Multipal Essay, Research Paper

Multiple Personality Disorder Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD is a serious personality disorder in which the mind or personality of the person seams to split or divide in other complete people. All act, talk, and remember different things. As if each person has there own brain. It is hard to say what makes a person go to this state. It is also hard to say what help a person can get to help them get over this disorder, but it can be helped. How a person acquires this disorder is very controversial. People however have came up to these conclusions.1. Life threatening trauma before the age of seven. (Minor trauma is not enough. The child must fear for his or her life.)2. Grade V hypnotizable Emotional Self. (Grade V hypnotizability is a characteristic of the Emotional Self and is a trait given at birth. This trait is accompanied by other characteristics, such as physic abilities, exquisite sensitivity to the emotions of others, fantasy proneness, flamboyance, and “hysterical” traits of all kinds) 3. Polarized parents – one good and one bad.4. Polarization of siblings. Only this one is abused. The others are treated decently.The essential feature of MPD is the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states (Criterion A) that recurrently take control of behavior (Criterion B). There is an inability to recall important personal information, the extent of which is too great to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness (Criterion C). The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition (Criterion D). In children, the symptoms cannot be attributed to imaginary playmates or other fantasy play. MPD reflects a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory, and consciousness. Each personality state may be experienced as if it has a distinct personal history, self-image, and identity, including separate name. Usually there is a primary identity that carries the individual’s given name and is passive, dependent, guilty, and depressed. The alternate identities frequently have different names and characteristics that contrast with the primary identity. Particular identities may emerge in specific circumstances and may differ in reported age and gender, vocabulary, general knowledge, or predominate affect. Alternate identities are experienced as taking control in sequence, at one expense of another, and may deny knowledge of one another, be critical of one another, or appear to be open in conflict. Occasionally, one or more powerful identities allocate time to others. Aggressive or hostile identities may at times interrupt activities or place the others in uncomfortable situations.

Individuals with this disorder experience frequent gaps in memory for personality history, both remote and recent. The amnesia is frequently asymmetrical. The more passive identities tent to have more constricted memories, whereas the more hostile, controlling, or “protector” identities have more complete memories. An identity that is not in control may nonetheless gain access to consciousness by producing auditory or visual hallucinations. Evidence of amnesia may be uncovered by reports from other who have witnessed behavior that is disavowed by the individual or by the individual’s own discoveries. There may be a memory loss not only for recurrent periods of time, but also an overall loss of biographical memory for some extended period of childhood. Transitions among identities are often triggered by psychosocial stress. The time required to switch from one identity to another is usually a matter of seconds, but, less frequently, may be gradual. The number of identities reported ranges from two to more and one hundred. Half of reported cases include individuals with ten or fewer identities. With all the above information, you should not have a pretty good idea on how MPD work and effects a person. It is sad to see cases like these in progress but they do happen. Hopefully doctors will soon come up with a effective procedure to treat a person with this disorder.