Multiple Personality Disorder/ Dissociative Identity Disorder

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Dear Anna,

 

Namaste.

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Medical Background:

 

Recently considered rare and mysterious psychiatric

curiosities, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

(previously known as Multiple Personality

Disorder-MPD) and other Dissociative Disorders are now

understood to be fairly common effects of severe

trauma in early childhood, most typically extreme,

repeated physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse.

 

In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994),

Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) was changed to

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), reflecting

changes in professional understanding of the disorder

resulting from significant empirical research.

 

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), widely accepted

as a major mental illness affecting 8% of the general

population in the United States, is closely related to

Dissociative Disorders. In fact, 80-100% of people

diagnosed with a Dissociative Disorder also have a

secondary diagnosis of PTSD. The personal and societal

cost of trauma disorders is extremely high. Recent

research suggests the risk of suicide attempts among

people with trauma disorders may be even higher than

among people who have major depression. In addition,

there is evidence that people with trauma disorders

have higher rates of alcoholism, chronic medical

illnesses, and abusiveness in succeeding generations.

 

Dissociation is a mental process, which produces a

lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories,

feelings, actions, or sense of identity. During the

period of time when a person is dissociating, certain

information is not associated with other information

as it normally would be. For example, during a

traumatic experience, a person may dissociate the

memory of the place and circumstances of the trauma

from his ongoing memory, resulting in a temporary

mental escape from the fear and pain of the trauma

and, in some cases, a memory gap surrounding the

experience. Because this process can produce changes

in memory, people who frequently dissociate often find

their senses of personal history and identity are

affected.

 

Most clinicians believe that dissociation exists on a

continuum of severity. This continuum reflects a wide

range of experiences and/or symptoms. At one end are

mild dissociative experiences common to most people,

such as daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or " getting

lost " in a book or movie, all of which involve " losing

touch " with conscious awareness of one's immediate

surroundings. At the other extreme is complex, chronic

dissociation, such as in cases of Dissociative

Disorders, which may result in serious impairment or

inability to function. Some people with Dissociative

Disorders can hold highly responsible jobs,

contributing to society in a variety of professions,

the arts, and public service -- appearing to function

normally to coworkers, neighbors, and others with whom

they interact daily.

 

There is a great deal of overlap of symptoms and

experiences among the various Dissociative Disorders,

including DID. For the sake of clarity, here we will

refer to Dissociative Disorders as a collective term.

Individuals should seek help from qualified mental

health providers to answer questions about their own

particular circumstances and diagnoses.

 

When faced with overwhelmingly traumatic situations

from which there is no physical escape, a child may

resort to " going away " in his or her head. Children

typically use this ability as an extremely effective

defense against acute physical and emotional pain, or

anxious anticipation of that pain. By this

dissociative process, thoughts, feelings, memories,

and perceptions of the traumatic experiences can be

separated off psychologically, allowing the child to

function as if the trauma had not occurred.

 

Dissociative Disorders are often referred to as a

highly creative survival technique because they allow

individuals enduring " hopeless " circumstances to

preserve some areas of healthy functioning. Over time,

however, for a child who has been repeatedly

physically and sexually assaulted, defensive

dissociation becomes reinforced and conditioned.

Because the dissociative escape is so effective,

children who are very practiced at it may

automatically use it whenever they feel threatened or

anxious -- even if the anxiety-producing situation is

not extreme or abusive.

 

Often, even after the traumatic circumstances are long

past, the left-over pattern of defensive dissociation

remains. Chronic defensive dissociation may lead to

serious dysfunction in work, social, and daily

activities.

 

Repeated dissociation may result in a series of

separate entities, or mental states, which may

eventually take on identities of their own. These

entities may become the internal " personality states "

of a DID system. Changing between these states of

consciousness is often described as " switching. "

 

Symptoms of DID

 

People with Dissociative Disorders may experience any

of the following: depression, mood swings, suicidal

tendencies, sleep disorders (insomnia, night terrors,

and sleep walking), panic attacks and phobias

(flashbacks, reactions to stimuli or " triggers " ),

alcohol and drug abuse, compulsions and rituals,

psychotic-like symptoms (including auditory and visual

hallucinations), and eating disorders. In addition,

individuals with Dissociative Disorders can experience

headaches, amnesias, time loss, trances, and " out of

body experiences. " Some people with Dissociative

Disorders have a tendency toward self-persecution,

self-sabotage, and even violence (both self-inflicted

and outwardly directed).

 

The vast majority (as many as 98 to 99%) of

individuals who develop Dissociative Disorders have

documented histories of repetitive, overwhelming, and

often life-threatening trauma at a sensitive

developmental stage of childhood (usually before the

age of nine), and they may possess an inherited

biological predisposition for dissociation. In our

culture the most frequent precursor to Dissociative

Disorders is extreme physical, emotional, and sexual

abuse in childhood, but survivors of other kinds of

trauma in childhood (such as natural disasters,

invasive medical procedures, war, kidnapping, and

torture) have also reacted by developing Dissociative

Disorders.

 

Current research shows that DID may affect 1% of the

general population and perhaps as many as 5-20% of

people in psychiatric hospitals, many of whom have

received other diagnoses. The incidence rates are even

higher among sexual-abuse survivors and individuals

with chemical dependencies. These statistics put

Dissociative Disorders in the same category as

schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, as one of the

four major mental health problems today.

 

Most current literature shows that Dissociative

Disorders are recognized primarily among females. The

latest research, however, indicates that the disorders

may be equally prevalent (but less frequently

diagnosed) among the male population. Men with

Dissociative Disorders are most likely to be in

treatment for other mental illnesses or drug and

alcohol abuse, or they may be incarcerated.

 

Dissociative Disorders survivors often spend years

living with misdiagnoses, consequently floundering

within the mental health system. They change from

therapist to therapist and from medication to

medication, getting treatment for symptoms but making

little or no actual progress. Research has documented

that on average, people with Dissociative Disorders

have spent seven years in the mental health system

prior to accurate diagnosis. This is common, because

the list of symptoms that cause a person with a

Dissociative Disorder to seek treatment is very

similar to those of many other psychiatric diagnoses.

In fact, many people who are diagnosed with

Dissociative Disorders also have secondary diagnoses

of depression, anxiety, or panic disorders.

 

DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAVE " MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES " ?

 

Yes, and no. One of the reasons for the decision by

the psychiatric community to change the disorder's

name from Multiple Personality Disorder to

Dissociative Identity Disorder is that " multiple

personalities " is somewhat of a misleading term. A

person diagnosed with DID feels as if she has within

her two or more entities, or personality states, each

with its own independent way of relating, perceiving,

thinking, and remembering about herself and her life.

If two or more of these entities take control of the

person's behavior at a given time, a diagnosis of DID

can be made. These entities previously were often

called " personalities, " even though the term did not

accurately reflect the common definition of the word

as the total aspect of our psychological makeup. Other

terms often used by therapists and survivors to

describe these entities are: " alternate

personalities, " " alters, " " parts, " " states of

consciousness, " " ego states, " and " identities. " It is

important to keep in mind that although these

alternate states may appear to be very different, they

are all manifestations of a single person.

 

Dissociative Disorders are highly responsive to

individual psychotherapy, or " talk therapy, " as well

as to a range of other treatment modalities, including

medications, hypnotherapy, and adjunctive therapies

such as art or movement therapy. In fact, among

comparably severe psychiatric disorders, Dissociative

Disorders may be the condition that carries the best

prognosis if proper treatment is undertaken and

completed. The course of treatment is longterm,

intensive, and invariably painful, as it generally

involves remembering and reclaiming the dissociated

traumatic experiences. Nevertheless, individuals with

Dissociative Disorders have been successfully treated

by therapists of all professional backgrounds working

in a variety of settings.

 

Source - The Sidran Institute, a leader in traumatic

stress education and advocacy, is a nationally-focused

nonprofit organization devoted to helping people who

have experienced traumatic life events. Our education

and advocacy promotes greater understanding of:

 

The early recognition and treatment of trauma-related

stress in children;

The understanding of trauma and its long-term effect

on adults;

The strategies leading to greatest success in

self-help recovery for trauma survivors;

The clinical methods and practices leading to greatest

success in aiding trauma victims;

The development of public policy initiatives that are

responsive to the needs of adult and child survivors

of traumatic events.

 

 

Pranic Psychotherapy:

Source - Pranic Psychotherapy by Master Choa Kok Sui.

 

1. Invoke before, during and after treatment.

 

2. Play the OM CD softly in the healing room and burn

sandalwood incense continiously before, during and

after treatment. This will cleanse the energy of the

environment to a certain degree.

 

3. Scan all the major and minor chakras before,

during and after treatment.

 

4. General sweeping.

 

5. For experienced pranic healers with relatively big

spiritual cords, cleanse the patient by commanding the

negative energy to leave and not to return. Repeat

command once or several times.

 

Apply pranic psychotherapy.

 

6. Localized thorough sweeping on the affected major

and minor chakras with LEV or EV with the intention of

removing and disintegrating negative thought energy

and negative emotional energy lodged in the chakra.

 

" Thorough sweeping " refers to the " divide the chakra

into four-parts technique " .

 

7. Energize the chakras with LEV or EV with the

intention to seal cracks or holes on the protective

web of the chakra and normalize the chakra.

 

8. The ajna must be treated to strengthen the will of

the patient.

 

9. Stabilize the front and back solar plexus chakra.

 

10. Energize and activate the back heart chakra with

EV.

 

11. Create chakral shield for the affected chakras.

Create auric shield.

 

12. Stabilize and release projected pranic energy.

 

13. Repeat treatment three times per week or more for

as long as necessary.

 

14. Introduce the family of the patient to the

regular practice of the Meditation on Twin Hearts.

They can include the patient's healing in their

blessings during the meditation. The Meditation gives

a very soothing and peaceful effect, cleanses and

energizes the chakras, and facilitates the proper

assimilation of healing energy for both the meditator

and for those with whom the meditation energy is

shared. Regular practice of the Meditation increases

the degree of contact with one's Higher Soul

manifesting as greater psychological stability.

 

Reminder: " Pranic healing is not intended to replace

orthodox medicine but rather to complement it. " GMCKS

 

Love,

 

Marilette

 

 

 

 

=====================================================

Anna Circo <annakaarina

Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:48am

FW: Multiple Personality Disorder

 

I'm resubmitting this email since it did not post.

Thank you.

 

Hello:

 

I have a dear old friend who has been diagnosed with

Multiple Personality

Disorder. She said she is taking Prozac and Zolof and

has put on fifty

pounds. Treatment has been focused on therapy and

medications. She also

smokes.

 

There is not a whole lot of info about MPD in the

pranic psychotherapy book.

Could you share some insight with me?

 

Thank you,

 

Anna

 

 

 

=====

Pranic Healing is not intended to replace orthodox medicine, but rather to

complement it. If symptoms persist or the ailment is severe, please consult

immediately a medical doctor and a Certified Pranic Healer . ~ Master Choa Kok

Sui

 

Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only to that which is

known to us in nature. ~ St. Augustine

 

Ask or read the uptodate pranic healing protocols by joining the group through

http://health./

 

For the latest International Information regarding GMCKS Pranic Healing, visit

http://www.pranichealing.org.

 

 

 

 

 

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