Inside Karen’s Crowded Mind

losed spirits enter our minds and bodies and we act diferently uder they influence

it;s a spiritual p[ossesion..demonic

I am someone with D.I.D. I was diagnosed in april of 2003. Therapy has been hard, but life is better then it has ever been. The ones I feel sorry for are those that for what ever reason feel they need to attack those of us who do have this disorder and the profesionals who understand and treat such patients. For more info on D.I.D go to www.I.S.S.T.D.com
My memories are not "unreal or made up" My memeories can all be proved by talking to family memebers and others who knew my family. These are not some thoughts or ideas put into my head by ??? bad theories or by bad therapy???. These are the memories of horrific abuse growing up. An interesting point is the fact that I have had these memories, symptoms and other ???personas??? that have different jobs to do long, long before I ever saw a physiatrist or therapist.
As Jane Phillips states in her Prologue, of The Magic Daughter, ???In 1994, Multiple Personality Disorder disappeared from the DSM IV. And, four years into my treatment for MPD, I was glad to see it go. ???Personality??? conjures too many false images in the minds of the general public, as well as, perhaps, in the minds of patients and clinicians. Language is a powerful thing: it creates images and conjures expectations.??????

??????MPD is now called Dissociative Identity Disorder, and the change is very much for the good. The diagnostic criteria are more accurate, and the emphasis now falls where it should; on the dissociative process and on ???identities??? which can be far more subtle and far more fragmented than our vernacular ear expects from ???personalities
In 1980, for the first time, The ???American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistic Manual??? ( D.S.M. IV). include Multiple Personality Disorder. In 1994, due to a better understanding of the condition, the name was changed and appeared in the revised D.S.M. V as Dissociative Identity Disorder, ( D.I.D.)
I am a human being who was treated, at a very young age with such horrific abuse by the very people who were suppose to love and protect me, that the only way I could survive was to ???create??? others to take on the physical and emotional pain. What is so hard to understand about that?

I am someone with D.I.D. I was diagnosed in april of 2003. Therapy has been hard, but life is better then it has ever been. The ones I feel sorry for are those that for what ever reason feel they need to attack those of us who do have this disorder and the profesionals who understand and treat such patients. For more info on D.I.D go to www.I.S.S.T.D.com
My memories are not "unreal or made up" My memeories can all be proved by talking to family memebers and others who knew my family. These are not some thoughts or ideas put into my head by ??? bad theories or by bad therapy???. These are the memories of horrific abuse growing up. An interesting point is the fact that I have had these memories, symptoms and other ???personas??? that have different jobs to do long, long before I ever saw a physiatrist or therapist.
As Jane Phillips states in her Prologue, of The Magic Daughter, ???In 1994, Multiple Personality Disorder disappeared from the DSM IV. And, four years into my treatment for MPD, I was glad to see it go. ???Personality??? conjures too many false images in the minds of the general public, as well as, perhaps, in the minds of patients and clinicians. Language is a powerful thing: it creates images and conjures expectations.??????

??????MPD is now called Dissociative Identity Disorder, and the change is very much for the good. The diagnostic criteria are more accurate, and the emphasis now falls where it should; on the dissociative process and on ???identities??? which can be far more subtle and far more fragmented than our vernacular ear expects from ???personalities
In 1980, for the first time, The ???American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistic Manual??? ( D.S.M. IV). include Multiple Personality Disorder. In 1994, due to a better understanding of the condition, the name was changed and appeared in the revised D.S.M. V as Dissociative Identity Disorder, ( D.I.D.)
I am a human being who was treated, at a very young age with such horrific abuse by the very people who were suppose to love and protect me, that the only way I could survive was to ???create??? others to take on the physical and emotional pain. What is so hard to understand about that?

The brain is marvelously made. I think this is one way of protecting us from too much pressure. Our bodies were not made to absorb that amount of pressure.

The brain is marvelously made - I think this is one way it has devised to protect the individual, when the pressure is too much. Our bodies were really not made to handle that amount of pressure.

I have bipolar disorder and was also diagnosed with a disassociative disorder although not D.I.D. Even now, when I am in a situation where someone is screaming or yelling, even a preacher, a part of me shuts down, and "she" listens to it so I don't have to. If I am in an uncomfortable situation, a part of me shuts down and "she" takes over, and it's as if I am watching a play of a television program. When something bad happened, it happened to "her", in my thought processes. "She" never had a name. I always knew that the unpleasant things were happening to me, and I remembered them, but more like I was watching an actress portray me, while the real me watched. Now when "she" pops out, I say to myself, "no, I can handle this because it's me." I never thought in terms of we or us, but "she" was certainly a buffer for many years. My therapist said "she" was my coping mechanism . I wonder how many cases of disassociation such as I experienced have been diagnosed as D.I,D?

This is, as I understand also, DID. I have studied psychology and I understand the skepticism but, I do know that it's possible to have DID because I've had it for years and I've been diagnosed with everything but what it is. It is easy for me to deal with because it is a form of protection and self preservation since childhood but, it is difficult for family to understand and this makes it very difficult to have a normal and healthy relationship.
I don't understand the extremes of having many many personalities but, I do know that if you have DID, you know it and you don't need anyone to suggest or tell you that you have it.

Does anyone know how this book holds up to "When Rabbit Howls?" That is also a book about a woman with DID and is generally accepted as factual.

Are you people commenting to the above cause I don't know what you are getting from what you read. Exspecialy Cheesy1 what you said I don't know what you are comeing from. Am I reading something other than you?

cruelty aside, it's amazing how such obvious, seemingly simplistic methods were effective in reintegrating Karen's mind. i like to think of the brain as a very complicated computer. the fact that it is possible to repair it via ordinary human contact is indicative of just how well "programmed" it is! natural selection is a truly meticulous engineer...

one could respond, "obviously, the brain works well with human contact because it evolved in a human environment" but lets ignore these trivialities that are drilled into us day by day, and marvel at the near infinity of cases our minds are able to handle

I'm just so surprised as to how many people claim that DID is not real or that's not true but they never state their background in the issue. I mean if you are trying to make the point, I would believe you a little more if you claim to be a psychiatrist or some PhD in mental health or soemthing. Because of this, I would believe the article more than a post on the comments. At least the article name names from the field like so and so from Harvard and so and so from Stanford....

I'm just so surprised as to how many people claim that DID is not real or that's not true but they never state their background in the issue. I mean if you are trying to make the point, I would believe you a little more if you claim to be a psychiatrist or some PhD in mental health or soemthing. Because of this, I would believe the article more than a post on the comments. At least the article name names from the field like so and so from Harvard and so and so from Stanford....

Finally!!! I am so glad to see that there are others that really do believe in MPD, too. My late wife was diagnosed in 1991 as Multiple and in the insuing 12 years that followed I met and dealt with, to various degrees, well over 200 different personalities. I, and our son, learned how to deal with the constant changes and problems associated with MPD. Initially, in 1990, when the major issues began and diagnoses followed life for 'her family' was totally out of control. One day she was home the next who knows? But as time and 'therapy' passed, we all came to know and trust one another and live as a family. Massive doses of medication did wonders!! If you consider being a 'zombie' as living. In time, medicine was put aside and 'the family' learned to depend on each other, and their 'outside family' to cope. Integration was considered in early stages but was never attempted as control was gained by inner trust. I grew to depend on certain members of 'the family' to keep me updated on the inner happenings and how others were doing. Not all were willing to openly talk to me but would talk to others inside. The outside world, for the most part, never knew what was going on or why. Only very few trusted personal friends of my wife knew. Her personal family physician did not know until I told him years down the road. I think, down deep inside, he had an idea since there were instances of variances in her behavior but he never mentioned it. We all survived multiple suicide attempts, drunken brawls, verbal arguements and some happy times until my son and I lost her in 2003 following acute pneumonia/surgery. Some day maybe I will write a book about our lives and how we were able to remain a family. Most don't!!!! Maybe I can help some other family remain a family thru it all!