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.
Dissociative Identity Disorder 
Apr 16, 2011 @ 13:17:19
http://jeanettebartha.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/the-false-memory-syndrome-foundation/
Haley,
it’s probably too late, but this lady (website above) has made it a mission in life to “disprove” MPD/DID. She feels she was suckered into believing she had DID and won a lawsuit against it. There’s the “controversy” for those who want to ignore all the evidence. Read it with discernment!
I wish my girls were in a better place, I would have been happy for us to meet in Columbus (somewhere you felt safe), but at this point they still want their anonymity. I think Ohio has a silly law that she could loose her drivers license if she is subject to “dissociative” events. They don’t even understand how DID works, but they will make a law ‘against’ it. Sigh.
As you get your degrees, don’t forget that the insiders view themselves as fully and real humans, too. Unfortunately the prevailing opinions on DID are “host-centered” and therefore in my unprofessional opinion that is why I think treatment isn’t the best and why there’s all the need for drugs, in-hospital stays, self-injury and suicide issues. But it is the insiders who were traumatized (the host is “just” an alter who was created who never had to deal with the trauma) and I have to wonder if/since my wife (the host) and I focused on the inside girls we side-stepped the need for drugs, in-hospital stays and there was very little self-injury/suicide issues. On top of that the insiders have filled my life with a lot of joy (as long as I can ignore my needs as a husband inside the bedroom and out).
Any way I wish you the best. KEEP digging. There’s a lot of room for improving DID treatment methodology. I thought I had something to offer the DID community, but they aren’t ready to hear it yet, even though my girls are doing fantastically. Maybe once they are done, and I can drop the secrecy, I’ll have a better chance at being heard.
Blessings.
Sam