Essay, Research Paper
Multiple Personalities: Do They Really Exist
Multiple personalities- the existence of two or more distinct
personalities or personality states within one person. In actuality, up
to ten or even more personalities can coexist within one person, some
documented cases have revealed over one hundred. But, the question
remains, what exactly is the multiple personality disorder (MPD)? First
I will look at what exactly the disorder is. It is, in simple terms,
many complex personalities all inhabiting the same body. At any given
time, one of those personalities is in control of the body. Each one has
different tastes, style, thought process, and many other things that
define a person. However, research has proven even more than that. In
clinical studies it has been found that of the different personalities
of one person, the eye prescription, allergies, athletic ability, and
even diabetes can exist in one of the personalities and not the others.
The person can switch at any given time from one personality to another,
often not realizing it. This can account for memory loss and time loss
in the primary personality, who often does not have access to the
memories of the other personalities. A common misconception among the
general public is the confusion of MPD with the disease of
schizophrenia. Schizophrenics do NOT have distinct personalities,
rather, they have hallucinations of voices outside their heads.
Schizophrenia is caused by brain malfunctions and can be treated with
drugs, whereas suffers of MPD cannot because MPD is an almost purely
psychological disorder. MPD seems to be caused mainly by incredibly
violent and terrible childhood abuse. In fact, about 98% of MPD
sufferers were abused as children. The disorder also occurs between
three to nine times more in women than men, the person being abused
creates other personalities to handle the pain. In the case of a man
named Milligan, his father beat him and sexually abused him. Then he
forced the boy to dig his own grave, burying him alive with only a stove
pipe to breath through. Then the father urinated into the pipe onto the
boy’s face. With that kind of abuse, you either go crazy, die, or
develop other personalities. That is why, in many people with MPD, there
are agitated and distracted child personalities. These personalities
were created in order to suffer the pain of abuse. When the abuse was
over, their call was no longer needed and the primary personality could
resume control, dropping with that second personality all memory of the
event and continuing as if nothing happened. This type of personality
exists in almost all MPD sufferers. Another common personality is the
Persecutor personality. This personality is created to absorb the rage
the person feels towards his abusers. It often lashes out, either at
other people or at the other personalities, because it believes some of
the punishment was their fault. To punish that personality it will often
harm the body of the person, not realizing it is hurting itself in the
process. A final common personality is the Protector personality. It is
created to give a feeling of protection to the child personalities and
to try to prevent the Persecutor from lashing out at others or itself.
These are obviously not all the personalities, found, but they are the
most common. Due to all these conflicting interests the personalities
often argue with each other. This is why the person often hears voices
“inside his head” whereas the schizophrenic hears them from outside in
the world. Many people dispute the existence of multiple personalities.
They argue that such an idea is impossible and that the people are
simply making it up. However, I believe the opposite, and many people
share my opinion due to one study. Around 10 years ago a Dr. Putnam
conducted an experiment, whereby he hooked several MPD sufferers up to a
machine that measures brain waves. He then subjected each personality of
each person to a set of stimuli. Each personality reacted differently,
the difference was around the same as between two separate people. The
control group of volunteers faking the disorder could produce any
difference, indicating to me that something is very different about
those states of mind, and they cannot simply make up the changes in
response to stimuli, nor can they fake diabetes and different physical
requirements as I stated earlier as examples in differences of
personalities. To move on to treatment, there is virtually no treatment
a psychiatrist can offer other than extensive psychotherapy and
hypnosis. In bringing out the suffering that caused the development of
personalities, usually many personalities will “fuse” into a more
complete whole, though some retain a few personalities. Some MPD
sufferers would rather keep their personalities, they fear that the
special skills each one has might be lost if they are all fused into one
big personality. For one of the most complicated areas of this topic, I
will now discuss crimes. Crimes where a multiple personality is in any
way involved immediately become very complicated. Who is at fault? Who
is testifying when that person gets on the witness stand? Are they
faking it to get an “innocent by insanity” judgment? It is an easy way
out, to lie about having MPD to get an innocent verdict, and that must
be decided by the jury in a trial. The real problem comes when the MPD
person is the plaintiff or defendant. In one example, a woman with
twenty or more personalities ended up sleeping with a man whom she knew.
He claims one of her personalities consented to have sex with him. While
having sex, one of her child personalities came out and she thought she
was being raped, though she didn’t voice this until afterwards when she
complained of being raped. He does, however, admit to knowing about her
disorder. So who is at fault here? I would have to say it is not the
man’s fault, she consented and therefore it was not a rape. However,
others claim else wise. They say that since he knew about her disorder
he was taking advantage of her. I cannot agree, for as long as she
consented, he didn’t intentionally commit any crime and cannot be
prosecuted for it, even if it wasn’t her main personality, it was still
“her.” The other type of case involving multiple personalities is even
more involved, that is where one personality commits the crime, to the
others’ horror and surprise. In this case, is that person liable for the
damage another personality caused? In the example of Juanita Maxwell she
had a violent personality named Wanda who robbed two banks nine years
after being acquitted on the insanity defense for killing a
seventy-three year old woman. What do you do with this person? Do you
lock them up and throw away the key? Do you release them on grounds of
insanity? Seeing as she was acquitted for murder, apparently the legal
system thinks they should be allowed to be treated. I agree with this.
However, many people disagree vehemently over this subject. Many feel
they have committed a crime and should be punished the same as anyone
else, and sometimes this happens. However, it happens more often with
men than women, who are usually steered towards the psychiatric
treatment route and are prosecuted less than men. Men offenders are
viewed as brutal beasts, while women are seen as disturbed oftentimes,
or at least that is how it seems to me. However, offenders with true MPD
should not go to jail, where conditions might worsen the disorder due to
more abuse and bad conditions. Also, in jail, there is almost no hope
for diagnosis and help, so when they are released they will not be any
better than when they went in and will probably offend again. So putting
them in jail is hurting society, not helping it by keeping them off the
streets. However many are too paranoid to realize this, they just want
to throw them where they won’t be seen for a long time. These paranoiacs
don’t look in the long term, just the immediate results. I feel they
should go to therapy to help get rid of their problems. Research has
shown psychotherapy is the only effective way to help MPD, and it
doesn’t come in prison. If they go to therapy for 2 years and are cured
it helps society more than if they are locked out of sight for 20 years.
So in cases where it can be proven it is a case of MPD I say send them
to the psychiatric ward. All in all, multiple personalities are kind of
an obscure subject. Not much research has been done on them, though I
think they have fascinating potential, both in curiosity and in the
effects of mind control on the body as I discussed earlier, and they
should be researched much more.
Другие работы по теме:
St Anselm
’S Ontological Argument For The Experience Of God. Essay, Research Paper God’s existence may vary from philosopher to philosopher, but according to the late St. Anselm,
All Around The Town By Mary Higgins
Clark Essay, Research Paper Mary Higgins Clark started her writing career writing suspense stories and she hasn’t changed very much since then. All her books are very interesting to read and they will always keep your attention to the end.
Mom Vs Dad Essay Research Paper Mom
Mom V.s. Dad Essay, Research Paper Mom vs. Dad In my family, trying to find two contrasting relatives is like trying to find a needle, in a stack of needles. Of course after a little thought, the two most obvious and contrasting family members turned out to be my parents. Although many differences exist between my mom and dad, three major ones include the way they act, the way the think, and the way they parent.
Flora Rheta SchreiberS
“Sybil” Essay, Research Paper Do you ever feel as though you are acting as a different person in different situations? Do you ever feel as though acting “fake”? You are definitely not alone in your thoughts and feelings, but do note that there is always something or someone more extreme than you are.
Can We Ever Reach Certainty Essay Research
Paper First, I would like to quote Descartes: “Cogito, ergo sum” – I think, therefor I am. He said this, because he didn’t know weather he knew if he existed or not. Descartes thought like this: I know that I’m dreaming, but I don’t know if it’s reality or dream, I doubt. But because I doubt, I think, and if I am thinking, I am a human, thinking, being, and therefor – I exist – “Cogito, ergo sum”.
Multiple Personality Disorder Essay Research Paper Many
Multiple Personality Disorder Essay, Research Paper Many People in One – Multiple Personality Disorder Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is a mental disease that exists in about one percent of the population. Much research supports the existence of this disease and its origins, causes and effects on the people in who suffer with it.
Multiple Personality Disorder Essay Research Paper Multiple
Multiple Personality Disorder Essay, Research Paper 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.
Multiple Personality Disorder MPD Essay Research Paper
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.
Multiple Personalities Essay Research Paper Multiple Personality
Multiple Personalities Essay, Research Paper Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is a dissociative disorder. Dissociation is the separation of an idea or thought process from the individual s ongoing consciousness or awareness (Merit Students 576). MPD is the most extreme type of dissociative disorder.
Comparison Of Huck Finn And Tom Sawyer
Essay, Research Paper Question 1: Compare and contrast the personalities of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are two friends with very different personalities, each bringing their own unique characteristics into this comical relationship.
WhatS My Purpose Of Human Existence Essay
, Research Paper Have you ever wondered why we, humans, exist? Who is our creator? How did we get here? Well, as for me, these questions pop into my mind especially right before I go to sleep. These questions have been on my mind since I was about five years old till present time. Perhaps one day, I?ll get me questions answered.
A Friend With Multiple Personalities Essay Research
Paper The variance in personalities can be as massive as an ocean or as microscopic as an atom. Most people think of personalities as distinctive. I have found distinctive does not necessarily describe personalities. Renee is a friend of mine who has a very wide variance in personality. Renee?s personality can change within a matter of minutes.
Personalities And How They Change Essay Research
Paper Personalities and How They Change: All people have distinct personalities, some may be good, and some may be bad. However, one thing always remains constant, personalities are not permanent. For example, if there is a person who has a bad temperament and is under the influence of a good person, then their personality may change.
Spinoza
’s Ethics, Part I Proposition 33 Essay, Research Paper Baruch Spinoza believes the essence of God includes God’s existence and discusses the causality of God through his ontological work, Ethics. In Ethics, Spinoza is seeking a method of truth through the perfect being. The essence of what that perfect being expresses, using this method of truth, is God (i.e. the perfect being).
Crime And Punishment Rodya Analysis Essay Research
Paper Raskolnikov’s psyche changes in many ways throughout this novel; in the beginning he is already agitated and on edge, once he murders the pawnbroker he almost loses his mind, but then Sonia comes along and shows him the way out of the madness. Also Raskolnikov seems to have two different personalities.
Quotes From Toni Morrison
— Linden Peach Essay, Research Paper Page 5"Like Guitar in Son of Solomon, and Son in Tar Baby, he [T.M.’s father] believed that harmony could never exist between the races." Page 77 "It [Tar Baby] incorporates a wide range of perspectives through its use of myths and concepts whose meaning have undergone change in different periods and cultural contexts." Page 86 "the conclusion of this novel possibly serves only to make the reader more aware of how much in the text is deferred." Page 92 "islands…have a significant association in Western culture as ‘places of transformation’." Page 92 "In Tar Baby, the classic concept of the individual with a solid, coherent identity is eschewed for a model of identity which sees the individual as a kaleidoscope of heterogeneous impulses and desires, constructed from multiple forms of interaction with the
Marc Antony The Living TeeterTotter Essay Research
Paper Marc Antony: A Living Teeter-Totter Throughout Shakespeare?s play Julius Caesar we see a contrast of personalities come from one of the minor characters, Marc Antony. One of which is compassionate and impulsive; the other is in complete control of his emotions at all times. One can cry over the death of his dear friend, Caesar; the other condemns his peers to death without batting an eyelash.
Macbeth Essay Research Paper In the first
Macbeth Essay, Research Paper In the first act of the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the reader is introduced to the two characters that will play the most significant part in the play’s storyline. Even though they are man and wife, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have much dissimilarity. One can tell how their personalities differ as the plot moves forward.
The Scarlet Letter Symbolism In The Forest
Essay, Research Paper The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism in the Forest “The path strangled onward into the mystery of the primeval forest”(179). This sentence displays just one of the multiple personalities that the forest
Multiple Sclerosis 2 Essay Research Paper Multiple
Multiple Sclerosis 2 Essay, Research Paper Multiple Sclerosis is a disease in which areas of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves are stripped of their myelin, which is the fat covering that insulates the nerve fibers. This makes it harder for the transmission of messages between the central nervous system and the rest of the body.
Universals V Tropes Essay Research Paper In
Universals V Tropes Essay, Research Paper In examining the world around us we notice many similarities. There is a great deal of reoccurrence, which we can not help but to notice. The same shape occurs over and over in so many different objects. Rings, cans, bottles, candies, the same property we term roundness is found in all these objects.
Boethius
’ Argument Against Universals Essay, Research Paper Boethius’ Argument Against Universals In the essay From His Second Commentary on Porphyry s Isagoge Boethius discusses
Character Analysis Of Benedick And Beatrice In
“Much Ado About Nothing” Essay, Research Paper In Much Ado About Nothing, most of the characters had interesting relationships with each other. For example, Hero and Claudio, were deeply in love. Also,
Poison Essay Research Paper PoisonA Game Instructions
Poison Essay, Research Paper Poison A Game Instructions: Start off with ten counters. Each team will take a turn, taking one or two counters each time. The team that must take the final counter, also known as the poison counter, loses.
Facts Of Life
: “Existence Is Truth” Essay, Research Paper The Facts of Life “Existence is Truth” Everything we know of is the third dimension, and its properties. Everything is composed of atoms, and atoms are composed of smaller particles. All particles are threedimensional because they have the dimension of height, the dimension of width, and the dimension of depth.
Compare Contrast The Love Between Claudio And
Hero Essay, Research Paper Compare/ contrast the love between Claudio and Hero with Beatrice and Bene*censored*. Whose is Stronger? The lovebetween Bene*censored* and Beatrice was much stronger than the love between Hero and Claudio. One reason Bene*censored* and Beatrice?s love was stronger because the way Hero and Claudio got together was not true love.
The Fight Club
& Multiple Personality Disorder Essay, Research Paper THE FIGHT CLUB There are many people in the world that suffer from any kind of disease or mental problem. In the movie ?the fight club? the narrator, Edward Norton, suffers from multiple personality disorder. This is a mental disorder that affects almost one million Americans, making their life difficult and troublesome. (www.geocities/HotSprings/Villa/8755/) The movie is particularly characterized by the fact that the main character and narrator suffers from this popular disorder.
Hypnosis Essay Research Paper HypnosisThe common view
Hypnosis Essay, Research Paper Hypnosis The common view of hypnosis is that it is an altered state of consciousness, a trance-like state characterized by intense concentration, extreme relaxation, and high suggestibility. Many who accept this view also believe that hypnosis is the way of accessing the unconscious mind, thereby allowing the recovery of repressed memories, multiple personalities, and even memories of past lives.
Animals Personalities Essay Research Paper Animals personalitiesAnimals
Animals Personalities Essay, Research Paper Animals personalities Animals develop personalities that they are going to have for the rest of their lives, experiences and how they are treated alter behavior. In general, I think animals are special, each having their own personality and nature. I also know animals can feel, love, think, hate, feel sadness, and all the emotion that we humans feel.