Kendall Leigh Cunningham

J. Morton
UWRIT 1102
01 December 2016

Dear Reader,
I have chosen to write an informative report for the reason being, medical disorders arent something
that can be written into a story, or short article. The analysis of Multiple Personality Disorder
expands on the challenges faced daily by those who are suffering. Those who seek help arent
always the successful ones, and my informative report explains why. I hoping to find out what is
behind the masks of those who are suffering from this disorder.
My intended audience extends not only to those affected by the disease but to those whose lives have
been affected by a loved one. Simplifying this disease is extremely important for those who
dont understand the thought process of those affected, because there is a myriad of different
alternatives as to why and what exactly is going through their minds. My research led me to
write this genre specific paper because I feel any other type of writing convention wouldnt be
able to do justice. I feel confident about this piece of writing because of the research completed,
and the time that has been placed into finding the specifics of this disease. I needed help on
expanding my inquiry questions because researching diseases can be very cut and dry, and in
order to expand I would need extra information. Researching became simple when I decided
Multiple Personality Disorder was a new disease I hadnt studied in past years in college.
In conclusion,
Kendall Leigh Cunningham

Extended Prose Piece: Multiple Personality Disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder has been around since the late eighteen hundreds, and was one of the
earliest studied mental disorders. Only until the last few decades have mental disorders been
looked at as a basic social norm. Throughout this paper, the history, therapies, and common
misconceptions will be examined and thoroughly explained.
History of Multiple Personality Disorder
Regarded as a religious punishment, mental illness were disregarded for the greater part of history.
Starting in the 5th century, Hippocrates began to change the worlds view of mental illness.
Focusing on environmental change, occupational changes, and even medicinal substances,
Hippocrates paved the way for normalizing health issues early on. However, the United States
stigmatism of mental illness progressed into the 18th century. Recent generations have perceived
mental disorders as common occurrences, however not all can be easily diagnosed. Teams of
psychologists began to research in study groups and observe and compare certain people with
diagnosed disorders as compared to someone with a fairly normal brain.
Multiple Personality Disorders history has come a long way since the discovery in the late 1800s. At
first, chief physician Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot thought he discovered a new combined disease,
Hystero-Epilepsy. The newly founded disorder, Hystero-Epilepsy had several common
symptoms of Hysteria and Epilepsy. Developing over time, Multiple Personality Disorder
morphed into Disassociate Identity Disorder. In the early stages of development, Multiple
Personality Disorder was doubted frequently. Some psychologists today question whether its
truly a real disorder. When Charcot first initiated study groups, most patients were said to be in

the group because they were convinced they had similar symptoms, however, other psychologists
believed the patients were imitating others symptoms.
In recent years, those with diagnosed Multiple Personality Disorder, have demonstrated to have
experienced childhood trauma or sexual assault. Gradually waning the patients off treatment and
talking to them, the symptoms gradually dissolved because they in fact didnt have the disease.
Those who continued their hysteroeplieptic behavior were officially diagnosed with the disease.
However, the other patients found better ways to deal with their behavior other than having
hysterical outbreaks.
Regarding the timeline of Multiple Personality Disorder, Most often such events occurred when the
patient was between the ages of 3 and 8 years old, according to Dr. Braun. Regarding his
research on brain waves, each personality has their own even different from the original person.
After a treatment is completed, only one brain wave should remain. Brauns research has
expanded into the discovery of different allergies, sight capabilities, and diseases that pertain to
an individual personality, even those that differ from the original host.
Therapies & Medicine
Most mental health professionals recommend certain medicines, therapies, and sometimes a
combination of both. Multiple Personality Disorder is one of the disorders that require both.
Most psychologists agree that a myriad of therapies are useful in order for treatment. Patients
that suffer through this disease are known to have overwhelming anxiety, trouble talking about
the past (specifically the trauma that caused the disease to be present), and frequent negative
thinking.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a form of therapy for those suffering from a multitude of disorders and is
an amazing treatment for patients who have suffered from an extreme trauma. Time spans vary
depending on how severe the case is. Five to ten months is average for most patients, however
longer is sometimes necessary. For Multiple Personality Disorder, soothing the mind through
Cognitive Behavior Therapy according to Dryden-Edwards, decreases negative responses to
stressors. This behavior is very important specially to learn by yourself, because stressors could
be anywhere, and decreasing your response or transferring negative to positive is beneficial.
Another form of therapy known as Hypnosis, is not as common as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, but can
be just as useful. Most of the time, Hypnosis uncovers the reasons as to how that person is
feeling. Diving into past experiences to locate the specific traumatic event lets the person know
specifically what their triggers are, and more importantly how to avoid them. Hypnosis increases
the persons control of their life and lessens the effect of Multiple Personality Disorder on the
individual.
A lesser known form of therapy known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is
targeted more so towards lessening the effect of the traumatic event in individuals. More so
focused on a long term therapy, EMDR follows a strict process on stress elimination and a faster
healing process. In the late 1900s, Dr. Shapiro noticed rapid eye movements when experiencing
distressing thoughts. When frustrated or upset our brains dont process our thoughts normally,
which can trigger a partial memory loss in order to dismiss those feeling or the situation. EMDR
was a founded direct path into the ways of our minds. When someone experiences a traumatic
event they usually remember the sounds, thoughts, feelings, and smells. This form of therapy is
targeted to aide in the recovery of people who experience stress when reliving those memories
and triggered smells and sounds. The goal of EMDR is to lessen the effects of the experience and

make it easier to handle. An EMDR session is different than a normal psychotherapeutic

approach. There are a total of 8 phases of treatment and each session lasts about an hour and a
half. Depending on the trauma the patient has experienced, the sessions usually target specific
healing methods. Pushing negative emotions away from the central focus of the mind is essential
to overcoming an adversity.
Regarding techniques used, The New York Times interviewed Dr. Orne, another psychologist on his
thoughts of hypnosis. ''I wouldn't care if it were useful to split people into pieces and then put
them back together, it's dramatic, but not necessarily therapeutic. (Orne) Different opinions
have stemmed from the different methods of treatment. Not all treatments work for those
affected by the disorder, and not all psychologists will use all of the methods. This article,
however written in 1985, has some interesting points that some still talk about today, especially
regarding techniques used in treatment.
Experiments
According Vermetten, smaller hippocampal volume has been reported in several stress-related
psychiatric disorders The more abuse, the smaller the amygdalar volume, and Multiple
Personality Disorder derives from childhood abuse and trauma, therefore those suffering usually
have smaller amygdalar and hippocampal volumes.
The experiment included several female patients with diagnosed Dissociative Identity Disorder, and
several who were not diagnosed with the disorder in order to compare the two groups. To
complete this experiment, the authors in charge compared the ratio of hippocampal and
amygdalar volumes. The conclusion of this experiment explains the ratios in decreased
hippocampal and amygdalar volumes and childhood abuse and trauma. According to the study,

Hippocampal volume was 19.2% smaller and amygdalar volume was 31.6% smaller in the
patients with dissociative identity disorder, compared to the healthy subjects. Comparatively
speaking, the disorder has been hypothesized as a childhood-onset posttraumatic developmental
disorder, similar to that of posttraumatic stress disorder, however the time frames differ.
Daniel Goleman, writing about a case for The New York Times discussed John, an air traffic controller
who suffered a mental breakdown during his shift. During his break down, John began to speak
gibberish to the pilots and was later diagnosed with the disorder during a therapy session.
Suffering from several different personalities, John and his alter egos Frank, Tom, Peter, David,
and Dorothy, all exist within his mind. Most people dont have as many personalities as John,
however some have up to twenty.
Compared to Other Diseases
Commonly compared to Schizophrenia and Borderline Personality Disorder; Multiple Personality
Disorder has distinct symptoms the other personality disorders dont. Living highly abnormal
lives, those who suffer through Multiple Personality Disorder cannot live a somewhat normal life
due to their interrupting personalities. Throughout their day someone without knowledge of the
disorder might not even know theyre speaking to another personality as opposed to the original.
Most people dont know theyre changing personalities when it happens which is also a frequent
symptom of Multiple Personality Disorder. Dissociative amnesia is a common occurrence in
those suffering from personality switches, and more times than not, the feeling is similar to a
blackout after a long night of drinking. After the personality switch, the patient wont remember
what happened, discussed, or most of their memory prior to the personality switch, which can be
extremely scary.

As compared to Borderline Personality Disorder, stability in those that are diagnosed are altered
severely. Random mood changes and self-destructive behavior are among the many other
symptoms suffered by those with the personality disorder. Viewing the world as all black or all
white, distorts their mindset into extremes. As opposed to Multiple Personality Disorder, this is a
severe disorder in which self-harm is common along with common social manipulation, whereas
Multiple Personality Disorder is usually harmless, unless one of the personalities is dangerous.
Lastly, Schizophrenia is not so much a personality disorder as it is a psychotic disorder, in which the
person has frequent paranoia, personality changes (without making up a new personality), and
sometimes joining abnormal religious societies (cults). Hallucinations are commonly skewed as
another personality, however usually hearing voices isnt equivalent to having an entirely new
personality. Most people that are diagnosed with Schizophrenia tend to lead a typically normal
life, it usually doesnt affect living as much as the other disorders can. However, those with
severe cases need to be highly medicated and taken care of on a daily basis.
Misconceptions
There are several misconceptions regarding Multiple Personality Disorder, including those in mass
media along with in regular society. One of the largest misconceptions regarding this disorder is
the fact that those who suffer are unaware of their other personalities. However, partially true,
some who suffer arent aware of their situation for years, however, with proper diagnosis,
treatment can begin.
Media has harsh methods of distorting diseases, including Multiple Personality Disorder. According to
mass media, those who are switching between personalities are oblivious not only to the switch
but to their surroundings. Personality switches arent easily identified, and most people who

arent educated in basic psychology are unaware. Another common misconception is the fact that
media makes mental disorders out to be dark and mysterious, when in fact they arent. According
to Holly Gray, my days are filled with work, household chores, therapy, and family. At night I
sleep. Im really rather boring, though Id kill to be a brilliant artist. Just kidding. Its
unfortunate how distorted these mental disorders can get through mass media, making those
suffering out to be something they arent. Eventually, a show will come along with someone with
a mental disorder that will shed light on the truth.
Conducted Research
The research I conducted over the course of the semester has pertained mainly to Google searches and
randomly read articles. The research papers I have read have been extremely professional and
educational, gathering information from top-tiered websites has been easy especially for a
disorder that people are continuously studying. The history of the disorder has an interesting
past. Several different websites have stated different psychologists during different times
discovered the disease, however I wasnt able to find a solid answer. In addition, I was unable to
find accurate brain scans, however stumbling upon an experimental page, in which explained
brain volumes more accurately.
According to Vermetten, Despite these findings, essentially nothing is known about the neurobiology of
dissociative identity disorder. Although psychologists have known about this disorder since the
late eighteen hundreds and technology has improved, further advances have not been made.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Multiple Personality Disorder, also known as, Disassociate Identity Disorders history is
rich in confusion, comparisons, and progression. The original Hystero-Epilepsy might be the
reason the disorder is so commonly misdiagnosed in todays medicinal world. Many
psychologists still believe this disorder to be nonexistent, and to only exist in the minds of the
diagnosed however, the truth lies with those patients experiencing the difficulties every day.

Works Cited
A Brief History of Mental Illness and the U.S. Mental Health Care System, Unite For Sight,
http://www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module2, November 9, 2016
Dryden-Edwards, Roxanne, MD, Conrad-Stoppler, Melissa, MD, Dissociative Identity Disorder,
2/12/2016,
http://www.medicinenet.com/dissociative_identity_disorder/page5.htm#what_are_the_treatment
_methods_for_dissociative_identity_disorder, November 9, 2016
Goleman, Daniel, New Focus on Multiple Personality, The New York Times, May 21, 1985,
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/21/science/new-focus-on-multiple-personality.html?
pagewanted=all, November 17, 2016
Gray, Holly, 4 Common Misconceptions about Dissociative Identity Disorder, Healthy Place, December
27, 2010 http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/dissociativeliving/2010/12/4-commonmisconceptions-about-dissociative-identity-disorder/, November 9, 2016
Lieber, Arnold, MD, Multiple Personality Disorder, PsyCom, https://www.psycom.net/mchugh.html,
November 9, 2016
Martin, Ben, Psy.D., In- Depth: Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Psych Central,
http://psychcentral.com/lib/in-depth-cognitive-behavioral-therapy/, November 9, 2016
Personality Disorder, Mental Health America,
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/personality-disorder, November 9, 2016
Schizophrenia, Mental Health America, http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/schizophrenia,
November 9, 2016

Vermetten, Eric M.D., Ph.D., Schmahl, Christian M.D., Lindner, Sanneke M.Sc., Loewenstein, Richard
J. M.D., and Bremner, J. Douglas M.D., Hippocampal and Amygdalar Volumes in Dissociative
Identity Disorder, PMC, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3233754/, November 9,
2016
What is EMDR?, EMDR, https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/ , November 9, 2016
What is the actual EMDR session like?, EMDRIA, https://emdria.site-ym.com/?120, November 16,
2016