10 symptoms of split personality, or what Billy Milligan's multiple minds are hiding

Multiple personality disorder, even in the 21st century, causes a division of specialists in psychiatry into two camps. Some are sure that such a “deviation from the norm” in the patient is far-fetched, while others are sure that the disease really exists. They provide a lot of evidence of this from real life, accompanying them with symptoms and causes of multiple personality syndrome, and also give a scientific explanation for this phenomenon in psychiatry. In this article we will talk about what multiple personality syndrome is.

A few facts about bifurcation

1. In almost all cases, the disease has direct connections with psychological disorders that occurred in childhood up to 9 years;
2. Women are more likely to suffer from violence, which is why the disease is more common among them;
3. 20% of patients with this disease used psychotropic drugs;
4. More than half of patients with multiple personality disorder have attempted to commit suicide, and the situation worsens during sleep.

Split personality disorder is an outdated name. But a few centuries ago, this syndrome was called “possession by the devil” of the human body and his consciousness. People were sure that supernatural forces were beginning to take over a person and we were obliged to help him. The second name appeared relatively recently and is not compatible with reality. People believed that such persons were possessed by devils and controlled by them. Treatment methods did not exist at that time, but demons were cast out in the most cruel ways. Will not go into details.

Dissociative identity disorder was first described by the Swiss physician Paracelsus back in the 16th century. The discovery stopped there for years. Officially registered only in 1975. Many doubted the existence of the disease and were sure that patients were simply playing a role. Today, split personality is officially recognized as a disease and requires mandatory treatment.

Multiple Personality Syndrome: Causes

Among all the reasons that can become the impetus for the formation of dissociative identity syndrome in childhood, there is one main one - violence. It can be both emotional and physical. In any case, violence causes irreparable harm to the child’s psyche. The next reason is the incorrect upbringing of parents, when the child experiences severe fear around them or severe psychological discomfort.

Recently, drug addiction and alcoholism have become the cause of a person’s mental health crisis, provoking the emergence of a dissociative personality.

Symptoms, signs of split personality and treatment of the disease

Symptoms include:

• The patient may move away from a specific situation and become someone in certain life episodes. If we take into account the second personality, then it differs from ordinary behavior and physical actions. For example, if in ordinary life he is calm, then he may begin to behave relaxed. Characteristic signs are that the person begins to speak in a voice that is not his own and new mannerisms appear.
• The appearance of personalities directly follows from the social circle in which a person is currently located. Many peoples believe that this is a manifestation of obsession. A person can organically feel absence, loss of space, and after something happens to him, he simply does not understand who led him.
• He begins to forget the moments that happened. This can negatively affect work activity, because moments of life begin to disappear from memory in fragments.
• Often patients say that they hear some voices. Often, at the moment the person is in a trance. The peculiarity is that if the patient has been in a similar position at least once, he wants to return to it again. This feeling of something new does not leave you alone. It acts like a drug and affects your mood and lifestyle.
• Increased depression and anxiety, mood swings are possible. It is often mentioned that such patients have nightmares. Approximately 60% of people attempt to die voluntarily.

Prognosis and treatment

There is an opinion among psychiatrists that the earlier nervous personality disorder occurs, the worse the social prognosis. It should be noted that bifurcation is the most dangerous syndrome. It is almost impossible to achieve complete recovery after a mental illness of this type. First of all, this is due to the fact that each of the individuals may have psychological deviations.

The main methods of treatment are cognitive and rational, when a specialist works to develop criticism of his own condition. Therapy is carried out exclusively by psychologists in the behavioral field. It is very important to try to reproduce all the traumas that could have occurred in communication with your parents, with your significant other, with friends. This will help you understand why there was a need to hide behind two masks.

The essence of the methods is that the doctor is constantly trying to collect all the split-off personalities from a person and combine them into a single form. An excellent mechanism for gathering information from parts is hypnosis. By the way, hypnosis is a double-edged sword; it can both help the patient understand the problem and deal a blow to the psyche. In a word, this is jewelry work that should be performed by a good professional.

Drug treatment for multiple personality disorders is used to eliminate secondary consequences that occur. If you are depressed, you need to take antidepressants. Treatment with several drugs at the same time is possible.

Patricia, Dennis and Hedwig

There are 23 personalities in Kevin’s body, but in the film itself we see only 4. The others are repressed into the subconscious by two dominants: Patricia and Dennis. They put everyone else to sleep and put them into the unconscious, allowing only nine-year-old Hedwig, wonderfully played by McAvoy, to emerge. Hedwig is harmless and gets along well with Casey. The film has many funny moments related to this character.

Dennis is clear, organized, strong, punctual and strong-willed. With the help of these qualities he manages to suppress others. At the same time, he has a “flaw”: he likes to look at naked dancing girls (by the way, this vice appeared after an unsuccessful joke on him by seventeen-year-old schoolgirls, which again refers us to Billy’s story). It was he who stole Casey along with her friends and locked them in the basement, tried to rape them, but Patricia intervened and put him in his place. Patricia turns out to be quite a nice lady and treats her captives well. Together, all these individuals are waiting for the arrival of another subpersonality - a superman nicknamed the Beast - and are doing everything for its appearance.

Article on the topic

It both heals and cripples. How psychiatry developed

Treatment of split personality

If we compare the disease with third-party mental disorders, then this is a much more serious situation. Medicines are necessary to eliminate superficial symptoms. The main method is psychotherapy.

The task of a psychologist is to collect a person according to all the “split off” individuals. In this case, long conversations, hypnosis and drugs that help to stir up the patient help. This mechanism can both bring results and, on the contrary, aggravate the situation. Therefore, when choosing a doctor, we recommend that you be careful. Only a good professional can cope with the task. Doctors are confident that it is almost impossible to permanently cure split personality; it tends to remain in the body. This may take years and recovery may not be complete.

Causes and diagnosis

As practice shows, the disease begins to develop against the background of a stressful state. Difficult moments in life, psychological trauma in adolescence force our psyche to build defense mechanisms and change perceptions. The brain experiences a blockage on the main personality and ultimately ends in a split, which we talked about. So it turns out that one person is sleeping, and the other is having fun in the club.

Dissociation of the body is a normal phenomenon that is inherent in nature. But violence is not the only contributing factor to the onset of the disease. Several criteria can be noted:

• Easy-going people who love to be in the center of events and attract attention;
• The presence of defects in the functioning of the nervous system;
• Use of psychotropic substances, alcohol;
• Side effects from anesthesia;
• Prolonged stress that people often experience during military operations, tsunamis, floods and other disasters.

It should be noted that at the first examination the doctor may not notice any abnormalities. A clear symptom is memory problems, which occur in older people. This is why doctors do not like to make this diagnosis.

DID is most often confused with schizophrenia. But there are a huge number of differences between the two syndromes. Schizophrenia is manifested by the presence of hallucinations and a person’s belief in something supernatural. This is a disease that completely destroys from the inside, but does not create doubles.

There are also people who believe that split personality is just a wild fantasy. Diagnosis of the disease can be after numerous tests, observations and hypnosis. To make a diagnosis, doctors may use disinhibiting drugs.

How to identify split personality yourself

Almost everyone can be dislocated when, for example, they show imagination, imagine themselves talking to someone or having their head in the clouds. Many kids invent imaginary friends, play with them and come up with various stories. This is not a paranormal phenomenon. The problem begins at the moment when a person cannot manage his personalities and switch in time. It can suddenly change from one to another. Scientists cannot say what caused this phenomenon.

During a person’s change from one personality to another, the following may be observed:

• A sharp change in character, changes in gestures, facial expressions, handwriting, voice, taste preferences. The person may begin to tell other stories from life. Often the opposite person has completely different habits and a difference in outlook on life.
• Ceases to control behavior, gestures, statements and actions. He can cry, be depressed, and after a few minutes burst into laughter to such an extent that it will be difficult to stop him.
• May manifest as incoherent speech, amnesia, or grunting.
• Memory lapses that eliminate memories, events that happened just the day before, and even habits. It is usually worth sounding the alarm when a person begins to forget too much information.
• One person may suddenly turn on and off. Therefore, even with a psychotherapist, he can tell completely different stories, simply because he does not remember what he said earlier.
• Poor health, insomnia. This could be a sudden tingling in the abdomen, problems with the digestive system, or a migraine.

But, even if most of the symptoms coincide, they are more often diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorder, and an apathetic attitude towards life. This only complicates the selection of methods.

Treatment takes a lot of resources and effort. Sometimes it can take a lifetime. But it is necessary to alleviate the patient’s condition and reduce the manifestation of symptoms. You can start treating the disease after appointing a qualified specialist. All information regarding treatment is given as a reference and is not a guide!

Clinical manifestations of dissociative disorder

Core symptom of dissociative identity disorder

An important and, undoubtedly, main symptom of dissociative identity disorder is the presence of multiple personalities in an individual. At one fine moment, a kind of “switching” of one personality to another occurs; and now it seems that before us is a completely different person, with his own mental abilities, with his own principles, special intonations in speech and unique behavioral characteristics.

As a rule, each person also has his own baggage of memories, inaccessible to another person.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/portrait-composing-fashion-human-3033408/

Dissociative disorder should not be viewed as the actual coexistence of several personalities in one person. A person’s personality is unified, but in the case of dissociative identity disorder it consists of several more or less independent phenomenological units.

Other symptoms

The phenomenon of multiple personality can often be accompanied by a number of symptoms affecting all components of the psyche:

• mood disorders from depression to agitation and agitation;
• sudden mood changes;
• anxiety;
• suicidal thoughts and tendencies;
• phobias of various types, panic attacks;
• sleep disorders;
• behavioral disorders, sexual preferences;
• eating disorders;
• in rare cases, the occurrence of hallucinations in one or more analyzers.

The range of additional symptoms is wide and varied. Only competent collection of anamnestic data and a thorough study of a cross-section of a person’s personality can separate the wheat from the chaff and distinguish dissociative identity disorder from diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, etc.

Drug treatment

Among the drugs can be noted:

• Neuroleptics. They help reduce the progressive effects of the disease, for example, by eliminating the most dangerous symptoms and signs - manic behavior and hallucinations. They are an excellent drug for reducing stress, relax the body, help you fall asleep and not think about the problem.
• Tranquilizers. Do not use without a doctor's prescription! Otherwise it could cost your life! This drug can push a person to suicide, so it is prescribed under the supervision of a doctor.
• Antidepressants. They help cope with depression, apathy, reluctance to live, loss of interests and hobbies. They help fill yourself with energy and fight for life with new strength.

Electroconvulsive technique

Appeared in the 30s of the last century and was used to treat schizophrenia. There was an assumption that the brain, under the influence of the disorder, was not able to create certain impulses and they were created artificially.

Method of use: several electrodes were attached to the head, which had a short-term effect on the brain. The main goal was not to have a traumatic effect on the brain, but to have an effect on it. Within two months, doctors were able to achieve a positive result.

List of sources

• Brushlinsky A.V. Psychology of the subject. M., 2003. 272
• Korolenko T.P., Dmitrieva N.V., Zagoruiko E.N. Identity in normal and pathological conditions. Novosibirsk, 2000. 255 p.
• Turbina E.G. Multiple personality syndrome // Kemerov V.E., Kerimov T.Kh. (ed.) Social philosophy. Ekaterinburg, 2006. P. 205
• Nikiforova P. The phenomenon of multiple personality in science and culture. St. Petersburg, 2014. 20 p.
• Putnam Frank W. Diagnosis and treatment of multiple personality disorder. Per. from English - M.: Cogito-Center, 2004. - P. 10, 138-150.

What to do if a person refuses treatment?

You need to understand why he does this. It may take time to talk about the problem. Try to explain that there are no difficulties in the course of treatment and you will easily go through the path together. You shouldn’t tell scary stories, but you don’t need to lie that you’ll be cured in a month.

You can call a doctor yourself, without permission. You need to write a statement that will be the reason for the home inspection. If the doctor sees that the patient’s condition does not have symptoms that threaten his life and those around him, he is asked to sign papers for the course of treatment, but you have the right to refuse. Involuntary hospitalization is possible when a person is in a complex psychological disorder, and his actions can harm loved ones.

External difference

The hair on your head, mustache or chest, of course, will not grow when you change your identity. But the voice, facial expressions, gestures, behavior, timbre of speech - all this changes.

After the story with Billy Milligan, there were a lot of people who wanted to pretend to be a patient with DID. One day they caught two male rapists. One of them began to prove that he has several personalities. To which the psychiatrist replied: “Two subpersonalities are, of course, not bad, but usually everyone has three.” After these words, the detainee immediately “reincarnated” into another person. So the deception was quickly revealed, especially since police officers found books on psychiatry in the criminal’s house.

The film captures the shifting identities beautifully. To become a woman, McAvoy just needs to add a scarf, the rest is acting.

How to live with a person who has duality

Multiple personality syndrome negatively affects not only the patient, but also loved ones. A few recommendations for those who want to establish a relationship with a person who has ADHD:

• Down with rose-colored glasses. This is a disease that will take many years to treat. Maybe even in your lifetime you won’t be able to get rid of it completely.
• Be patient. The patient unknowingly began to suffer from DSD; everything happened due to a coincidence of serious circumstances in life.
• Get information from professionals. A good psychiatrist will be able to help in resolving the issue, but not friends who read somewhere that everything can be cured by using a magic pill.
• Don't panic! Keep in mind that when he switches from one personality to another, complex processes occur in the body. This is a real trauma that is difficult to overcome. Try to keep yourself in control and control the situation.
• Create an environment for him that will not be mentally disturbing. Try to reduce the number of nervous breakdowns.
• Pay attention to his condition. During this time, replenish your supplies of medications that block further development of the disease.
• Keep the situation under control. Pay attention to the moment at which it begins to “switch.” It could be a fit of rage.
• Don't take his words to heart. They just have to understand that at the moment his behavior is uncontrollable.
• Rest. Caring for someone with a nervous disorder is exhausting, so give yourself time to rest.

A huge number of films have been made about people with DSD, where they show their inner world in detail and demonstrate the disease. In life, everything happens differently. Two personalities are a set of symptoms that absolutely do not guarantee that a person will turn into an uncontrollable maniac. Many patients with dissociative identity disorder are completely harmless to society.

These are people with whom you can find a common language. If you choose the right treatment, the disease will not develop further. If we analyze the information from the site, we can say that such people are safe for society.

Bifurcation is a chronic disease, most often requiring more than five years to heal. Some people are cured, others are not.

Now you know that the body, in fact, can accommodate several personalities at the same time. And the most important rule is that they get along well and live like this for decades. The body can be ruled by one entity or another. The period of “reign” can last from a few minutes to months.

Periods of study of dissociative identity disorder. Historical reference

The history of the study of dissociative identity disorder (or, more correctly, dissociative identity disorder) is saturated with the spirit of romanticism, combined with silent delight and popularization of this phenomenon in wide circles.
So, perhaps, the first mentions of a kind of splitting, division of personality can be found in ancient rock paintings, when a shaman, carrying out his mystical ritual, reincarnates into a wolf, bird or other animal.

It may seem absurd to consider such symbolism as a kind of split personality, but it should be remembered that rock art dates back to the birth of the second human signaling system. And that is why the image of a shaman reincarnated as an animal is a powerful breakthrough in the consciousness of an ancient person in an attempt to understand the issue of duality or splitting of personality.

The first mention of split personality in medical scientific works dates back to the 16th century. The famous Swiss physician and philosopher Paracelsus mentions a woman who claimed that someone was constantly stealing her money. As it turned out later, she stole the money herself, but in a different state of consciousness, which she did not remember.

Further, the phenomenon of split consciousness begins to gain popularity not only in scientific, but also in ordinary circles. From the 1700s to the 1880s, due to the widespread dissemination of Mesmer's theory of individual magnetism, the phenomenon of dual personality was considered from these positions.

It was believed that split personality was the result of “personal magnetism,” a certain hypnotic influence that a particular person possessed. In other words, split personality was perceived as a kind of hypnotic state that a person could enter independently or under the influence of a hypnotist. While in such a state, the person spoke and behaved like some other person.

Beginning in the 1880s, ideas about split personality gradually began to change. The famous French doctor and psychologist Pierre Janet noted that in some people it is possible for a complex of ideas to split off from consciousness and for such a complex to exist as a kind of independent unit. P. Janet called this condition “dissociation,” which translated from Latin means “to be separated from society.”

At the end of the 19th century, the published book “Variations of Personality” by Bourru and Bourreau was a great success. The book described the story of a guy who had 6 personalities in his mind, each of which had its own “package” of memories and even contractions of certain muscle groups; each person acted independently of each other and did not know about each other’s existence.

Further references to multiple personalities that can coexist in one person are brief and fragmentary. Scientific minds of the late 18th and early 19th centuries closely observed and described those rare conditions that they interpreted as split personality. Stengel's statement in 1943 that the condition of multiple personalities no longer occurs...

Nevertheless, in the second half of the 20th century, the issue of multiple personalities became wildly popular in the widest circles of society. The book and film adaptation of “The Three Faces of Eve”, Flora Schreiber’s sensational bestseller “Sibyl” at that time, instantly gave the phenomenon of split personality a touch of tragic romanticism. And finally, Daniel Keyes’s 1981 documentary book about the guy Billy Milligan, in whom 24 personalities coexisted, became a kind of triumph in popularizing this phenomenon.

The phenomenon has ceased to be a phenomenon, it has lost its scientific character, medical harmony and consistency of thought, turning into a beautiful and romantic saga that makes the reader/viewer sigh at the events of the book or film and even envy the main characters...

Photo: https://www.sciencedebate2008.com/persons-of-william-stanley-milligan/

Such a frantic popularization of the phenomenon of multiple personalities today poses a completely logical and logical question to us: what is multiple personality actually? What is split personality and what are the main causes and symptoms of this condition?

How to detect identity substitution in time?

During a person's transition from one state, a brief fainting may occur. This is an instant action that goes unnoticed by the people around him. Even the patient can ignore this and live quietly in a similar situation for several years. In this case, medical assistance is necessary!

Split personality has a direct connection with the brain. With the processes that take place in it. But they have not been studied. Doctors cannot give an exact definition and answer to the phenomenon. It can be diagnosed and treated for multiple personality disorder for years, but there is no guarantee that a person will be able to overcome the disease completely. We can only guess about the origin of this process. There is an assumption that otherworldly forces were involved here...

Features of split personality

To understand the characteristics of multiple personality disorder, you need to watch the films “Fight Club” and “Me, Myself and Irene.” They clearly reflect what such a disease is.

Despite the body of knowledge, experts were not able to make a definitive diagnosis, since there were doubts about the existence of such a disorder. Today, personality disorder is defined as a disease.

Jim Carrey movie Me, Myself and Irene

There are some statistics recording a greater manifestation of this disease in English-speaking countries. Over the last 20 years of the twentieth century, more than 30 thousand people were diagnosed.

Despite the available figures, the disease is considered rare. In some cases, the decisive role is played by doctors who carelessly use special techniques that affect the psyche. Such an effect is called iatrogenic in the scientific community.