Herschel Walker has Multiple Personalities?

I have worked with clients with severe trauma since begining my practice. In 1996 I woked with the famed Dr. Collin Ross at the Charter Hospital of Dallas. Then, in 1997 I co-directed a Trauma unit at the infamous Timberlawn hospital in Dallas. Since that time I have helped many women and some men who had been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder ( this is what Multiple Personality Disorder is now called).

It is not a surprise to me that someone as successful as Walker has this disorder. I beleive him, though I hear the buzz of sceptics. Of course, anyone suffering from this disorder knows that there are more sceptics then believers in general. This is in spite of the majority of the medical profession recognizing the disorder officially in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual that is the official diagnostic criteria for any psychiatric condition.

The Media's Interest in DID

Its always amazed me how badly the media has portrayed the diagnosis in the past. There is always something about a murderer with DID. Often I go to movies without a clue the story is about DID, only to be dismayed to discover that, once again, the disorder is portrayed as resulting in someone who is an evildoer.

I was delighted last year when the television show, ER, had a man suffering from DID as the primary subject of an episode ("Jigsaw"). The show did an absolutely fantastic job of demonstrating the disorders characteristics and etiology. And, it was handled with finesse and sympathy for the young man.

My daughter told me two days ago that Stepen Speilberg is doing a sitcom called "The United States of Tara". Some people with the disorder may not appreciate that it is a comedy, but I do. I think if we can't laugh at ourselves then all is lost. Having worked with the disorder for many years, I have found there to be many hysterical moments. I recall one of my clients finding herself in an argument with a police officer about the appropriateness of stopping in the middle of an intersection at a red light. My clients 4 year old alter had been driving the car and only knew that "Red meands stop", so she stoped as soon as the light turned red, even though it was in the middle of the intersection!

Stepping out on a Limb

I'm going to step out on a limb here. The only real myth of DID is that it is rare. What I have observed, as I believe many other counselors have observed as well, is that dissociativeness is normal, and all of us have it to one degree or another. On the one hand is the normal, day to day dissociativeness we all experience (ever gone to the fridge and stood there wondering why you were there?). On the other hand is the extreme of DID. I believe this to be more common than a lot of people would like to admit, but most people fall somewherre in between. Ever heard of an "innr child"? That is a dissociative phenomena that most of us will admit to experiencing (if we have had any therapy).

So in the end, I say to Walker, "You go, man!" I congratulate him for his courage and his success in spite of experiencing an extremely trying disorder.

Is this for real?

What do you think? Is is possible that we are all dissociaitve to some degree? Do you think the whole idea of Multiple Personalities is a farce. I'd like to hear what you think.