Introduction to Multiple Personality Disorder

More than two million cases can be found altogether in psychological and psychiatric records of multiple personality disorder also called dissociative identity disorder. It is often thought that multiple personality disorder is a trick, a bizarre form of "play-acting" that is committed by manipulative, attention-seeking individuals. It is not. Multiple personality disorder is a "disorder of hiding" wherein 80-90% of multiple personality disorder patients do not have a clue that they have the disorder. Most know that there is something wrong with them; many fear that they are crazy, but few know that they have a disorder.

What is Multiple Personality Disorder?

Multiple personalities is a dissociate reaction to stress in which the patient develops two or more personalities. Each personality has a distinct, well-developed emotional and thought process and represents a unique and relatively stable personality. The individual may change from one personality to another at periods varying from a few minutes to several years. The personalities are usually very different and have different attitudes; one may be happy, carefree and fun loving, and another quiet, studious, and serious.

People can have up to fifty personalities or more. All personalities usually will have their own name and their own role. For example one personality can be the keeper of pain, his role is to take and feel all the pain that the other personalities come in contact with. The personality also can have their own appearance, but this does not mean the person changes its outer image it is just the way he/she sees inside his/her head. The personalities will also have different ages, talents, and likes and dislikes. For example: In the novel, The Minds of Billy Miligin, there was a man who had twenty-four personalities. All of his twenty-four personalities were different. They had different ages, their own appearance, and some were of the opposite sex. The personalities all had their own role and their own talents. There was one personality that was right handed all others were left handed, only one smoked, one had a British accent another Slavic. Many used their own talents some liked to paint, one was an escape artist, one was a karate expert and another a sculptor.

Various types of relationships may exist between the different personalities. Usually the individual alternates from one personality to the other, and can not remember in one, what happened in the other. Occasionally however while one personality is dominant and functions consciously, the other continues to function sub-consciously and is referred to the co conscious personality.

Relationships may become highly complicated when there is more than two personalities.
In many cases of multiple personalities the personalities will talk of a spotlight. The spotlight is how they come into the conscious world. All the personalities live around the spotlight whoever stands on it finds himself or herself in the conscious world leaving the other personalities unaware of the personality's actions. This leaves the next personality that comes into consciousness in total amnesia.

Causes of Multiple Personality Disorder

Multiple personality disorder often forms with a person who has been deprived of love and friendship and with a person who has been abused. These people make up friends for themselves, but not just and imaginary friends these friends form there own personalities. These people may also make up other people who are not scared or people, who can not feel pain to turn deal with abuse, which also turn into separate personalities. These people usually deny what is happening and may live their lives without anyone finding out about their disorder.

The degree of vulnerability of the child has a great impact on the amount of personalities the person will have. The typical female multiple has about 19 personalities; male multiples tend to have less that half of that. For example a male multiple from ages 7 to 10 who was sexually abused a half-dozen times by a distant relative is going to have far fewer personalities than a female multiple who was severely physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by both parents from infancy to age 16. The female could easily develop 30 to 50 (+) personalities, even in the hundreds. Although its important to remember that every person is different so there may be some people with many personalities and not that much abuse. Or allot of abuse and not that many personalities.

Signs that a person has multiple personality disorder:

Some signs that a person has multiple personality disorder are:

1. History of depression or suicidal behavior.

2. Childhood history of physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse... reports one parent was very cold and critical reports of "wonderful" parents by a person who is clearly emotionally troubled.

3. Abusive relationships in adulthood

4. Strong attacks of shame; sees self as bad or undeserving sacrifices self for others feels does not deserve help; is a burden, reluctant to ask for help is sure you do not want to be troubled with seeing him or her

5. Reports being able to turn off pain or "put it out of my mind."

6. Self-mutilation or self-injuring behavior.

7. Hears voices.

8. Flashbacks (visual, auditory, somatic, affective, or behavioral)

9. History of unsuccessful therapy.

10. Multiple past diagnoses (e.g.: major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and substance abuse).

11. History of shifting symptom picture.

12. Reports of odd changes or variations in physical skills or interests.

13. Described by significant other as having 2 personalities or being a "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde." 14. Family history of dissociation.

15. Phobia or panic attacks.

16. Substance abuse.

17. Daytime enuresis or encopresis.

18. History of psychophysiological symptoms.

19. Seizure-like episodes.

20. History of nightmare and sleep disorders.

21. History of sleepwalking.

22. School problems.

23. Reports psychic experiences.

24. Anorexia or Bulimia.

25. Sexual difficulties.

Treatment for Multiple Personality Disorder

There is treatment for multiple personality disorder, but the disorder usually can not be cured completely. The personalities can be combined to form one core personality the "original" person. This process of integrating all the personalities into one is complicated and does not work in several cases. The personalities will fuse together for awhile, but than break apart when put in a stressful or unsafe situation. Recovery from multiple personality disorder and childhood trauma takes of five years or more. It is a long and difficult process of mourning. The important thing to remember is that recovery does and can happen.

Conclusion

For many observers, multiple personality disorders are a fascinating, exotic, and weird phenomenon. For the patient, it is confusing, unpleasant, sometimes terrifying, and always a source of the unexpected. The treatment of multiple personality disorder is excruciatingly uncomfortable for the patient. Their childhood traumas and memories must be faced, experienced, digested, and integrated into the patient's view of him/herself. Similarly, the nature of one's parents, one's life, and the day-to-day world must be re-thought. As each issue or trauma is dealt with the alter personality that deals with it can disappear. The personality is no longer needed to contain undigested trauma.

In a sense we are all multiple personalities in that we have many conflicting tendencies and frequently do things that surprise both others and ourselves. This is illustrated by common sayings such as, "I don't know why I did it" or "I didn't think he had it in him." But most of us do not develop distinct separate personalities.

How childhood history and culture affects how we live as adults?

Childhood history has a lot to do with how we live as adults because certain childhood events could trigger something that would last a life time. Take for example if a child fails at something and the parent does nothing to help the child, the child will grow up thinking that failing is alright and that he or she will have a hard time in life with their job or in school or life in general. Many events from a persons’ life can stick with the person throughout their life like a thorn in the side. The event will every so often reappear in the persons mind when some event in the present triggers a familiarity with the past event and the person could go in to a state of worry or even worse shock. In this occurrence it could immobilize the person and result in a lackluster in the persons life and might not be able to carry on until the issue is resolved.

Many events that have happened in a persons childhood could result in how they live for example: a child who lived a certain way might become a custom to that way and live like that for the rest of his or her life and may not ever come out of that comfort zone until he or she is addressed with the issue. They may not want to try new things or meet new people or anything for that matter. The childhood history also has an affect on the relationship with the persons’ parents. Events that occurred in the past redevelop and the person might love their parent or hate their parent depending on their child hood. This is also true with relationships with a life partner. However they were brought up will affect their relationship with their partner.

Many psychiatrists believe that child hood events could show want might be troubling people, and when they find out what happened they usually could solve the problem. The person’s surroundings as a child is also a factor on how the person will live when they are adults. Usually when a person is surrounded by comfort the person will be a warm gentle person, but a person who is surrounded by violence and anger as a child will usually grow up to be and angry and violent person. In conclusion I believe that the child hood of a person or persons’ will greatly decide what his or hers adult life. Their child hood memories will stick with them either in their mind which they always remember a certain event that changed their life, or a memory will stay with them subconsciously and at a certain time a event in their life might trigger that memory that was in their mind subconsciously and arise and cause some pain and might be hard for the person to deal with in their adult life. Thus we should try to life a good life and not let too many things trouble you as a child because we still have our adult life to let things trouble us.

Alzheimers Disease

What is Alzheimers Disease?

The most common form of dementing illness, Alzheimers Disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the brain, causing impaired memory, thinking and behavior. The person with AD may experience confusion, personality and behavior changes, impaired judgment, and difficulty finding words, finishing thoughts or following directions. It eventually leaves its victims incapable of caring for themselves.

What happens to the brain in Alzheimers Disease?

In AD The nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls memory, thinking, are damaged, interrupting the passage of messages between cells. The cells develop distinctive changes that are called neuritic plaques (clusters of degenerating nerve cell ends) and neurofibrillary tangles (masses of twisted filaments which accumulate in previously health nerve cells). The cortex (thinking center) of the brain shrinks (atrophies), The spaces in the center of the brain become enlarged, also reducing surface area in the brain.

What are the symptoms of Alzheimers Disease?

Alzheimers Disease is a dementing illness which leads to loss of intellectual capacity. Symptoms usually occur in older adults (although people in their 40s and 5Os may also be affected) and include loss of language skills such as trouble finding words, problems with abstract thinking, poor or decreased judgment, disorientation in place and time, changes in mood or behavior and changes in personality. The overall result is a noticeable decline in personal activities or work performance.

Who is affected by Alzheimers Disease?

Alzheimers Disease knows no social or economic boundaries and affects men and women almost equally. The disease strikes older persons more frequently, affecting approximately 10% of Americans over age 65 and 47% of those over age 85.

Is Alzheimers Disease hereditary?

There is a slightly increased risk that children, brothers, and sisters of patients with Alzheimers Disease will get it, but most cases are the only ones in a family. Some patients who develop the disease in middle age (called early onset) have a "familial" type more than one case in the family. It is important to note that AD can only be definitively diagnosed after death through autopsy of brain tissue. Thirty percent of autopsies turn up a different diagnosis. Families are encouraged to ask for an autopsy as a contribution to learning more about the genetics of AD.

Are there treatments available for Alzheimers Disease?

Presently, there is no definite cure or treatment for Alzheimers Disease. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous individuals who market so-called "cures." These treatments are often expensive and they dont cure AD. However, since senility is such a scary problem and because families are desperate to find help for loved ones, these bogus treatments continue to sell. Most of them have no scientific proof of effectiveness.

What is the scope of Alzheimers Disease?

Alzheimers afflicts approximately 4 million Americans and its estimated that one in three of us will face this disease in an older relative. More than 100,000 die annually, making Alzheimers Disease the fourth leading cause of death among adults. Half of all current nursing home patients are affected, making AD a costly public health and long term care problem. An estimated $80 billion is spent annually on the care of AD, including costs diagnosis, treatment, nursing home care, at-home care and lost wages. Alzheimers also affects the patients caregivers, who become the second victims. Persons with AD often require 24-hour care and supervision, most of which is provided in the home by family and friends. In addition to the tremendous stress of providing care, families also bear most of the financial burdens of the disease as well.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism, chronic and usually progressive illness involving the excessive inappropriate ingestion of ethyl alcohol, whether in the form of familiar alcoholic beverages or as a constituent of other substances. Alcoholism is thought to arise from a combination of a wide range of physiological, psychological, social, and genetic factors. It is characterized by an emotional and often physical dependence on alcohol, and it frequently leads to brain damage or early death.

Some 10 percent of the adult drinkers in the United States are considered alcoholics or at least they experience drinking problems to some degree. More males than females are affected, but drinking among the young and among women is increasing. Consumption of alcohol is apparently on the rise in the United States, countries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and many European nations. This is paralleled by growing evidence of increasing numbers of alcohol-related problems in other nations, including the Third World.


Development

Alcoholism, as opposed to merely excessive or irresponsible drinking, has been variously thought of as a symptom of psychological or social stress or as a learned, maladaptive coping behavior. More recently, and probably more accurately, it has come to be viewed as a complex disease entity in its own right. Alcoholism usually develops over a period of years. Early and subtle symptoms include placing excessive importance on the availability of alcohol. Ensuring this availability strongly influences the person's choice of associates or activities. Alcohol comes to be used more as a mood-changing drug than as a foodstuff or beverage served as a part of social custom or religious ritual.

Initially, the alcoholic may demonstrate a high tolerance to alcohol, consuming more and showing less adverse effects than others. Subsequently, however, the person begins to drink against his or her own best interests, as alcohol comes to assume more importance than personal relationships, work, reputation, or even physical health. The person commonly loses control over drinking and is increasingly unable to predict how much alcohol will be consumed on a given occasion or, if the person is currently abstaining, when the drinking will resume again. Physical addiction to the drug may occur, sometimes eventually leading to drinking around the clock to avoid withdrawal symptoms.


Effects

Alcohol has direct toxic as well as sedative effects on the body, and failure to take care of nutritional and other physical needs during prolonged periods of excessive drinking may further complicate matters. Advanced cases often require hospitalization. The effects on major organ systems are cumulative and include a wide range of digestive-system disorders such as ulcers, inflammation of the pancreas, and cirrhosis of the liver. The central and peripheral nervous systems can be permanently damaged. Blackouts, hallucinations, and extreme tremors may occur. The latter symptoms are involved in the most serious alcohol withdrawal syndrome, delirium tremens, which can prove fatal despite prompt treatment. This is in contrast to withdrawal from narcotic drugs such as heroin, which, although distressful, rarely results in death. Recent evidence has shown that heavy-and even moderate-drinking during pregnancy can cause serious damage to the unborn child: physical or mental retardation or both; a rare but severe expression of this damage is known as fetal alcohol syndrome.


Treatment

Treatment of the illness increasingly recognizes alcoholism itself as the primary problem needing attention, rather than regarding it as always secondary to another, underlying problem. Specialized residential treatment facilities and separate units within general or psychiatric hospitals are rapidly increasing in number. As the public becomes more aware of the nature of alcoholism, the social stigma attached to it decreases, alcoholics and their families tend to conceal it less, and diagnosis is not delayed as long. Earlier and better treatment has led to encouragingly high recovery rates.


In addition to managing physical complications and withdrawal states, treatment involves individual counseling and group therapy techniques aimed at complete and comfortable abstinence from alcohol and other mood-changing drugs of addiction. Such abstinence, according to the best current evidence, is the desired goal, despite some highly controversial suggestions that a safe return to social drinking is possible. Addiction to other drugs, particularly to other tranquilizers and sedatives, poses a major hazard to alcoholics. Antabuse, a drug that produces a violent intolerance for alcohol as long as the substance remains in the body, is sometimes used after withdrawal. Alcoholics Anonymous, a support group commonly used for those undergoing other treatment, in many cases helps alcoholics to recover without recourse to formal treatment.

Despite these encouraging signs, estimates of the annual number of deaths related to excessive drinking exceed 97,000 in the United States alone. Economic costs related to alcoholism are at least $100 billion a year. Additional data are needed on various societal costs of alcoholism as well as on the costs of various modes of treatment compared with their actual results.