3 women, multiple personalities

Being that I am a person who works in the helping profession and that I continue to study psychology and various therapies it is strange to me that I have not viewed the film Sybil until now.

For those of you who don't know, Sybil is the true story of a woman who was severely abused as a child and developed multiple personality disorders. It is said that she had 13 separate personalities inside of her which consisted of female and male persons.


The film was released on television in 1976

I had always heard about the film and had once thought I would read the book but nothing ever came of it. After seeing the film I would indeed like to read the book. There is some discrepancy among some who state that a researcher tracked down the real "Sybil" and revealed that the author made "doctored" the facts to fit her own theories and sold to sell books.


The book was released in 1973

Some laymen and professionals believe that there is no such thing as multiple personality disorder (MPD) or repressed memory therapy.


Sally Field portrays "Sybil"

In watching the Sybil 2 disc edition I was exposed some extras in which a close friend of "Sybil's" tells the story of how Sybil felt the need to share the book with her when it was released.

All I can say to Sally Field for her portrayal is....wow...and well done.

When "Sybil" passed away her art work was released.


(ket.org)
Shirley Mason, the real "Sybil"

All paintings below are from http://hiddenpaintings.com



The painting titled “Aquatic Forms #1” was incorrectly indentified in the book, “Sybil”, as “Blue is the Color of Love”. This painting was discussed in the book, but it was not until the handwritten title was discovered on the back of the original work, that this painting was identified as “Blue is the Color of Love”.


This painting was entitled “Blue is the Color of Love” when printed in the book “Sybil” by Flora Schreiber, however written on the back of the original painting is “Aquatic Forms #1, Shirley A. Mason”. This writing, along with the signature on the front of the painting was covered by tape. It is thought that Ms. Mason did this on order to conceal her identity. By doing this, she not only covered her signature, but also the original title of the painting.



"Hell" Completed before Ms. Mason began her psychotherapy in 1954


“Rage”

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In 2008 I read a book entitled Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities by Richard Baer.



The book was quite intriguing and very well written. Baer's memoir details his journey as a psychiatrist treating a woman who came in to his office to discuss her depression but eventually admitted that she "loses time". Like "Sybil", "Karen Overhill" brought forth different personalities that could handle various situations that other personalities could not.

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When Rabbit Howls is another book that I have thought about reading but never actually read.
Truddi Chase calls named the book by this title because when rabbits are wounded or dying they make a screaming howl sound. Apparently Truddi made this same sound in therapy.

What's remarkable is that Chase actually wrote this book on her own rather than having a psychiatrist write the story for her. I can only image what it was like to uproot abusive memories. Chase was raped by her step father from a very young age.


Truddi Chase - On the Oprah Winfrey Show - 1990

Chase refers to her personalities as her "troops". I remember seeing this interview so long ago and I do remember Chase stating that "the mind is so kind." She stated then that she feels that multiple personality disorder is a way of protecting herself. The personalities help her function.

These stories have wondering about the statistics of MPD. I wonder if it is an illness that is more likely to occur in women than men, and if so why. I am also curious as to why some may be more prone to reacting to trauma through MPD and not something else.

To be honest I am not sure why certain mental health professionals do not believe that MPD exists. It seems evident that it does and I find MPD an example of just how fascinating the mind is.

I am very proud of the strength that these women have been able to muster.