Can someone with Multiple Personality Disorder lose a phobia when switching personalities?

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I'm writing a book which involves one of the characters having multiple personality disorder. In the book, the character has a phobia of blood. I need to know whether or not they can lose this phobia when they change personalities, being that they pretty much become a different person when changing personalities. I can't find the answer to my question anywhere and no one I talk to knows. Help?
good question. It depends, since the multiple personality is basically different psychological function/mechanism exsisting in the same psyche which could either be genetic or occur after traumatic experience. while a phobia is based on a traumatic experience that amplify the psychologic protective mechanism against whatever it is that traumatized them. Ask yourself some questions like: how close is the bond between the causes of either disorders. Is the multiple personality disorder genetic? what caused the phobia ? which personality did the trauma (which caused the phobia) happen to.
Thats if you want to get technical. Its all based on psychological triggers. my guess

I think its up to you to decide whether all of the personalities have the same phobia or just one. if the brain is intricate enough to create completely differnt people within one psyche then its definetly possible for one of them to have the phobia.  (+ info)

What's the difference between schitzophrenia and multiple personality disorder?

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My understanding of schitzophrenia is that a person suffering from it might hallucinate sights, sounds, and even smells, etc., but the way it's always portrayed in movies and on TV is that schitzophrenics "hear voices" in their head and have split personalities. What are the true definitions of these conditions, and how are they different? Are they different names for the same thing, or is multiple personality disorder caused by schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is actually not at all the same thing as dissociative identity disorder, also known as multiple personality disorder. actually, DID is so rare that its validity as a disorder is questioned by some psychologists, and very little is known about it. what is known is that it is more common in women, and more common still in women who have experienced sexual abuse. the separate personality or personalities which split from the original are often opposite the person's original personality, and often unknown, at least at first, to the original personality. also, the first split personality generally knows about the others, and often establishes itself as the "controller" of the others.
schizophrenia means "split mind," but in the sense of being split from reality, not split into parts. it is extremely debilitative and people suffering from it often experience hallucinations (usually in the form of voices), paranoia, catatonia, and illogical thought, among other things.
ok, the above was all information learned in psych class, and below is a link on each:
http://www.sidran.org/didbr.html
http://www.psychologynet.org/schiz.html  (+ info)

If someone has multiple personality disorder can they legally get each personality a different name?

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I had a curious thought. What if someone had multiple personality disorder and each personality had different feelings on their name or simply wanted to have a different name then the other personalities? Would they be able to legally get another name for themself or would it have to stay as their birthname/be changed for all of them?
No. They all have to live with one legal name.  (+ info)

What causes multiple personality disorder?

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I don't have it nor do anyone I know has it.

I am just curious what sort of trauma or whatever causes a multiple personality disorder?
Trauma is usually the result of abuse as a child (as DID develops during childhood). Some children may be genetically predisposed to DID and abuse may be the trigger.

There is documentation of the mental and sexual abuse I had gone through as a child, but I don't remember anything before the age of eight because of my DID - which was the only thing that helped me get through all the abuse.

I have never heard of DID being the result of stress or a child's wild imagination, like Gypsy says - DID is rare, but those who have it and have not suffered through a great deal of abuse during childhood are even more rare.  (+ info)

What are some clever sayings to raise awareness about Multiple Personality Disorder?

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I'm doing a project for my Medical class and I need help coming up with a saying for the poster. The goal is to make people aware of Multiple Personality Disorder. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
Look Who's Talking!

Never alone.

Jigsaw

Is this/that really you/me?

Support from within.

Who am I/who is it?

Today I can..../today she/he can do....

It must be quite hard to find sayings for psychological disorders.  (+ info)

Is it possible for a person to have multiple personality disorder, but remember everything?

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I believe that I have a multiple personality disorder of some type, but I can remember everything the alternate does. Everything that I've read contradicts this. It seems like I'm within myself when it happens, that I can only sit back and watch as the alternate acts for me.
I think you misdiagnosed yourself honestly, I have the same thing but its called Depersonalization.

"Depersonalization (or depersonalisation) can be referred as a malfunction or anomaly of the mechanism in which an individual has awareness or perception of his or her own self. It is a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation"  (+ info)

How do people get multiple personality disorder?

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Okay, I know it sounds messed up, but my friend WANTS a multiple personality disorder. I don't know if i want to help her or not but I need to know when and if she gets it and if she does, how'd she do it? Also I think I might have it so I should know the symptoms so that I'll know whether or not I do. Thanks lots to all you doctors and shrinks who can help! :)
Causes of multiple personality disorder
Most people diagnosed with MPD were either physically or sexually abused as children. Many times when a young child is severely abused, he or she becomes so detached from reality that what is happening may seem more like a movie or television show than real life. This self-hypnotic state, called disassociation, is a defense mechanism that protects the child from feeling overwhelmingly intense emotions. Disassociation blocks off these thoughts and emotions so that the child is unaware of them. In effect, they become secrets, even from the child. According to the American Psychiatric Association, many MPD patients cannot remember much of their childhoods.

Not all children who are severely and repeatedly abused develop multiple personality disorder. However, if the abuse is repeatedly extreme and the child does not have enough time to recover emotionally, the disassociated thoughts and feelings may begin to take on lives of their own. Each cluster of thoughts tends to have a common emotional theme such as anger, sadness, or fear. Eventually, these clusters develop into full-blown personalities, each with its own memory and characteristics.



Read more: http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ma-Mu/Multiple-Personality-Disorder.html#ixzz0P9JdkRRa  (+ info)

whats the difference between a scitsafrenia and multiple personality disorder?

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Alot of people get scitsafrenia and multiple personality disorder mixed up, i studied it in college but i just been asked what the differenc was and ive completely forgotten. Any idea's?
I'm in two minds about this.  (+ info)

Resources to help me deal with people who suffer multiple-personality disorder?

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I'm volunteering at a crisis line and one of the regular callers has multiple-personality disorder, I find it extremely difficult to talk to her and I do not feel like my training is sufficient to deal with this type of calls.

I'm looking for tips on how to deal with people who suffer from that condition...Anybody had that experience before?
First of all, she has to identify to you that she has this disorder since you are on the phone. I am very suspicious of this. Someone with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) does not readily give out this information and the "core" personality has no idea she/he has it. This person may well be playing a game with you, in which case she does have a problem, but not DID.
DID is very rare and very hard to treat because of the nature of the illness. I admire you trying to learn so you can help this person. Many people would not take it that far. I will tell you if she is "playing" at this, she is attention seeking and you should proceed with caution. I am sure you were given some tips on how to handle that problem in your initial training on the Crisis Line...so I would implement those techniques within any other I used.
With IDD, the person would have suffered severe, unbelievable and constant physical and sexual abuse as a child. There would have been a "religious" underbelly to her treatment, as in Satanic worship or ritualistic ceremonies. So employ tactics you would use to handle those things.
Other than that, listen to each personality as they call and treat each individually with the knowledge that each personality was exposed to this abuse. Each personality will be unique though so you will have to focus on what each is saying and take it from there.
The goal would be to get the person in therapy with someone who handles DID.
Again, be careful she is not simply attention seeking. If she is, she will have a working knowledge of the disorder but you will be able to spot some inconsistencies as she talks. The "core" personality will not remember anything except what is going on when she is in control. The other personalities will remember. So listen to what she says and take it from there. If it is any consolation, you are as ready to handle this as anyone else. Remember, if it is legitimate...it will be one of the personalities that has made the decision to call. Other than that, if it is a game, she will have looked the condition up and have read a little on it. I doubt she will know very much, and you should be able to spot the attention seeking early on.

Best of luck with this. Again, I respect that you are trying to help this person. Just remember, you may well be dealing with the "personality in charge" and she will know everything and will be eager to tell her version. Get the names and write them down as it can get confiusing. If this is for real, you may well need to know each personality as she can change quickly. But, you will learn to recognize the differences.

This is a very fascinating area.

Further, This blog may help you:

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1780  (+ info)

To what extent does society misunderstand multiple personality disorder?

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I am a student writing a 6000 word essay on how society misunderstands and treats people who have multiple personality disorder. It would be great to hear your opinions on what you think of the disorder, or if you have it how you think society treats you. Please be honest.
Thankyou :)
You should know that there is a fine line between Bi-Polar and MPD. Many are misdiagnosed for years before finding the right psychiatrist to diagnose it correctly. As in all mental illness there is stigma and ignorance regarding them. The many different types of Borderline Personality Disorder are unknown by most people. Many know about Depression, Bi-Polar and Schizophrenia but consider those who suffer with these illnesses as crazy. Society is very critical of those whose behaviors are obvious. There is great prejudice. Most people choose to keep their diagnosis of Multiple Personality Disorder a secret from others. It is hard to explain and very few except those who are close to one with the disorder know that it is caused by trauma or traumas in childhood. The emotional and mental growth of the person stopped at the age of the trauma.

If only there was more public awareness and education that would help people to understand those with Multiple Personality Disorder. Many instead of receiving the treatment that they need are jailed, in prisons without any treatment and in circumstances that exacerbate their disorder. They are abused and punished for the behaviors that they have no control over. They are thought of as just bad and uncontrollable. Time and time again they are put in isolation as punishment. This is a horrible and inhuman thing to happen to a sufferer as they are not allowed to speak to anybody nor can they have material things like a book to read or their commisary orders. I have a friend who is a social worker in a prison who is well aware of this. But nobody can change the system. It makes me so sad just to write this. I hope there is something in here that will help you.  (+ info)

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