Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)
Uploaded by redman54321 on Jun 12, 2001
Introduction:
Multiple personalities is a dissociative condition in which an individual’s personality is apparently split into two or more distinct sub-personalities, each of which may become dominant at different times. People with multiple personality disorder suffer from internal chaos, roller-coaster emotions and terrible memories. They also present confusing confusing and contradictory images to their family and friends. But in spite of all this, MPD is a treatable disorder.
In theory, the developmental process behind MPD is a result of resorting to a mental escape from a traumatic situation. This is essentially achieved when neither fleeing nor fighting can be used as a defense option, which leads the individual to distance themselves from the incident to retain control. This distancing mechanism is characterized by detachment from the self or surroundings, excluding unwanted or unneeded feelings from awareness, and partial or total amnesia from the emotions associated with the traumatic event. In essence, this process allows the individual to separate the traumatic memories from ordinary consciousness to preserve some areas of healthy functioning. This entire process is referred to as dissociation. Dissociation serves as an adaptive function, as it allows the individual to escape from the traumatic event while it is underway. However repeated reliance on dissociative defenses can lead to the inability to properly process information from past and future events. It is theorized that the repeated use of dissociation can lead to the development of a series of separate mental states, which may eventually take on an identity of their own.
The Cause:
Multiple personalities stem from very traumatic childhood events. Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is a dissociative disorder. Dissociation is normal everyday human activity. For example, you are dissociated when you lose track of time when you are watching a movie. You are also dissociative when you are daydreaming and lost in thought. Everyone dissociates to some extent, but it becomes a problem when it starts to interfere with your work, or the quality of your life.
On the average, the onset of multiple personalities occurs at about four years of age. Everyone knows that children have wild imaginations. They use there minds to create playmates and wondrous scenarios. Using this ability, a child who is constantly tortured and terrified over a period of time may create other children within themselves to survive and endure the pain. These other personalities are called “alters” and may develop permanency, so that the identity of a...