Fear! The dreaded first post!

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

I wasn't quite sure how to write this, but since I joined and since niteofsyn posted his LJ war over here, I figured it was about time I said something.

A few of you might recognize me *waves to CJ & co.* - I'm that psych student on the lj war (for those who read it.) And, I figured, since I wanted to help and support CJ, Syn, and Nighthawk that it would be best to get acquainted with the people who will start becoming a sizeable influence on his life ^_^ (I have a mother hen syndrome, yes I know. >_>).

No, I'm not a multiple (I just enjoy arguing with myself) and though I'm a therapist-in-training, I suppse you can say I have a..."unique" view on life. >_> But, I figured, to give those who don't know me a better understanding of how I'd work, I'd post my opinion on disorders, multiplicity, etc. behind an lj-cut. It's the opinion I posted on the lj war, incase you've read it and just want to skip it.


Merriam-Webster defines disorder as thus:
1.lack of order
2 : breach of the peace or public order
3 : an abnormal physical or mental condition : AILMENT

Obviously, the third definition fits best. However, the word abnormal is a highly opinionated term. Sure, in the views of society having more than one person in your head is considered abnormal - but, you have to keep in mind that society's teachings are for the purpose of replicating/protecting itself.

It was abnormal for a woman to have a job.
It was abnormal to be a single parent.
It was abnormal for various races to intermingle and become friends.
It was abnormal for a woman to be independent, educated, have opinions, and not taken care of by a male relative.
It was abnormal to marry for love!

See where I'm going with this? I'm not saying that we should just throw therapists and treatment out the window (heavens, no! I would be out of a job!), just that you need to be careful when throwing words like "abnormal" and "disorder" around. To me, treatment should be to help the individual - to help stop what's considered dangerous. Is it dangerous to have more than one person in your head? I would think that having multiple opinions would lead to sound-er judgement, personally.

And if I had say, CJ, as my patient? (all jokes about multiples=group therapy aside... >_>) I would treat each personality as itself, and help mediate between them to create a positive environment. Integration would be a last resort, only taken when one personality is so destructive and can't reconcile that he must be integrated in order to protect the rest of the system.

To sum up, I say what I told CJ: "Integration? A last resort. It's like saying 'Sorry, but we consider your friends/family/siblings, etc. to be bad influences, and thus we're going to murder them. Have a nice day! ^_^'."



But, ummmm....hi! *Scratches head* I hope we'll get along well.

>_>
<_< Run ninja away! *Exits stage right, smashes into a pillar, spins around and dizzily stumbles out stage left.*

Comments

[shandra.livejournal.com]

Hi over here. :)

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

*Waves back*

[szczur-system.livejournal.com]

Where was this war? 0.o

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

It was on one of niteofsyn's recent posts. I know he posted about it here somewhere.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

He discusses it here:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/multiplicity/260693.html

[szczur-system.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link ^_^

[chezames.livejournal.com]

Well said! We need more people in the psych profession like you.

Can you talk to our sister? *LOL*

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

*Laughs* Thank you very much. Don't think there's much I can do about your sister, though. ^^;;

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

Welcome. We might have some questions about the current state of affairs in psychological training and internship regarding attitudes toward multiplicity. Thank you also for your willingness to be open with us on this community.

"Disorder" of course really means breach of public order as much as it means ailment, just as you observe. Homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder until about thirty-two years ago, and many people still believe it to be abnormal. Mental disorders, by and large, are defined not by what makes the client uncomfortable, but by what makes society uncomfortable.

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

Well, in a way society can be seen as its own living, breathing animal. Only when a majority of society feels the need to change does society truly "evolve".

But, yeah, hopefully as opinions start to spread and change thigs will be for the better.

As far as psychological training goes, I haven't really had a proffessor discuss "mental disorders" in detail yet - but, there are many more classes to attend so I'll see what they think. =P

[mysticeden.livejournal.com]

Hello ^_^ I will say I love this post of yours and agree with you. I'm studying to be a psychologist myself and I'd never integrate all the alters just because. Okay being a mutiple myself I have reasons but still.... Myand my room mate are both mutiples and psychology students... so maybe we can influence at least some of our peers to not be idiots...-_-

[szczur-system.livejournal.com]

*jealous of you*

[mysticeden.livejournal.com]

jeaous why?

[szczur-system.livejournal.com]

Being so close to another ^_^

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

Yes! I'm not alone! \0/

At least instead of being a singular freak of nature I'm just an endangered species. XD

[shandra.livejournal.com]

Definitely not. :) Our therapist is not into integration unless that's the system in question's goal. Yay client-centred therapy.

[mysticeden.livejournal.com]

Smart therapist 0-0? ^_^

[mysticeden.livejournal.com]

lol well i'm not singular but yeah ^_^

[melange-fiesta.livejournal.com]

I read on one of the FAQ sites that I looked at that the talents of each person in the multiple can actually be lessened if the people are integrated.

[mysticeden.livejournal.com]

From what I've seen that seems true. -_-

[saturniakitty.livejournal.com]

*Waves*

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

I really, really need to meet you in person. ^_^

[ninalyn.livejournal.com]

Hullo! And welcome.

I just finished my psych degree, so I'm one of "those" people, too. ;) I plan on going to law school and not into counselling, but if I were to become a psychologist, I'd definitely try to make sure the multiplicity was actually the main "problem" before trying to treat it. More than once, I've gone to get medical and psychological help for my bipolar problems and ended up having the doctor try to treat my multiplicity. It's frustrating, because the members of my group and I work very well together, so we don't need to be treated for that at all.

Good to know there'll be more psychologists out there with an open mind to functional multiplicity soon. Welcome again. :)

[sethrenn.livejournal.com]

Hah, yeah-- either that, or the doctor has never heard of a functional multiple before and gets so fascinated with asking repeated intrusive questions about the system that they sort of forget that you asked them to help you with a non-multiplicity-related issue in the first place. @_@

[ninalyn.livejournal.com]

Actually, in our case, we didn't say we were multiple. We said we were hearing voices of other *real* people in our head and got sent to a psych ward for a month. When we were finally released (we were adamant about the voices for about 3 weeks and then just gave up when we realized it wasn't helping our case), we had the diagnosis of schizophrenia and were on antipsychotics that just zapped everyone of their energy (and memory). At the time, we were a minor, so we didn't have much say. Some doctors can just be idiots. Anyone who'd bothered to spend more than 5 minutes with us would probably realize we weren't schizophrenic in the slightest, sigh.

Either way, we need more psychologists who are willing to listen and accept. Definitely.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

You know this now, but I will say it for the benefit of others reading this thread:

Never say you are hearing voices. Keep that to yourself, particularly if you are under 21, female, and/or Caucasian. (People of colour are more likely to be perceived as belonging to a culture in which such experiences are normal -- viz. the DSM Casebook (example here: http://www.spiritualcompetency.com/dsm4/lesson3_10.html)).

If what our correspondents tell us is any indication of current trends in modern psychiatry, it is extremely unwise to present as a multiple, particularly if you are underage. That is, to go in and volunteer the information. It's too risky any more -- you're likely to be diagnosed with a thought disorder and put on neuroleptics, which are likely to wreck communication.

[ninalyn.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah. I certainly will never do that again. ;)

Unfortunately for me at the time, I didn't really understand what multiplicity was in its entirety (I was 16). I knew I didn't fit the trauma model, so I was hoping someone could give me a better explanation of what was going on. Instead, I got a month's stay at an inpatient facility and a nice, heavy dose of seroquel (antipsychotic). It's so sad that that's how "problems" are treated nowadays. I don't believe any of those psychologists or psychiatrists ever spent more than 10 minutes with me at a time. And even then it was just to monitor the meds' side effects. Meh.

For old time's sake, last night I read through my old Abnormal Psych book. The section on multiplicity is so laughable even now. In the first paragraph they caution people to call members of a system "alters" and not "personalities" because the latter gives the impression that there is more than one person existing in one body and that simply isn't true. By the end of that section, though, they're back to referring to group members as personalities. Hmm. :P

[sethrenn.livejournal.com]

*blinks* Personality equals person? Funny, I thought part of the reason behind that term was the implication that they *weren't* full people-- and 'alter' is really just an abbreviation of 'alternate personality,' so it's actually not very different at all. :p

[tigrin.livejournal.com]

under 21.. female.. Caucasian... yep, fit all of those. I saw a psychiatrist recently and said just that and the consensus was something like "nothing that Prozac couldn't fix". it got sort of lumped in with the myriad of other symptoms that are supposedly anxiety-related (of course, ANYTHING can be attributed to stress). which I suppose is better than any other assumption.

[melange-fiesta.livejournal.com]

The thing is... the idea of being a multiple is quite different and fascinating for someone who has no experience with it. And, of course, they'll need to be very informed about you (or many yous!) before they can begin any sort of treatment.

[shinnite.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not quite sure having multiplicity is the problem itself - it would be more like treating seperate people in the system for their own mental problems.

And, hey, therapists always suggest having a support system - having the support system in your head makes things alot easier. ^_^

[ninalyn.livejournal.com]

I suppose I'm of the mind that it really depends on the situation. If the multiplicity did form specifically as a result of trauma and the people in the system really are fragments (if that's even possible. . .I'm not sure. I know that some of the people in my group are definitely a little out there, but I certainly wouldn't call even the most confused ones "fragments"), perhaps it'd be best to try to integrate.

Then again, what do I know? I just got a BA in psych which isn't anything very specific or advanced. I think it'd probably be up to the discretion of both the therapist and the patient regarding what form of action to take.

&&I agree. The best support system could be from within in a situation like this. I know I've used the others to talk just plenty when I needed them. It's rather nice. :)

[lirialgypsyrose.livejournal.com]

Hello and welcome! I liked what you wrote, some very good points! I think you would make a great gift to the psych. community. There needs to be more people like yourself out there.
I am also not a multiple, my SO is . Being a part of this community has given me an interesting perception on things. It has helped me to kick down doors of ignorance that i once had. I find most of the people here very well informed and not abnormal in any way.
*waves*

^_^ kirby

[eridanusus.livejournal.com]

<( )>
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*giggle*

Re: ^_^ kirby

[niteofsyn.livejournal.com]

That is too cute for words ^_^

-C.J.

[niteofsyn.livejournal.com]

*waves* Hiya, Stephi-chan!
-Synthesis

Greetings, good lady. *bows*
-Nighthawk

[niteofsyn.livejournal.com]

*sigh* And here I thought, if someone I knew posted, I would be the first to reply. At least in my OWN system -_-;;. They kinda beat me to it, ne?

It's strange, but I have no idea why Syn doesn't hate you or Lizzie. *shrug* Must have her own reasons. (Not that there are any reasons to dislike either of you two, but still).

Anyways, welcome to Multiplicity! *salute*

-C.J.

[zenboiuke.livejournal.com]

It's like saying 'Sorry, but we consider your friends/family/siblings, etc. to be bad influences, and thus we're going to murder them. Have a nice day! ^_^

LMAO!!! XD

VERY good point ^_~

~Kier