Personalities are never the same. People sometimes say they have the same personality as someone else, they don’t really, they just have some of the same qualities that make their personalities. “This dynamic view emphasizes that personality is more than ‘traits’ in the traditional sense of behavioral stability across situations. What is stable, in this view, are the underlying cognitive and affective units, but not necessarily the overt behavior across different situations. Only certain cognitive-affective units are activated at any given time and in any given context, and, depending on the particular pattern of activation or inhibition, complex patterns may from unique (and relatively consistent) behavioral ‘signatures,’ but such profiles are difficult to capture within a traditional trait perspective.” (Lenzenweger/Clarkin 240) Traits are things that help make up personalities. People with DID have different ‘traits’ that come with their many personalities. They are all different so they have different make ups. They act and see things differently. “Disordered persons, in contrast, view themselves differently that others do. They may perceive themselves in grandiose terms or may have a very low sense of self-worth, neither of which are accurate perceptions of themselves influence their perception of events and consequently their behavioral responses. These misperceptions develop in adolescence and solidify in early adulthood. They are chronic, that is, lifelong.” (Dobbert 3) People with DID see themselves completely different than someone non-DID. They feel like they are so different they aren’t needed and have no purpose when that is entirely untrue. Some people without DID may feel that way but that could be depression or possibly some early stages of DID. “Non-disordered persons view events and other people accurately and, consequently, differently than the disordered person. This difference in perception produces a lack of understanding and often distresses the non-disordered person. Incapable of viewing the event or other persons from the skewed perception of the disordered person, the non-disordered person is perplexed and confused. The non-disordered person commonly examines their own perception of the event or other people for inaccuracy. Finding none, they begin to question the perception of the disordered person.” (Dobbert 4) DID patients act so much differently than non-disordered people that the non-disordered person starts to wonder if something is wrong with themselves or the other person. When people with DID first figure out what they are dealing with, they might think a few things. Some think it is the worst thing in the world; some may like it and play around with it. That is how Karen Marshall deals. She is a therapist and someone that has DID. Her partner Tracy Alderman, is also a therapist and has been with Karen dealing with her personalities as they come. Karen says, “When I first started realizing that there was a possibility that I had DID, I thought it was the end of my life. I thought for sure that I would lose my relationship, and that if any one knew that I was DID, I would also lose my job. I was also terrified that if my friends found out I would really be alone because they would think I was crazy. I knew I was crazy, so it was the least I could expect from them. If I could just keep anyone from finding out, I knew that I would be fine.” (Alderman/Marshall 67) With the help of Tracy and her other alters she made it and now loves the fact that she has multiple people to confide in and happy to be who she is. “It has taken me a long time to accept having DID. When I was afraid that I was going to lose my hob, I had to stop and realize that I had been the same all the while I had my job. I was often ashamed and more often believed I was crazy. I now know that I have lived this way all of my life. I just wasn’t aware of how I lived. Living out the expression ‘know thyself’ can bring many surprises.” (Alderman/Marshall 70) People with DID can learn to love who they are even if they have issues. Everyone does, it’s completely normal. Just like Robert B. Oxnam, and his 11 other personalities. He says, “…we have whittled it down to three remaining personalities through a process of ‘integration.’”(Oxnam 1-5) Robert, Wanda, and Bobby have an agreement to create this book about their lives together as persons that have MPD or DID. Even though they are all main “characters”, the other 8 tell their stories too. Dr. Jeffery Smith, M.D. is the one that discovered them. He has been with them since and helped them through their journeys as well as putting their stories on paper.
Sources:
Lenzenweger, Mark F. and Clarkin, John F. Major Theories of Personality Disorder.
New York: The Guilford Press, 2005.
Dobbert, Duane L. Understanding Personality Disorders.
Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2007.
Alderman, Tracy and Marshall, Karen. Amongst Ourselves.
California: New Harbinger Publications, Inc, 1998.
Oxnam, Robert B. A Fractured Mind.
New York: Hyperion, 2005.
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