Multiplicity

Some years ago a Lexington, Kentucky woman named Hannah was interviewed with her doctor on Sally Jessy Raphael, claiming that her shoe size changed with different front personnel; she had a five-year-old self named Skye, and she maintained that Skye could wear clothing and shoes appropriate for her age range. This woman was not one of the behemoth multiples in the ridiculous wig and glasses you often see on the talk shows, but she was definitely a normal sized person and there's no way a child's clothing could have fit her.

I suppose this was meant to be one of those "if the mind believes it, it can do it" claims.

The "one shoe size" comment probably refers to "since you all share the same body, you're all one person no matter what you call yourself." Morons.

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OH MY GOD. I remember hearing about that woman somewhere. You want to talk about preposterous claims that make us look like a bunch of loonies. Right along with the woman who claimed that her hair colour changed and 'my therapist can always tell which alter is talking because my hair changes slightly.'

As for the 'one shoe size' thing, I won't comment on it except to say there are obviously many people in the world who share my shoe size, since there are always plenty of pairs in stock in the store. Does this mean all of those people are also me?

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kasiya-system.livejournal.com

does their hair really change colors?

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Well, to be fair, I never actually saw them-- I just read this on their website, and I don't even remember what they were called or if the page still exists. However, I have difficulty imagining that there was any truth to the claim-- I mean, at least for eye colour changes there's a physical rationale, and I've known thoroughgoing singlets whose eyes changed. Hair, though-- well, by the time you can see it, it's basically dead cells and it's already been pigmented.

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kasiya-system.livejournal.com

that'd be sweet to change my hair color just by being here!!!! I'd be all hey I want purple hair when I'm here!!! Sweet!!!! hahaaaaaa!!! I think the others would kill me though!!!!! haaaaaa

*Lisa*

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I'm sure our Northern people would be delighted. Hair colour up there resembles nothing so much as an over-the-top anime.

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People have told me I look like an anime character - is that bad? O_o;;

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So do I. *points to icon* I happen to think it's awesome. :D

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Especially if the person is a hottie like Duo-chan! *Drools*

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*bows*

You should see me onstage in my "sprayed-on" pants. :D (I'm in a small rock band.) Have to come to Laura and catch the next show we do or watch some videos.

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I would if I had any idea how to get there O_o Cause if you really do look like Duo...oh man O_O

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Ah, another incipient member of the Johnny Shao Fan Club, I see. :D Get out the trading cards...

Perhaps we should do a post on our own journal about the band. Hm.

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My hair is always purple! But I'm just awesome like that.

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luwana.livejournal.com

OMG WE DO THAT!

Like when I front the hair is BLUE, and when Isha fronts the hair is PINK. MAGIC!

(nothing to do with us fighting over hair dye that morning, obviously. duh.)

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violetkhirot.livejournal.com

Oh, lord. Hair dye arguments. I'm caught in a red/black deadlock with the primary frontrunner at present, and have been for over a month. It's maddening.

I insist upon -- nay, demand -- advances in personal holographic projection technology.

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violetkhirot.livejournal.com

We started turning grey at age eleven (we're nearly thirty now), and traded off between red and black according to the seasons. It wrought merry havoc on the hair, particularly since primary frontrunner tended to bleach and redye until hair snapped off in the shower if she wasn't happy with the shade. It's growing in now; we'd been having ill luck with henna and indigo staying in, though, so it's somewhere approximating natural state.

The natural colour is monumentally unattractive without the grey, to boot.

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violetkhirot.livejournal.com

Body has curly hair. Worse, body has curly hair which is slowly recovering from the ultrashort crop necessitated by the chemical damage last year. Imagine this look upon a clown wig. Now run. Far. Save yourselves.

Not that it wouldn't look stunning on normal hair, mind. <grin>

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kasiya-system.livejournal.com

Babylon 5!!! Woot!!!!!!

*Lisa*

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luwana.livejournal.com

The bingo card is a *great* idea. I *so* want to do it.

New shrink time?

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Luckily these guys are just temporary to make sure we aren't going to wander off and shoot ourselves in the head or anything. Thank GOD.

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But yeah, they are idiot doctors. They all think we're not real. I want to make a Bingo card to bring to the next appointment (on Thursday) so we can cross off the things people normally say. Discreetly, so they get really confused when I suddenly pipe up, "Bingo!"

I want to do this. What's on your bingo card? I can think of a few things I'd put on.

"But everyone has different parts of their personality. You just gave names to yours."
"You can't really be multiple because in real DID cases nobody knows about anyone else."
"Do you have them under control?"
"But wouldn't you be happier if all your parts were merged together?"

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"Do you have them under control?"

Spectral leashes and muzzles for all!

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Actually, at one point he asked if I ever remembered being the alters. In those words exactly. I said something like, "no, because I'm *not* them, but sometimes I can see what they're doing."

Later on he asked me "but how do you know what they're doing if you can't remember being them?"

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Actual statements made by our correspondents' therapists:

They're all you.

Do you hear voices? (Note: Even if you do, never say yes on this one)

You do realize this is psychotic?

How can [insert name here] be a vegetarian and [other name] not? You've only got one stomach.

Multiple personality disorder is extremely rare. What you're experiencing is
an anxiety disorder caused by a desire to evade reality.

Multiple personality disorder is extremely rare. What you're experiencing is a mood disorder which can be treated with medication. peanut gallery immediately choruses, "Here, eat this root!" (http://www.infowest.com/business/g/gentle/hofmed.html)

Multiple personality disorder is extremely rare. What you're experiencing is a preoccupation with MPD caused by being on the internet and reading fantasy novels, plus pre-graduation anxiety and a desire to avoid looking for a job.

Nobody has more than one personality. The brain is not equipped to handle more than one. (Colin Ross, ladies and gentlemen.)

So [insert name here] is the part of you that is innocent/angry/sexy/happy/bashful/grumpy/dopey/sneezy/doc ......... ?
(Jay falls over laughing, adds "And Reggie" (http://i_love_a_mystery.tripod.com/ILoveAMystery.html) before running out of breath)

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"Congratulations, you're not plural! Dos vedanya!" *headdesk*

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ricktboy.livejournal.com

I so absolutely adore you guys...I so want to meet y'all...lol

I've had a shrink tell me that "I don't have DID, I have a dissociative disorder with psychotic delusions that lead me to believe the voices I hear are interacting with the outside world." Yes, he actually said all that...I memorized it at that moment, because I KNEW i'd need to repeat it one day *giggles*

I used to say, that "The only difference between the docs and the patients is the piece of paper hanging in the doc's office...and if the patients hung pieces of useless paper in our rooms, could we turn it around?"

lol... from when I was in the psych.

Rick/Tara/Faith
Pack Collective

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*hugs*!

We always say "alphabet soup after their names".

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We got "So, have there been more alters come up since you got on the internet?"

Gee, doc, I have absolutely no idea where you're going with THAT! I told him it was a correlation, because we're getting more organised, and the internet allowed us to express ourselves as ourselves, before he could get any ideas.

For us, though, we've been working with this other lady Jan for like 16 months and she says we have multiple personalities so neener neener neener. She's only a counsellor though not a psychiatrist so she can't make an official diagnosis.

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Dr Gideon did actually ask me to describe the major personality quirk (yes, singular) of the ones who were out most. I was like, I don't know, they're people.

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Plus the all-time classics:

"It isn't normal to believe there are other people in your body, so you need help."
"I know all about MPD because I watched Fight Club/Identity/Sybil/Three Faces of Eve..."
"I took a psychology class so I can tell if someone really has DID."
"I read something that says this isn't real and is just made up for attention/created by therapists."
"Since you're the only one I know, I don't want to talk to any of the others."
"Can I talk to the sexy one?"
"Does it make masturbation more interesting?"
"What do the men do when they don't have a dick?"
"Who am I talking to right now?" (in response to someone's incredibly minor vocal change)
"You must not remember that I did/said/told you (x) because I talked to one of your other personalities."

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Well these guys at this place are emergency risk guys. They get brought in on crises. He did admit he knows, like, NOTHING about DID and *gee, really* if I am depressed it's like a low background depression (but I still have to increase my meds?) but we have to go back a couple more times. To talk to a different guy those times though. Oh and we also have to ring this lady Valerie who actually DOES know stuff about DID and is maybe going to be our new counsellor. And is in no way affliated with these idiots.

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elenbarathi.livejournal.com

Ummm... of course our feet don't "magically grow or shrink", but we DO have several pairs of almost-identical-looking boots in slightly different sizes. Crist-Erui's favorites are a little big on me; they 'slop around' and rub me blisters unless I wear them with big heavy socks - he can wear them all day long with ordinary socks and never get a blister (and he runs in them, which I don't usually do.) My favorites are a little tight on him - he doesn't hate them to the point of refusing to wear them, but he's definitely prone to wanting to take them off at any opportunity, which he doesn't do with his own boots. Neither of us are comfortable in Kír's favorites (which Kír admits he favors purely on the basis of appearance, since he does very little walking.)

*shrugs* The difference is probably a matter of posture and balance. Crist-Erui's got a longer stride than me, and sets his weight down differently, which may be why he needs a slightly longer, wider shoe. Shoe sizes aren't standardized, and everybody's feet naturally change size throughout the day - "the foot fitted in the morning will be smaller than the foot fitted in the afternoon." (http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/shoo.html#prob)

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