- it often elicits either intense fascination or strong disbelief;
- some people are convinced
that it is caused by manipulative therapists (called Iatrogenesis, see GLOSSARY);
- the media often exploits the “exotic” aspects of the condition and lead people to simply shake their heads in amazement rather than to understand the real essence of the condition;
- it may lead us to wonder what personality really is(see What is personality?);
- often people ask “Aren’t we all really multiple?”
AREN’T
WE ALL REALLY MULTIPLE?
In a way we are.
We all have different sides to our personality and different roles we play in our day-to-day life.
For example, we may be a certain way at work, as an employee or boss, but quite different at home as a spouse or parent.
We
also all have ambivalent feelings about something from time to time. “A part of
me wants this and another part doesn’t”. With someone who is multiple, they may
have separate personalities to hold these differences so they are more
compartmentalized and separate. In turn, those personalities can get into
conflict over an issue and cause a lot of difficulty for the person
However ….
The
changes in your roles and different sides may be a lot smoother, less extreme
and much more acceptable than someone who is multiple.
In
the end, what separates someone with the condition from someone with simply many
sides to their personality is that multiple personality is most often, (about 99%)
caused by trauma in childhood.
WHY
IS THERE SO MUCH SKEPTICISM IN
THE MEDICAL FIELD?
- it was, and still is to some degree, considered a very rare and bizarre condition. This has scared off many professionals from wanting to treat it.
- some therapists have been afraid of what their colleagues might think of them if they are treating someone with the condition. They fear others will think them gullible and easily manipulated.
