...true tale of a remarkable young woman possessed by severe multiple personality disorder. Sybil’s body is home to sixteen personalities, all with different personas, speech patterns, behavior tendencies, language abilities, and even different genders. As a child, Sybil began to distance herself from the abuse she suffered from her mother Hattie, a suspected paranoid schizophrenic, thus creating each personality to escape her reality. Throughout her entire life Sybil struggled with “losing time” and often woke up with no knowledge of what she had been doing for days, weeks, months, and at times even years. Upon bringing her own mother to a physician, Sybil is referred to see a psychologist after she describes her “loss of time” to Dr. Hall. On August 10, 1945 at 2 PM Sybil first meets Dr. Wilbur. Despite Sybil knowing that she needs help with her nervousness and loss of time, she often fears that she reveals too much to her psychologist and often disguises her problem before Dr. Wilbur can provide substantial help. Dr. Wilbur suggests Sybil be psychoanalyzed at a local hospital, the very thing that Sybil’s parents fear, suspecting that the doctor will be the devil himself. However, Sybil was determined to receive proper care despite what her mother, father, and pastor advised. Yet on a scheduled appointment day in October, Sybil comes down with a severe fever causing Hattie to contact Dr. Wilbur’s office to cancel Sybil’s appointment. After her mother’s death in 1948 Sybil continues...
Words: 328 - Pages: 2
...Running Head: DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENTS Dissociative Identity Disorder: its causes and treatments: What are the roots causes and treatments of Dissociative Identity Disorder Abstract Research shows that Dissociative Identity Disorder, the most extreme form of dissociative disorders, is usually developed in childhood as a means to cope with emotionally difficult situations, whether it is sexual abuse or other childhood trauma. In the past, it has been assumed that Dissociative Identity Disorder has no treatment because of the complexity of the condition. However, recent studies have shown that structured clinical psychiatry sessions can alleviate the symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder and actually reduce the number of memory relapses. These conclusions stand as testimonies to the fact that Dissociative Identity Disorder can be treated despite the claims of past studies. “What if pretending she was somebody else was the only way a little girl knew how to defend herself. But she had to pretend so intensely that the pretending became real” (Sargent, 2007). In the 2007 docudrama film Sybil, directed by Joseph Sargent, the main character Sybil Dorsett suffers from 16 personalities because of her Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which she developed as a child. Dissociative Identity Disorder is defined as “a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities (known as alters or parts), each with its own pattern of...
Words: 1928 - Pages: 8
