Reading Room
Dissociative Identity Disorder/
Multiple Personality Disorder
FAQ (frequently asked questions)
page 2
How many parts are there?
The typical female multiple has about 19 alter personalities; male
multiples tend to have less than half of that. The number of alters is
explained by 3 factors:
- The severity of the trauma;
- The chronicity of the trauma; and,
- The degree of vulnerability of the child. Thus, the male multiple from
ages 7 to 10 who was sexually abused a half-dozen times by a distant relative
is going to have far fewer alters than a female multiple who was severely
physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by both parents from infancy to
age 16. The latter patient, in fact, could quite easily wind up with 30 to 50
(+) alters, even in the hundreds.
How could a person have so many different personalities and how would you
tell the difference among them?
The answers to these questions require a clarification of several points:
- First, MPD is a misleading term-- DISSOCIATED SELF DISORDER would probably
be better. There is but one self that is dissociated into multiple parts. MPD
tends to be misunderstood to mean "multiple self disorder." In fact,
there is only one self however divided, or dissociated, it may be.
- Secondly, there are usually only 3 to 6 alters who are particularly active
(e.g.: assuming full executive control) on any given day. The rest of the
alters are relatively quiet (even dormant for long periods of time).
- Finally, THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT THAT DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES BE VISIBLY
DIFFERENT TO AN OBSERVER. It is only necessary that each alter fulfill the
basic function of an alter personality-- that is, to protect the host
personality from the knowledge and experience of the trauma. This task is
accomplished by means of dissociative barriers or walls of amnesia. Thus a
multiple could conceivably have dozens of alters that look just the same, but
who, nevertheless, serve the function of walling off trauma from the host (and
dispersing it among many alters). The answers to the above questions can now be
more easily understood in light of the basic task of an alter personality. If
the "raison d'être" of alters is to sequester trauma from the
host so that he/she is able to continue to function without becoming
overwhelmed, then additional alters may be produced to help contain the trauma.
It is not required that these new alters look different, nor is it necessary
that they all be active at one time; it is only necessary that they do their
job (of containing the trauma of the abuse).
continued | back to top |
back to reading room
about me | support | thoughts on suicide |
|
