Thread: Split Personalities

Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by having at least one "alter" personality that controls behavior. The "alters" are said to occur spontaneously and involuntarily, and function more or less independently of each other.

From what I have learned in my 2 classes of Psychology, this disorder is brought on due to a traumatic event. To save you from alot of reading, it is the mind's defense mechanism for a painful event. Different characters/personalities are developed to deal with these events and they can become real enough to the person with the disorder that they become an identity in themselves. For example, someone who is bullied plenty at school may develop a possible angry personality, who stands up for them during dangerous bully situations. ^^

thanks piggy-san.
so..
it is necessary for anyone of this victims to feel pressured, stress and suffer from it?
what harm can it cause? (n_n)
i wanna know more because some of my friends are dealing with this. I dont want them to hate/hurt themselves. or do something stupid for the matter..

Originally Posted by Aya-kun

thanks piggy-san.
so..
it is necessary for anyone of this victims to feel pressured, stress and suffer from it?
what harm can it cause? (n_n)
i wanna know more because some of my friends are dealing with this. I dont want them to hate/hurt themselves. or do something stupid for the matter..

Aya: I would ask you to bring this to a professional, lol. I do not want to be giving you advice on things that are extremely serious and delicate. This matter should not be taken lightly. I would advice not to listen to someone who is not licensed, lol. I only know the background, i'm not a Dr.

Piggy-san. This is just a mild discussion. I won't recommend my friends what to do. I just wanna listen more and try to understand so that it will be easier for me to understand this people. ^_^ I wanna branch out my knowlegde on this. that's all. just to understand them. Nothing crucial or fatal will happend.
I need to know so that i can response in a manner that will not lead them to feeling ignored and all that. (n.n)

Hmm split personalities....as a disorder. The part that you mentioned...

Theya re the same person but they often claim that they have another self thinking at the same time in some parts of their mind.

That says me exactly. But i dont think i have a disorder. Just an overactive brain. I think all the time. All the time. I cant stop. Thats why i cant sleep. I can have two conversations in my head at the same time. But its not like i'm crazy. It only seems crazy when i answer myself out loud...hehehe really not kidding. I think its just a quirk and hasnt ever harmed anyone.

Well....
I've watched a couple of movies that has something to do with it...although i can't
guarantee everything you see on TV is real -_-"
Ok,
First of all, as u said it- a split personality is due to traumas and stuff that happened to them. For example, a lady which works day and night...not doing any fun stuff like dating. So, in the night she goes out to night clubs and then well...sorta offering sex and being all opposite of the "day her". The reason obviously is coz there's a part of her which is wanting to date and have fun but because the "boring" one is in charge, that part of her uses this way to express her needs.
According to the show xD...
The psychiatric ask the patient to calm down...
and then call for the other personlity and give reasons and sorta makes a deal with her...which is the "main" her to have fun and go out once in a while and the "other" her will stop acting that way. Finally, she got back her own life ^^
I think the patient just has to talk it out with themselves and being able to confront their fears or things like that...
As a friend, I would recommend you to seek help from a pro...
And to understand their behaviour u really need patience...and lots of it.
Good luck anyways Aya-Kun ^_^

Aya-kun this topic intrigued me so much : I went 'Crazy typing' on Google and had a little looksie. I was saddened to hear all my perceptions and beliefs in relation to 'Split personality' were mere 'Myths'. My hopes and dreams shattered, lol. jk

Of course I'm a lazy, aussie slacker. So instead of summarising, I'll just quote the information below :

According to a Harris Poll conducted for the National Organization on Disability in the USA, about two-thirds of people surveyed believe that "split personality" is part of schizophrenia. But medically speaking, "split personality" has nothing to do with "schizophrenia".

In fact, there are many myths about schizophrenia.

First, that schizophrenia is caused by bad parenting, and lack of moral fibre. The straight answer is that we still don't fully understand the causes of schizophrenia. We do know that there is a genetic component, and that there are some poorly-understood environmental and biological triggers.

The second myth is that people with schizophrenia are unstable and violent, and could go "wild" without any warning. The vast majority of schizophrenics are not a threat to others, just like the vast majority of non-schizophrenics.

Third, that you can never recover from schizophrenia. To the contrary, many cases are treatable. Indeed, hope in a recovery is part of the treatment.

A fourth myth is that schizophrenics are mentally retarded. Nope, schizophrenia and mental retardation are entirely different conditions. Schizophrenia certainly can cause problems with abstract thinking and concentration, but it does not lower your intelligence.

Fifth, that schizophrenia is caused by witchcraft, or evil spirits, or demonic possession. Nope. Neither is schizophrenia God's punishment for the sins of a family, nor is it a result of unrequited love.

What fascinated me most was this statement :

we still don't fully understand the causes of schizophrenia. We do know that there is a genetic component, and that there are some poorly-understood environmental and biological triggers.

Until today, I never even thought to associate 'schizophrenia' with genetics.