multiple personality
...ir subpersonality takes over, but in a MPD patient, the personality disconnects from the host that the host can not remember what happens. When a traumatic experience happens, whether positive or negative, a subpersonality will develop. In a normal person, the splitting is broken into an "ok self" and a "not ok self". In a multiple, the personalities are more defined; they are broken into smaller fragments that disassociate from the human host (Rowan, 1990, p. 7, 20). In the book by Terri A. Clark, M.D., it shows the distinct the personalities are in several cases. It also displays how each identity can be different from the other identities and the host. In one of Clark's cases, Veronica, one of the personalities of her patient Regina, showed up for the weekly appointment instead of Regina (note that it really was Regina, but she was a different identity). Clark noticed a change in the appearance of Regina on her arrival and noted the difference in her voice. Veronica (Regina) continued to speak to Clark as if it was the first time they had met. Although, Veronica knew about Clark, Regina's personal life, and therapy, this was the first time Clark had met this personality. Clark discovered while talking to Veronica that she had a separate business which she ran on the weekends, and when Veronica was in control of the body. Regina had no idea about the business; Veronica used the fake name and an Art Gallery's telephone number in which to run her business. Veronica even had a different handwriting than Regina. According to Clark, each personality has its own distinct features, such as handwriting, fashion taste, hobbies, and culinary taste. In most cases, there will always be personality that writes with their left hand, while the host and other identities write with their right. In Regina's case, Veronica wore different clothes than Regina and she had an interest in fine art. Each personality of a host, when asked, will tell you they have a certain type of hair color and cut, height, weight, and even gender (Clark, 1993, p. 73-78). The problem with having all these personalities is that they do not mesh well. Consequences can arise from having so many different traits inside one body like eating and sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse (Smith, 1993, p.1). Each alter also has their own name, these names can come from anything but there are three common factors that influence the alters name. Some alters are just born with the name, this is when the alter is modeled after a real or fictional character. Some alters are named after emotional responses, such as Sad One or Angry Janie. Many alters are named for the specific job they are supposed to do, like Director, Helper or Avenger. The names chosen have been created by a child so they are most likely modeled after a fictional or real character. Although the host will have no idea of the other personalities and will not respond to the names at first, the alters respond to the birth personalities name (Clark, 1993, 90-91). The circumstances that the identities get the host into can also become a problem. The different alters while in possession of the body can go somewhere where the host does not know and then leave and the host is left with no idea how he/she got there and how to get back. In Sybil, one of the first times she realized she had a problem was when she had to leave her Columbia University Chemistry Lab when something broke. The last thing she remembered was standing at the elevator but when she regained consciousness she was in the warehouse district of Philadelphia. Miles from where she had been before in New York and it was five days later (Schreiber, 1973, p. 23-36). The persecutor identity has a tendency to leave the host in dangerous situations. Carla, one of Clark's patients, had a persecutor alter named Godiva. Godiva was always putting Carla in sticky situations like Godiva would pick up men at bars and bring them home or go home with them. Carla would come to consciousness with an unknown man in her bed and she would pass out, another alter would have to come out and rescue Carla. CJ (Carla's big burly male alter) would come out punch the guy and leave. Christine (Carla's logical alter) would come out and handle the situation using her negotiation skills. At other times Timmy (the young boy who was an escape artist) would come out talk his way out of the situation, leaving the man so bewildered because he was with a woman who thought she was a young boy. When this occurred it would leave the other alters upset at Godiva (Clark, 1993, p.99). There are three different types of relationships that alters can have between each other. The first one is, "one-way amnesia", this is when alter number one knows about alter number two but alter number two does not know about number one. The second relationship is "'two-way amnesia' exist when neither alter know about each other"(Clark, 1993, p. 87). Cocognizance, the third relationship, is when all the alters know about each other but the host personality knows about none of them. The host will hear conversations in his/her head, these conversations are between the alters. This is when the alters know the host personality but is unable to affect it as long as the host is in control (Clark, 1993, p. 87-88). The cause of MPD is severe trauma, most of the trauma happens at a young age and the violator is usually someone who the child knows. In satanic cults, children mistreated and abused, to intentionally cause MPD, do not know everyone who is involved in the abuse. Examples given by Clark are children put in a coffin with rats, snakes, and bugs then buried alive. Later the satanic cult leader or priest will rescue the child therefore making the child feel obligated to that person. In satanic cults, children are also raped. During the rape, men and women would violate the child they would also violate the child with objects such as a knife, an upside down crucifix, and other objects (Clark, 1993, 181-198). The child gets to the point where they think they are going to die, and they disassociate themselves from the situation, this is when the personalities are born. Other types of abuse are emotional and psychological abuse by a parent. One of Clark's patients remembered under hypnosis a time when she was two. Her mother took her outside put her in a tree and told her to jump, the child after a slight hesitation did so, and the mother stepped back, watched the child fall to the ground, and laughed. These traumatic events and others are the cause of MPD (Clark, 1993, 105-106). No matter how bad the abuse was and how many different personalities are present; a MPD patient can be cured. The process to recovery for a MPD patient is long and hard. The personalities are not being made to disappear but to become one. There has to be a fusion of all the alters into the host, the host has to learn to express all the emotions, that for so long, another alter would take care of for them. Although some MPD patients are harder than others to fuse, but all patients can be cured. Patients that were subject to Satanic Ritual Abuse are more difficult to fuse due to the threats that the cult made or are making on their lives. A patient that was in a cult must have lost all contact with the cult before successful fusion can take place. When fusion is successfully accomplished, the host person can handle their emotions as where before fusion they were unaware of many common emotions (Clark, 1993, 208-213). Research is continuing to be done on this disorder. Many people still doubt the realism of the disorder, especially as more people fake the disorder to get out of judicial problems. About 1% of America's population has MPD, but many are scared to see Psychiatrist, and many fake the disorder (Smith, 1993, p. 1). As awareness for the disease is becoming more prevalent, more patients are discovering after y...