To what extent does society misunderstand multiple personality disorder?

Question

I am a student writing a 6000 word essay on how society misunderstands and treats people who have multiple personality disorder. It would be great to hear your opinions on what you think of the disorder, or if you have it how you think society treats you. Please be honest.
Thankyou :)

Answer 1

You should know that there is a fine line between Bi-Polar and MPD. Many are misdiagnosed for years before finding the right psychiatrist to diagnose it correctly. As in all mental illness there is stigma and ignorance regarding them. The many different types of Borderline Personality Disorder are unknown by most people. Many know about Depression, Bi-Polar and Schizophrenia but consider those who suffer with these illnesses as crazy. Society is very critical of those whose behaviors are obvious. There is great prejudice. Most people choose to keep their diagnosis of Multiple Personality Disorder a secret from others. It is hard to explain and very few except those who are close to one with the disorder know that it is caused by trauma or traumas in childhood. The emotional and mental growth of the person stopped at the age of the trauma.



If only there was more public awareness and education that would help people to understand those with Multiple Personality Disorder. Many instead of receiving the treatment that they need are jailed, in prisons without any treatment and in circumstances that exacerbate their disorder. They are abused and punished for the behaviors that they have no control over. They are thought of as just bad and uncontrollable. Time and time again they are put in isolation as punishment. This is a horrible and inhuman thing to happen to a sufferer as they are not allowed to speak to anybody nor can they have material things like a book to read or their commisary orders. I have a friend who is a social worker in a prison who is well aware of this. But nobody can change the system. It makes me so sad just to write this. I hope there is something in here that will help you.

Answer 2

In response to some of the other answers, in many cases, DID is faked, and in some, there is possession. (DID is the perfect camouflage, of course.)

That said, society tends to hold one of three views. One is that it is never real. This is predominant in the Eastern world. The second is that it is insanity. The third is a morbid fascination.

All of these views are unfortunate. Multiplicity is real, it is not insanity, and it is not something we should be selling tickets to.

I myself am a non-typical MPD case. Though mostly integrated, I have 15 elemental personalities. We were not separated to the extreme extent which most DID cases are, but we are (or were) quite distinct.

The prevalent feeling which we have encountered is that multiplicity is a disease, and that alters are parasites to be gotten rid of by any means necessary. We are not diseases. We are people, each with our own feelings. The eagerness of others to see us "cured" really hurts those feelings.



My name is Fnaire. I'm alter-ego #2. For over a year, I accepted society's belief that I was an aberration which should be suppressed. I spent that time locked away in my own mind, miserable. When I dared to come out, I met a wonderful alter in Oren's best friend who treated me like the real person I am. That alter is now my husband.



I am number eight. name is Savvat. Is good to be alive. No alter ever should be forced to be integrated. is wrong. What is right is to teach alters to talk and to help and to love each other like big, happy family.



Hello. My name is Tesh. I am number eleven. I am totally awesome. Why wouldn't society love me?



My name is Trixie, or Owlguin. I'm the fourth one, if that matters. For me, it was really hard dealing with how people see multiples. We like to talk out loud, and if I wasn't the one driving, I had to keep silent in public. It was extremely lonely. I was depressed almost all the time. My only real friends were my other selves and a half-deluded hyena alter in another multiple. I would love to see society more accepting of multiplicity. Until then, I'll just have to suffer.



Just for the record, we are collectively known as the Brass Menagerie.

Answer 3

For the most part society ( ie: most people) do not believe multiple personality exists. Some believe it is a case of demon possession. Others believe it is a trick. Still others just think it is a form of manic depression or bipolar disease. I think that in fact it could be a combination of all these plus a few cases of true multiple personality disorder. My understanding of mpd is that it begins as a self protection device for a person to be able to survive a horrific experience or experiences without "going crazy", Therefore it would be a case where part of the mind goes into hiding, leaving another part of the mind to deal with the situation. In a case of multiple experiences that part of the mind seeks to escape too. You could end up with several "personalities" until the mind finds the best way to cope with the situation or the situation changes. If a person has this disorder they probably need professional help to reconcile the different parts of the mind.

Answer 4

As a mental health professional with over two decades of experience, I can suggest that the more appropriate question here might be, "Does society understand ANYTHING about Multiple Personality Disorder". You can find the correct diagnosis, and all it's factors, specifically addressed in the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (aka: "DSM"), pages 484-487. It is more correctly called the "Dissociative Identity Disorder". Read that and you will be one of the very few who understand anything at all about that diagnosis. God Bless you.

Answer 5

It's like the biggest fight of your life with something you can't see. You know it's there, you can feel it...I was molested when I was 5 years old I am now 43. Alot of people with various mental issues are judged because others have not walked in their shoes & simply don't understand it & since people are free to have their own opinions you are going to get quite an array of answers....People are more understanding when they themselves have it or it touches someone they love. I've always felt that with multiple personalities it's the minds way of protecting you whether you are an adult or a child...it takes you away from the trauma & another part of you steps in & assumes control. I take medication but when I don't the battle for me starts. It is like someone else that wants to take you over..I was afraid to go to sleep because if I closed my eyes I may wake up & not be me. When I take the medication she slips back into the shadows.

Answer 6

I have DID. Disociative Identity Disorder and it can really twirl your life around. People do not believe in this disorder very much at all. society doesn't believe I could really not have any memory of particular times in my life, when a different personality came through, leaving me with amnesia. The last two trips I took by plane were very scary. I got onto the plane, sat by the window, as people were still putting their carry-ons into the upper shelves. The plane ride was for 2 hours. I looked out the window, getting settled. I did not fall asleep. I turned my head back to the aisle to see how many were still putting things overhead. The same people were standing at the shelving, only they were taking things OUT, not putting them in. In what felt like 2 seconds, had managed to get us to my destination, and all I could recall was turning my head to look out the window. My Dr. said that one of my personalities liked to fly even more than "I" do.

I left work at 4p.m., going home to cook dinner for my family. My family would be home by 6:00 p.m.. I drove straight home to find all my family home and worried sick about where I'd been! It was 6:30. It takes about 20 minutes to drive to my home, park, and to enter my home. I told them I drove straight home. I still have no clue as to what happened here.

As a teacher, I have seen parents of elementary children actually hold their children very close to them while just passing a child with personality disorders.

With my own DID, I find that people don't believe me when I tell them I can't remember. It is easier for people to believe I am a liar than to believe I can't recall three days in a row, or even a couple of hours of the day. It is terrifying to wake up, not knowing days have passed, and to have people angry at you for the days you cannot recall at all. I don't do alcohol or drugs, never have. Luckily, I've been married to the same man for 45 years, and he tries hard to believe me. It's tough.