The following is a template for your health update. Follow the form and directions to complete
your assignment correctly (the example is in bold).
Name
Date
Period
Health Update ______
Topic:
Summary: (You need to find two sources about your topic, read the sources and summarize the
information. Be sure your sources are valid and come from the approved websites. Also, make
sure you get enough information to cover the topic adequately. Finally, make sure you
parenthetically cite your information)
Dissociative disorder is defined as the existence of two or more distinct personalities
coexisting within one person (Scrof 2).
Relevance: (This is a short section of 2-3 sentences about why you picked this subject, what you
learned and how it affects you)
I watched an interesting video on this disorder and wanted to find out more about it…
Works Cited
Schrof, Joannie. “Questioning Sybil.” U.S. News and World Report. 27 January 1997.
Platinum Proquest. Web. 4 January 2010.
“What is a Multiple.” Understanding Mental Illness. N.p.2 September 2009. Web. 4
January 2010.
Jim Smith
Freshman Seminar
Period 4
Health Update #1
Topic: Multiple Personality Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder
Summary:
Perhaps the most interesting mental illness is multiple personality disorder. To think that
the human mind could splinter in to different personalities is fascinating to most of us. Formerly
referred to as multiple personality disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder is characterized by 2
or more identities or personalities within a single individual. It is a disease thought to begin in
childhood in response to repeated traumatic or overwhelming life experiences. Some examples
of trauma are physical or sexual abuse, wartime experiences or relocation, or even long and
painful medical experiences such as chemotherapy. In fact, in studies of patients with DID, a
range of 70% to 95% of patients reported childhood abuse. It is thought that the traumatizing
circumstances and poor relationships with caretakers disrupt the normal consolidation of
personal identity. The traumatic memories are “encapsulated to permit development in other
areas of life such as academics and social life. The outcome is that a person embodies a number
of concrete independent states”. The case of “Sybil” depicted in the movie shows a person who
developed 16 different identities to get away from painful memories of abuse inflicted on her
when she was a very young child. Before that movie was made there were only 40 known cases
of DID in the world. After the book was published those numbers have gone up to the point
where 1 in 100 people suffer from some form of this disease (Schrof 66).
Most people with DID do not have the separate and distinct identity fracturing, but rather
have different facets of their personality that come out and dominate. They don’t black out, they
don’t commit murders, they don’t lose years of their life to other personalities. They rather just
feel fractured, they don’t feel whole or in control, they feel as if any of the other characteristics
can take charge of their body at any time. However, patients with DID typically do have
amnesia as they can not remember important events in their life, and they can have blackout
phases in which recent events are unable to be recalled. They also experience fluctuations in
personalities and talents. “Some patients actually have variable blood pressures, blood glucose
levels, changes in visual acuity (eyesight) and variable responses to drugs and treatments with
the shifting of identities. The good news is there is treatment that helps people with DID
integrate all these personalities into one. The treatment may take a long time, but with therapy
the patients log and monitor emotions so that they can identify possible triggers that will set off
an identity. They also work on coping mechanisms such as setting goals, creating schedules and
being organized. Finally, they develop a crisis plan to help them respond to stressful situations
(“What is a Multiple” 3).
Relevance:
We just watched the movie Sybil and I found the subject fascinating. I wanted to know if
the movie was factual. I discovered that some multiples do act like Sybil, but most are less
extreme. While some people think DID does not exist, I believe it does based on the research I
completed.