attached entity that may be interfering with a client.”

2.) “alters” usually believe that they own the body. When a sprit feels that it may be dislodged from a comfortable place, It may attempt to pursuade the therapist that “the body they inhabit is their own.”

Spirit attachment is not affected by psychotherapy. Drugs will make PSP worse, and the only to get rid of the disorder is by “Spirit Releasement Therapy.” The text says ” Spirit releasement therapy procedures are not dangerous or frightening once a client is aware of the reality of the situation.”

In bold text at the end of the article, Baldwin states :

The two disorders have some characteristics in common that appear similar in outward manifestations, yet are distinct from one another in cause or precipitating factors, onset, history, diagnosis, prognosis, and successful treatment, and must be diagnosed and treated appropriately. The treatment for DID is useless and confusing for a person burdened with attached spirits. Releasing discarnates from the person afflicted with DID may allow for earlier success during treatment with the methods appropriate to that condition.

 

The last sentance, ” Spirit releasement therapy procedures are not dangerous or frightening once a client is aware of the reality of the situation”, sounds terrible without even knowing what this “spirt releasement” therapy is. What is the “reality of the situation” ? It sounds alot like this author is comparing DID with SPS, but also suggesting that they are the same thing. This article is difficult for me to understand, considering I know nothing about posssession and exorcism and don’t have much of an urge to do so. I don’t believe in exorcism, partly because of how Hollywood has blown it up to such rediculous proportions. I don’t even know how an exorcism is practiced. The only portrayal I’ve seen of spirit removal involves a poor soul being strapped to a table while a priest reads from a book (maybe the bible, I have no idea.) Usually this process does more harm than good, because the evil spirit always beats the heck of the person who’s supposedly possessed and sometimes goes after the priest too. I know this probably isn’t accurate but it’s the only mental picture of exorcism I am able to conjure up.

In conclusion, I don’t believe that DID is realted to any sort of spiritual attachment, or possession. I think this idea is insane. What do you think?

-Haley

Misconceptions about DID

http://livestre.am/1hwz

First, got watch this video^^

http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/dissociativeliving/2010/09/i-cant-tell-you-you-dont-understand

Then, go read this blog post ^^

Both of these information sources explain why it’s so hard for a person with DID to come to terms with their disorder, and also explains why people don’t understand this disorder. The video is much more comprehensive than the post. The video contains testimony by two people, Herschel Walker and a woman named Rachel. The video also addresses the controvery questioning whether DID is real or not. In the testimony of Rachel, he explains how she grew up with a mother diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. She said that her childhood was very frantic, but also included good moments. personalities Rachel also said that she thoguht that she devoloped DID as a child when she had no “safe place” to go. She believes that when something like this happens, a child has to create her own safe place.  She said that in the beginning, she had up to 58 personalities, and that no matter the number of “alters”, healing is not dependant upon the number.  There were many other facts in the interview, but since you should have watched the video, I’ll spare the details. I think this video was really helpful to myself, because I got the chance to hear from a person with the disorder. It is easier for me to understand the disorder when I hear from real people about their experiences, instead of just reading tedious journal articles.

Cultural Values and Dissociative Identity Disorder

The only thing I can think of that is related to cultural values and DID is child abuse. As we all know, DID is definatly related to child abuse. Whether it’s physical, incestual, or verbal. The dissociation related to the disorder stems from the abuse. Child abuse has different standards, and different meanings around the world. In westernized societies, Child abuse can range from chronic, painful physical and mental torture to spanking your child when they throw a fit at the grocery store. We have measures to prevent the serious abuse, like children’s services. Unfortunatly, despite these measures many children are living in a hell of a home with no way of escape. Violence is often enherited, so this children are sometimes doomed to repeat the cycle of abuse. In other countries around the world, “abusing” your child is culturally accepted. For example, Female Circumcisions are usually performed on young girls as young as four or five years old.

In America, this phenomenon is horrid. We can’t imagine doing this to our own children. Yet Americans have this “not in my backyard” philosophy ( As quoted by my professor Anthony Dillard.) If it doesn’t happen within your interest, or within your family; you don’t care. I’m not saying all people are of this nature, but a large amount of people are. If it doesn’t effect you then, what’s the big deal right? If the child down the street is wearing long sleeved shirts everyday in the heat of July, Who cares? it’s not your kid right? This attitude has gotten us NOWHERE. What happened to the drive to help our country, or better yet, to help the children growing up in our country?