9781422280126

H aving “multiple personalities” is a mental health problem that is often associated with villains in the movies and on TV. In 2017, the director M. Night Shyamalan, who is known for his twist endings, released the film Split . The picture stars James MacAvoy as a murderer with two dozen personalities who kidnaps three girls.The hostages must negotiate and interact with each one to try and escape the deadliest identity within their captor’s mind. The fact is, most people with this chronic emotional illness are not murderous at all, and many in the medical field criticize such a depiction because it paints these patients in a negative light. Research has shown that they are far more likely to hurt themselves than other people. Today, the condition is called dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) says that about 2% of the population experience dissociative disorders. In a 2016 article in the Charlotte Observer, reporter Amanda Harris described the interesting case of Amelia Joubert, an 18-year-old high school student who in many ways acted like a typical teen. Like most other DID patients, Joubert was a functional, responsible person. Many with the condition hold steady jobs, complete college degrees, and succeed as spouses and parents. One part of her life wasn’t normal, however—she was often troubled by voices she heard in her head. At first, Joubert thought the voices were coming from ghosts. In the article, she says, “For the longest time, I had no idea what was going on with me.” The voices then grew in strength until they were taking control of her mind, which NAMI says is typ-

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Personality