Inside Karen’s Crowded Mind

I haven't read the book but I am going to...I have a good friend who was diagnosed...I just feel the need to comment on certain things that were said by some...I think we are past that age where we look to "demons" as the asnwer...common cold is caused by germs as we now know...how anyone can take this topic and turn it into a religious discussion is beyond me...we live in the age where we are learning more and more about capabilieties of a mind and the mazez with in it....now to the person who said that developing seperate personalities is a way of escaspe,,,do you ever go to the movies? read a book? watch TV...these are forms of escape... Mental illness is still an illness and should be treated as such with compassion and understanding...

I haven't read the book but I am going to...I have a good friend who was diagnosed...I just feel the need to comment on certain things that were said by some...I think we are past that age where we look to "demons" as the asnwer...common cold is caused by germs as we now know...how anyone can take this topic and turn it into a religious discussion is beyond me...we live in the age where we are learning more and more about capabilieties of a mind and the mazez with in it....now to the person who said that developing seperate personalities is a way of escaspe,,,do you ever go to the movies? read a book? watch TV...these are forms of escape... Mental illness is still an illness and should be treated as such with compassion and understanding...

I haven't read the book but I am going to...I have a good friend who was diagnosed...I just feel the need to comment on certain things that were said by some...I think we are past that age where we look to "demons" as the asnwer...common cold is caused by germs as we now know...how anyone can take this topic and turn it into a religious discussion is beyond me...we live in the age where we are learning more and more about capabilieties of a mind and the mazez with in it....now to the person who said that developing seperate personalities is a way of escaspe,,,do you ever go to the movies? read a book? watch TV...these are forms of escape... Mental illness is still an illness and should be treated as such with compassion and understanding...

As one who has had did diagnosed for 25 years, and countless thereapies later, I find it disgusting that this doctor is making money off her suiffering. The likelyhood of her only have 17 alters after the type and length of abuse is zip to zero and allowing her to be interviewed for this book is dangerous. Once again, this book will not serve to gain understanding and respect for those brave and creative enough to endure this, it will allow those perpetrating these horrid crimes to go on unimpeded because there is so much controversy surrounding it.

I just posted. Although i agree that this disorder exists, like i said there are differrent reasons for it, But it certainly not a new topic. This topic was brought to light in the bokk and movie Sybill of which sally Field starred many years ago.

As an abused child for many years, and one who was raised in/out of orphanages/institutions where other abused children also resided, I must say that no one can know what it is like to constantly fight what the minds does when living in those conditions. Fortunately, I had a very strong willed mind, a tremendous amount of support and therapy, and was able to overcome most of the horrors. Unfortunately, other children I knew had weaker minds and did not find a way out of their own minds. I'm now 60 and have an adult physically and mentally handciapped son from a birth defect. It has taken his entire lifetime of therapy to help release his troubled mind. He sees a therapist weekly and lives a very normal life. If one has never known the true depts of fear-horror-abuse-loneliness-and the ways one tries to get away from those mind controlling emotions, then one can never pass judgment on another who may have these battles to fight. The mind is a mystery that no human being will ever completely solve. Please have compassion for those with mysterious illnesses of the mind and thank your lucky stars that we have people trying to help them every single day. I believe there's a saying that eveyone is mentally ill to a certain extent. A true hearted person would look in the mirror and wonder what is there own level. God bless the minds that do not work right and God help those who try to make their lives easier.

Severe nutritional disorers and allergies are known to also cause personality disorders such as schizophrenia. I had a friend iwho was confined to a mental institution adn he was treated with vitamins and couseling. Traumatic experiences such as child molestation can also casue personality dieesorders, in many cases such as thi, i think the rott of the problem needs to be addressed, many times there is someone who traumatized the hell out of the sick person, The person who traunmatized needs to be blamed for this diesorder sometimes,

I am certainly glad that there are doctors like Dr. Baer and Dr. Spiegel who are "sensitive to human frailty " and aware of the reality of the existence of that frailty in spite of what many other people think about this phenomenon. There are big differences in the chemical, emotional, and genetic make-up of women versus men from the get-go. Men, in general, have difficulty in believing in female problems and the delicate female psyche BECAUSE THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED IT. It does not mean something does not exist.
I praise God that these two men, along with other doctors and nurses, have been so patient, long-suffering, unselfish, and respectful of these people who were so badly damaged during their childhoods.

I am glad for the discussion Baer's book is generating. So many abuse victims who have coped through D.I.D., like I did for 45 years, are still so ashamed of the abuse and the disorder. But there's nothing to be ashamed about. That's why I wrote THE CRACKED POT: FINDING GRACE IN THE CRACKS OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE. I want to give those who are suffering in silence hope. www.acrackedpot.com

most challenging? there are 33 of us. and we're not going to "integrate". why would we want to be alone, have some of us disappear, not know who's going to be left, and for god sake WHY would we wanna process all that trauma? oh well. ppl write books for profit all the time, regardless of how stupid they are. but i do hope this lady feels happier.

On that note, I'll say this. There is a lot of this type abuse where children are adopted, and the CPS and adoption agency doesn't do their job and look in on the adopted children, take them away from the family for ice cream, and ask specific questions to determine pedifile abuse. Hopefully one day this will change. Until then, adopted children are targets for this type of abuse. And then there are the others that aren't adopted, of course. It is a strange world, a fallen world, this is why we see such depravity, and we have always see this over the entire course of human history. Sad, but true.

This is nothing new, , This subject was made renowned in the ture life movie Sybill which Sally Field starrted in many years ago. It is also a known fact that severe vitamin deficiences can cause maic or schizophrenic behavior, as can severe allergies to substances. Other traumatic experiences such as child molestation can do this also. I dont mean to make light of this, because it can be very serious. But Im saying this is no new topic whatsoever.

This is nothing new, as recounted in the story of Sybill. , portrayed by Sally Fied in the 1970's. It is also a known medical fact that severe deficiencies in certain nutrients can cause mainc or schizophrenic behavior. Im sorry but I dont fin this subject anything new at all, but definitiely worth discussing.

this is very true. I took care of a person with MPD .While in my care I worked with her Doctor and was able to uncover 150 different persoalities and the sub gruops and their abuse . It was totally amazing thing to see.

I experienced a similar situation though my childhood abuse was not even nearly as bad as Karen had.
As I became a teenager, around the age of 15 or so, I recognized another person within myself.
She was completely opposite from me, different face, hair, personality. She was like mother or big sister
to me and we used to talk. She will comfort me when I was in too much pain and protected me from
harm by taking the "hit" from my abuser. Now I do understand she was my "other" persona but while you are
going through such abuse, you don't know you created them. As I became an adult, I had to go through extensive therapy to recognize and realize that person (her name was "nephty") was me.
As of today, I am happily married and lead a normal life but I am here to tell you that MPD truly does exist.

demonic possession is described in the bible in a different. To assume that a person is demonically possessed simply from their mind adjusting to an abusive situation is a bit unresearched. As there are cases of demonic possession, having different personalities to survive severe abuse isn't one of them. It actually a gift that the person has to curvive, that's all. The hard part is when something in their lives triggers these memories and brings the multiple personalities to the surface not integrated. Actually, everyone has this ability, some more than others, as the number of suicides prove this. It is a situation few understand unless they live it, and fewer to diagnose it. Many doctors will say, bi-polar, prozac, next, where it takes a skilled therapist to actually identify a true multiple. I have lived with one for 24 years, and I just love being married to 7 people in one mind. I love every personality she has, and have developed a relationship with each one over the years. She is a saved Christiian. Loves Jesus. Not a demon near her. So try to look outside the area of the misunderstanding and see the truth as it is. Thankfully, the abuser now is dead from prostate cancer. Amen!

I once had a neighbor who abused her children and let them witness horrible acts of drug use and sexual perversion. We found out later through this womans Mother and Father, that one of the children had a few diffrent personalities to deal with all the unspeakable things going on around him. Poor baby was only 4