Is there any connection between Multiple Personaly Disorder and any other disorders or conditions?

Answer 1

If you are someone with MPD, also called Dissociative Identity Disorder, do not believe 99% of what you hear from others on the internet or elsewhere. Also, realize finding a therapist who actually knows how to properly treat MPD will take research and effort. How do I know? I am someone with MPD. I've seen all the problems in the mental health system. I've read most of the books out there and they are not factual and are too often writen by a therapist whose not an expert. I've known 20 or more other MPD's.

MPD is not related in anyway to Schizophrenia, regardless of what others try to tell you, even some doctors still in error believe this, despite the proof it's not related to Schizophrenia or other psychotic type disorders in any way.

Schizophrenia is the existance of one personality, not more, that is unable to work properly. I know TV makes it seem like MPD and Schizophrenia are one in the same, but they are not.

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that cannot be cured, other then by a miracle. Whereas MPD is 100% cureable in a realtively short time, about two years, with the correct treatment. Schizophrenic need meds, MPD's usually only have problems with most MPD's because what works for one personality, such as anti-anxiety drugs or antidepressants, either doesn't work for other alters within the system or actually causes them problems.

MPD is a disorder that comes about in early childhood and is a highly functional means dealing with severe on going abuse that can't be excaped. It can also be caused if a child has one major traumatic experience from which they could not escape. Such as I heard the story of a girl who after a plane crashed and she was the only survivor who as a two year old sat among her parents and others bodies all day long until she was found. This severely traumatic situation that was too overwhelming for her caused the first alter to be developed by her to cope with what was too horrible to believe and for which at her age she had not other means of dealing with it.

MPD's often have other disorders such as eating disorders, often have various alters who cut or do other self-harm, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is present in every case of MPD. PTSD is hyper arrousal, meanimg they startle easily. Other PTSD symptoms include problems with sleep and having flash backs related to the abuse. All MPD's experiences throughout their growing up years, in varying degrees, what is referred to as lost time. Meaning they remember going for a walk, but have no idea how they got home and now it's a day, a week or month later adn they can't remember what happened to that day, week or month. WHY? Because an alter was out during that time and they were inside their internal world.

MPD's can have alters who have symptoms of other disorder, but that is just part of being MPD, as each alter will have their own issues, ways in which they learned to cope, etc. Like an alter may be hyper when out, not sleep, so they end up mis-diagnosed as bi-polar, but are not. Bi-polar you never get over, it's for life. Most MPD's because of the vast variety of symptoms if you include the symptoms of each alter, they end up being mis-diagnosed for years. Also because most psychirists, psychologists adn social workers do not have the needed experience or training to recognize the many ways in which an MPD will present, symptom wise, when seeking therapy.

In all my years of doing research on a book I'm writing, most therapists sadly are horribly mis-informed about this disorder; many claim it's not a real disorder, despite the fact it was first recognized in the 1400's. Until more people better understand that all children dissociate to some degree as they are developing and until we as a society understand that the mind can do far more then we give it credit for in order to survive, many will deny the existance of MPD and other dissociative disorders.

Society can accept that a man or woman can go off to war and develop PTSD as a result of severe trauma, but we don't want to believe that children who don't have the means of asking for help during severe abuse, will develop ways to cop with that abuse, becuase tehir mind is still very flexiable and doesn't limit its self as to what it can do or can't do to cope.

Sadly less then 2% of therapist's have any idea how to properly diagnose and then treat people with MPD.

In the 1980's several therapists in the USA and elsewhere were making great progress in treating MPD, but most give up because it is time consumming and even though it's 100% currable, they'd rather drug people then help them do all the hard work to reclaim their past in full and be healed. Many mental health centers in the USA have even gone as far as to tell their therapists that if you think you are seeing the symptoms of MPD, you are wrong, diagnose them anything else. Only in psychiatry is such behavior encouraged and allowed.

I'd recommend you read the following books, especially if you or someone you love is MPD. 'MPD from the Inside Out', it can be obtained through most books stores, though they'll have to order it, it will cost about $20.00 with tax. If they ask who produces it, it's the Sidran Press. Another book I and anyone I've shared it with who has been abused, MPD or not, has benefited highly from is called Confronting Abuse, an LDS Perspective. LDS as in the LDS faith, but most people I have known were not LDS who read it and still said it did more to help them then any other book they had read in trying to help their self deal with their abuse.

MPD's are not considered psychotic. All MPD's are known to be highly intelligent. All MPD's seem to have alters with dyslexia and other learning disorder, but suprisingly as they heal and naturally integrate into one new singular personality, the dyslexia goes away all together or substantially improves as does the other learning problems. MPD's unlike TV makes it sound can protect themselves physically when needed as adults, but they are not, I repeat, are not a danger to anyone else and do not go around harming others.

If you need a therapist, really investigate them. See what experience they have. Have they had sucess in fulling healing a MPD to find totaly healing. If they claim they have, ask them if they'll contact this person and allow you to talk to them. I found many therapist lie about having been successful in treating MPD. If you are stuck at a County Mental Health Center, know something I wish I'd known. They must by law bring in a specialist if they do not have the specialist and proof they can provide the MPD with specialised treatment. They don't want to do this, so you'll need to write to your State's Department of Health and Human Services and insist that you as a person with MPD, who doesn't have the income to pay for private care, need them to insist that your local County Mental Health center pay to bring in a specialist to treat you. They'll fight you on this, but it's the law, something I dind't know when I wasted 9 years of my life at a County Mental Health center. Don't assume thought that private therapists are much better; really take your time interviewing a private therapist, because you need someone who'll work with you, not dictate to you and seek to control you adn your alters. In reality you know you and your alters better then tehy do, they are there to help, not control and dictate what you adn your alters need to heal, but most will try. The sign of a well trained MPD therapist, is they will not seek to control you, they will use you and your alters as guides and be there as a support to help you all as you all share what happened in your past that caused you all to become MPD. They will not tell you or alters you have to integrate, because they'll know that integration will happen on it's own as you heal, in it's own way. They will not tell you all to integrate into some original personality, as there is no original, MPD began long before any original personality was solitified. Personality is not fully developed in even normal people before about age 25. A qualified MPD therapist will not try to hospitalize you all the time, because they'll know hospitalization often only makes things worse and leads to the person becoming diabled by their problems. They'll work with you to find medications to help anxiety or depression, but will understand it's your choice and that the reality is meds in MPD's seldom help or work for everyone in the MPD system. I had an alter that even when I took high dosage sleeping pills to try and sleep all night, would still wake up and go about having fun at night, totally unaffected by the sleeping pill as friends could attest to this fact.

MPD's do not HEAR voices like a Schizophrenic does, even though we may say we hear a voice before we know how to properly explain that it's more like we receive thoughts we know we didn't think, but can't figure out how that is possible. IF you are not MPD yourself, do this and this will show you what MPD's hear, better put preceive as hearing. Say a sentence to yourself in your mind. DID YOU HEAR IT? NO you didn't, your ears heard nothing. It was a thought.

It is more appropriately like thought transference, you do not hear an external voice. Learn to speak with your alters and do not allow a therapist to tell you that you can only speak to your alters with their help. You've been doing it all your life, but just didn't know it. It's when you have a thought in your mind, you wonder where that thought came from. That's usually alters trying to talk to you.

Never allow a therapist to use anti-psychotics on you or it will make the dissociation of MPD worse, not better, same thing goes for the miss-use of BETA BLOCKERS which is way too common right now. Many therapists are mis-using this drug group, becuase the MPD will say they don't think they are switching anymore while using a beta blocker. The truth is, the Beta Blockers just make them less aware of the switching. The goal of therapy is to become aware of when you switch and learn to have yourself and all alters work together, not against each other.

I hope I have been able to answer your question and help you if yourself or someone you care about is MPD.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

Schizophrenia has NOTHING to do with what USED to be called Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Now it's called Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

DID is a spectrum disorder, meaning that it can range from really mild stuff to really severe problems. The classic example of disassociation is when you're driving and just lose track of things and find yourself at home or another familiar destination with no memory of having driven yourself there. You did it on autopilot.

The most severe form of DID is what used to be called MPD, where someone goes through such severe trauma - usually at a really young age - that the only way the mind can deal with it at all is by dissociating into different personas, or "splitting." Sometimes, for instance, one persona only comes out during abuse, or if the person is actively threatened. Some people might just have one hidden persona, perhaps the "child" self who experienced the abuse and remembers it, while others supposed have many different "people" who might be of either gender and many different ages. I've even heard of people who claim that some of their "alters" aren't human at all.

It's important to realize that these personas are NOT full personalities, beings, or "souls" - they aren't PEOPLE. There's one PERSON there, although they might FEEL like there are multiple personalities inside them.

There's still a lot of controversy about DID. Nobody denies the fact that people disassociate. The controversy is about whether or not multiple personalities truly exist - the most severe form of DID - or whether those who think they have them have had that suggested to them, either by things they've heard or read, or by therapists. While I'm not a professional, it is my understanding that MOST behavioral health professionals who work with child abuse survivors are very much convinced that DID/MPD is absolutely real, and don't waste their time talking to the doubters.

As for how DID is connected with other disorders or conditions, I read within the last few years that severe DID is considered to be an extreme form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which in itself is an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are often accompanied by depression. People who have PTSD, can develop obsessive-compulsive-like behaviors (OCD is another anxiety disorder).

Some people who have been severely abused engage in self-harming behaviors, and substance abuse or other addictions are also commonly comorbid.

Answer 3

Yes. It is most often associated with Borderline Personality Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. And, it is called Dissociative Identity Disorder now, not Multiple Personality. It is also a popular illness of malingerers who like to stay in the hospital. It is really rare to find an actual case of DID.

Answer 4

Actually most of the mental disorders (bipolar, personality disorders, depression, many more) overlap somewhat. For instance, I have depression and ADHD with a little bit of OCD. It is very common to have mainly one diagnosis, with some symptoms of another one too.

Answer 5

Schizophrenia is similar to Multiple Personality Disorder

Answer 6

Multilple Personality Disorder used to be included in Schizophrenia, then became a diagnosis of it's own. Not everyone who is Schizophrenic has Multilple Personality Disorder, but many think that all Multilple Personality Disorder people have Schizophrenia.

Answer 7

That is why it is called multiple personality disorder. You have more than one so the answer would be yes.

Answer 8

If i remember MPSD is its own thing however if i remember correctly schizophrenics hear voices and have conversations with people that aren't really there but they don't usually have another personality surface to fight for them or whatever.

Answer 9

Schizophrenia?

Answer 10

The voices tell me yes!

Answer 11

It is just another con.