
How I learned to live with multiple personalities - pmcpinto
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170613-how-i-learned-to-live-with-multiple-personalities
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eridius
This is an interesting article, but the paragraph about religion was kind of
weird:

> _One psychological benefit of religious belief may be that, in theory, a
> relationship with God, with all its associated memories, can extend from
> early childhood through to death, and no matter where you are on the planet,
> it is there. As Aquarone says, “You can’t take it away – and it transcends
> where you are.”_

Besides not even attempting to provide evidence that religious people were
less likely to develop DID, it also just doesn't make sense. People talk about
having a "relationship" with God, but it's not a _real_ relationship. The
article says having a relationship with a parent helps avoid DID because the
parent helps you learn how to manage yourself, but God certainly isn't doing
this. Similarly it talks about how being with people with whom you have plenty
of shared memories can enhance the sense of an ongoing self persisting through
the years, but you don't have any shared memories with God. This paragraph
would make just as much (or rather, little) sense if you claimed to have a
"relationship" with Mister Rogers, because you watched Mister Rogers'
Neighborhood for decades.

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azrazalea
I mean, given their logic I think the Mister Rogers example would work too.
The idea is having a consistent presence, I believe.

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eridius
If you suffer abuse as a child from your parent, you still have a consistent
presence in that parent. The idea the article was suggesting was that you need
to have an actual relationship with someone.

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Eric_WVGG
There is a really fun fictional novel called _Put This House in Order_ by M.
Ruff, it's sort of a road trip story featuring two people with DID. The
science of the story is a bit iffy (one of the characters has mastered a sort
of internal visualization where his personalities can interact), but from the
sound of this article he pretty much nailed the what-it's-like factor
(particularly w/r/t the broken development chains of the various
personalities).

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frgtpsswrdlame
I thought this sort of thing had been debunked?

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azrazalea
How can it be debunked? It's all internal to a person. I'm not comfortable
telling people what they feel/who they are is wrong.

I know multiple "collectives", as I've heard them called, on some online
chatrooms. They seem perfectly functional and logically consistent.

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dsacco
By "debunked", the parent meant, "there is little clinical evidence for
existence."

The burden of proof for the diagnosis is on the assertion; people can act as
though they have multiple personalities, and that's why there is controversy
on the disease itself.

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azrazalea
I mean, at least in a social (not clinical) setting, i'd say the burden of
proof is on society to prove that it doesn't exist.

I understand not wanting to clinically treat it if there isn't much evidence.

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coldtea
Not really. You don't prove non-existence -- you prove existence.

Else we'd also have some burden to prove that fairies don't exist.

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olleromam91
Fascinating piece.

