Multiple personality disorder, i think i just had a revelation! your opinions, p!
Question: ok, here it is: i have always thought of mpd as being symptomatic in the extreme such as "Three Faces of Eve" and "Sybill," the movies; however, i'm now wondering if it's possible that most people (or at least some people) suffering from this problem might have more mild cases of it. example: someone who has been diagnosed as bipolar might in fact have the above mentioned diagnosis. maybe the drastic personality/mood swings are really symptoms of different personalities emerging. my estranged husband exhibits these characteristics....vacillating between hyper/egotistical/narcissism/delusions of grandeur to impatient, angry and paranoid to (when he's in sweet mode) talking baby talk and acting like a little child....referring to himself as "johnny," instead of john...ie; "johnny needs to go pee pee now."......all of this is seemingly done in joking, but who knows? we no longer live together. he was diagnosed recently as bipolar, but i'm starting to wonder if there is more to it.
Answers: ok, here it is: i have always thought of mpd as being symptomatic in the extreme such as "Three Faces of Eve" and "Sybill," the movies; however, i'm now wondering if it's possible that most people (or at least some people) suffering from this problem might have more mild cases of it. example: someone who has been diagnosed as bipolar might in fact have the above mentioned diagnosis. maybe the drastic personality/mood swings are really symptoms of different personalities emerging. my estranged husband exhibits these characteristics....vacillating between hyper/egotistical/narcissism/delusions of grandeur to impatient, angry and paranoid to (when he's in sweet mode) talking baby talk and acting like a little child....referring to himself as "johnny," instead of john...ie; "johnny needs to go pee pee now."......all of this is seemingly done in joking, but who knows? we no longer live together. he was diagnosed recently as bipolar, but i'm starting to wonder if there is more to it.
First, let me compliment you on your grammar, punctuation, and spelling. I give you an A+ on that and an A+ on content.
I am a sufferer of Bipolar Disorder. I have had it a long time. I had a nervous breakdown when I was 21. At least that is what they called it then. I am not sure, I had three jobs and taking one college class at the time. I might have been over tired but who knows and now at age 60 who cares? I take all sorts of medications to keep my moods semi-level with not too high highs and not too low lows. The episodes of extreme mania and depression are fewer and fewer, but I still get them.
As for Dissociative Identity Disorder, I do not think they are in the same class. I go to group therapy for Post Traumatic Stress and Bipolar Disorder. None of the 25 or so members of my group have been diagnosed with anything remotely related to DID. We all have multiple disorders but none of us as far as I have seen have anything close to DID.
It is a good theory. Maybe you can get a medical school to do some research on it. Thank you for your question.
EDIT: I just saw your edit. Of the 25 people in my Group Therapy all of them denied at first having any kind of problem. Most were dragged there by their wives like I was. The others were sent there by their primary care doctor. I am a disabled veteran and this is in a Veteran's Administration Hospital.
hmm..thats quite interesting
i think you might be right...there are some mild bi polar cases that could be termed as both, i guess
that really got me thinking!
It could be. I think MPD is a little more common than currently believed. I know a friend who has it. I KNOW she has it because I've lived with her, and gotten to know a couple of the personalities individually, and believe me, they are different from each other. Different life experiences even.
She denies that she has it now, but I know she does. She probably would be considered bipolar if she were treated. And yeah, as far as the acting like a little kid sometimes, referring to the self in the third person... that is actually a common thing with MPD.
If the person doesn't want help, though, there's nothing you can do about it.
Theres a possibility that your ex might have mpd, but i am sure most bipolar people are just that.....Bipolar!!!
Besides, I'm not positive there is a such thing as multiple personality disorder! I think some people just might be good actors...
There are many mental health practitioners who don't think Dissociative Identity Disorder (the current name for MPD) actually exists. So I think you are right that cases could be misdiagnosed as something like Bipolar or Schizophrenia or others.
I can't comment on your ex as I've never met him. If he does not improve on bipolar meds despite taking them consistently, then he might go seek a second opinion. Another point to consider is that DID sufferers have usually had serious trauma as a young child. Do you know of anything like this in your ex-husband's past?
You really ought to work in mental health to get the feeling of what is and is not a mental disorder.
Many people are diagnosed incorrectly, while others are diagnosed with one thing and have several other things.
someone who is truly bipolar (this is WAY over diagnosed...)has to meet certain criteria, the same with multiple personality disorder, or any disorder(According to the DSM IV.) You can have symptoms of these disorders, but not necessarily have these disorders. That is why mental health diagnosis is an educated guess...you assess the client, gather the information as best as possible, and diagnose them from there (of course, there may be issues that the person is not telling you...for example, their generalized anxiety disorder may have something to do with alcohol or drug abuse...but if the person doesn't reveal this stuff, how is the medical professional supposed to know?) How old is your ex? If your ex husband was recently diagnosed as bipolar and hadn't had symptoms until recently it may be a false diagnosis (bipolar disorder usually shows itself late teens to mid twenties...and yes, medical professionals misdiagnose people everyday for various reasons.) So.... not sure if this answered your question...but that is what I got.
someone such as "Sybil" had suffered from trauma that caused her mind to split into personalities. people dissociate to some degree, more often for those who are diagnosed with DD's. people have "mood" swings in which they act totally different, doesn't make them have a personality disorder such as DID. a person who was sexually abused from early age repeatedly would cause that. you can be bipolar & have had a good childhood, in which wouldn't cause them to have personalities. it just doesnt work that way, therapists have scales/tests to determine how much a person dissocates.
Yes you are correct. Mental problems are not always black and white as they say. Many disorders have similar actions. It takes a while and a lot of diagnoses to be sure about many of the problems. The use of Drugs either legal or not can have a definite side affect that may either appear or even cause mental problems.
Mental disorder is very common and most would not admit they have any problem at all. That is when they begin to blame all others for their problems.
Most of us have at least two personalities from time to time. I know I have and know what they are.
I don't think this is an option. Firstly, The hallmark of MPD, now known as DID, is blacking out and not being aware of, or even remembering the other personalities. It happens in childhood when the mind compartmentalises different characteristics of a personality and they appear when they are most needed. It is a form of defense. The main personality detaches itself from the traumatising situation.
This disorder is in the same category as repressed memory and other similar disorders and has nothing to do with mood disorders. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder, where the mood rapidly fluctuates from severe highs to severe lows. The person may display symptoms in their manic state characteristic of those of psychosis, but not MPD.
It does NOT usually involve a molesting parent don't listen to that fool. Typically people that are diagnosed with bipolar actually have a different illness. Bipolar is what they say you have when they really don't know what you have. Bipolar covers so many different things it's kinda like a fake kamikaze of mental illness. I would try to find out if he remembers anything that he's says when he gets like that. If he does, then I would think his doc needs to look at him for Aspergers Disorder. It's on the autistic spectrum for the moment, but docs are trying to prove that it's not an actual illness it's a different mindset than most people. Try looking these up and see if any fit. Aspergers is the real kamikaze of mental illness. My doc told me that pretty much every mental illness there is, is a part of Aspergers. I was diagnosed bipolar for 11 years by numerous docs, then a new doc figured out that I had Aspergers. What your ex does sounds alot like the things I do sometimes. There's little actual info about Aspergers. But try looking up the characteristics of it.
MPD/aka DID is a true disorder it is not widely diagnosed but it is diagnosed and many people do suffer from it- it usually does come from a trauma related circumstance and does not have anything to do with bipolar. Many people make fun of it it is nothing to be made fun of those who have the disease it is very though to work with.
People often associate Disassociated Identity Disorder, sadly, with extreme cases like "Sybil."
You are right in thinking there are mild cases of it. Most people with DID lead very normal lives and function in regular society. There are also more cases than people tend to realize. Many more. Only close friends of mine know that I have DID. The rest of society sees me as perhaps a bit weird, but mo weirder than the rest of society.
However, since there are many explanations that can cause erratic mood changes, it's impossible to diagnose your husband's behavior by the small description you gave us.
mpd is always associated with a parent sexually abusing a child from what i have heard. good thing you are not with him anymore. there are many things that could look similar - I think they like to say bipolar so people don't freak out at a diagnosis such as schitzophrenia or something like that - this way they say bipolar and people take their medication and get better. if one doesn't work, they say well try this one - and people are willing to stay on it.