Alter Personalities

When I studied psychology in school my professors breezed over what is termed - Dissociative Disorder (formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder). In the industry it is difficult to prove this ailment, as it is to prove Fibromyalgia - a chronic pain disorder. Trust me, the two ailments do exist.

I wrote my doctorale dissertation on a client I treated who had ten alter personalities. What is an alter personality? It is another aspect within ourselves that simply takes over without our knowledge. How do people become aware of their aspects? Others will fill them in on the blanks in their mind, or a remnant of a memory will suddenly come to consciousness. Ten alters? Yes, let me explain.

When the mind is developing - usually in the first eight years of life, any traumatic experience that are too intense for a person to handle can fragment the mind. This is why I am an advocate of shielding children from any type of violence, especially the type that is often shown on television. With the mind shattered, a part may hide deep in our subconsciousness and may surface time to time - especially when a person is under incredible stress and the other fragments of the mind fail to function. People who have split personalities often describe periods in which they lose time, wake up suddenly out of a fog, and try to put the pieces back together. These time periods can last a day, a week, a year, or even longer. In a "Fugue state", people in an alter state can create a new persona. They can take on a new name, a new job, and move to a new town. They have literally become a new person! All it takes is for somebody to recognize them and their new identity comes crashing to the ground.

Yes this is a real phenomenon. In my private practice I have treated three people with this ailment with good success. At the crisis center I have seen maybe twenty in eight years. How do we treat somebody with this disorder? It takes handling somebody with this horrific background a certain sensitivity and gentle touch. On the client side, they need to learn to trust somebody fully. In order for us to piece somebody back together, they need to be willing to let us in. Treating somebody with this ailment is humbling. It is an honor to work with somebody who is willing to address the pain of the past and be willing themselves to honor, love, and listen to the desires of their submerged parts.

Today a client came in with this ailment. The stories of the horrors they faced in their youth was difficult to imagine. A huge part of me opened my heart to what they went through. It isn't therapuetic to get angry and want revenge. I used to take that route and found it was fruitless. Now I focus only on the part inside of them that went through it, honor it, love it, and create a format for the client to openly dialogue with it in a place of care and love. If the client latches onto the tools, the healing that results is unsurpassed!!

God bless everyone with this ailment that has gone untreated. Please, please, please let a professional help end your suffering. When love is applied to hurt, even the most difficult issues can heal.

Peace.