FOUR MORE CONFLICTING
VIEWS ABOUT MPD AND DID

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Please read the overview to MPD / DID before tackling this essay.

As the name implies, Multiple Personality Disorder (a.k.a. Dissociative Identity Disorder) is a mental condition in which 2 or more personalities appear to inhabit a single body. 

There have been five main conflicting views about MPD:

MPD/DID seem as caused by demon possession:

Most conservative Protestants and many Roman Catholics generally believe in the inerrancy of the Bible: that biblical writings are free of error and are all useful for personal guidance. Although the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) is almost silent on the concept of Satan as an evil supernatural being, that belief is well developed within the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament. Jesus is frequently described as curing many mental disorders by performing exorcisms. He is recorded as driving indwelling demons or "unclean spirits" out of the person. Among the gospels, Matthew has 4 references to demons or unclean spirits; Mark has 9; Luke 10, and John 7.

Many conservative Christians believe that demons sometimes:

Some conservative Christians believe that the Gods and Goddesses worshiped in non-Christian religions are actually Satan himself or his demons.

Most conservative Christians also believe that persons can be possessed by demons. When a person is possessed, they exhibit a unique personality - that of the indwelling evil spirit. The demon can speak through that individual's vocal chords, often in a language unknown to the person. They can sometimes cause schizophrenia, depression, mental instabilities, suicidal thoughts, or MPD/DID. The standard treatment for a demonically possessed person is to drive out the demon(s) by an exorcism ritual.

Often, the person is believed to be possessed by a single demon. In the Christian Scriptures (New Testament), Mark 5:9 relates how a person was controlled by many demons:

"Then He [Jesus} asked him, 'What is your name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.'" (NKJ)

A legion in the army of ancient Rome held 6,000 men. 

Multiple possession is seen by many conservative Protestants as a cause of MPD/DID; to some it is the main or only cause. They often believe that if a person engages in occult experiences, then "points of contact or entanglement with demonic entities" will occur, and "malevolent spiritual entities" (demons) can infiltrate their mind and body. Engaging in occultic activity, or even allowing a non-Christian religious symbol into their home is often referred to as "opening a doorway in their life" through which Satan or one of his demons can enter. Under these conditions, Satan is often referred to as "having a legal right" to possess the individual or a member of their family.

Rex W. Rosenberg, a conservative Christian clinical psychologist who has specialized in MPD, believes that such infiltration can lead to what he calls "demonically - mediated dissociation" (DMD). He asserts that therapists will detect in their clients both the presence of alters, (some of whom will have demonic attachments) and of demons (some of whom will be disguised as alters.) Much harm can be done to the patient if the exact nature of the entities is not precisely determined and matching treatment applied. ₁ He has created an experimental  "Occult Activities and Manifestations Survey" ₂ that an individual can use to detect their degree of involvement with the occult. He lists 96 experiences or manifestations of occult activity e.g. seeing monsters, seeing fairies, being unable to read or understand the Bible, having demonic sexual intercourse with a woman.  He lists 79 occultic activities and organizations e.g. tarot cards, Ouija board, I Ching, palm or tea-leaf reading, biorhythm charts, casting runes, numerology; Christian Science, Eckankar, Hare Krishna, Santeria, Scientology, Unification Church, Witchcraft/Wicca.

Bob Larson of Bob Larson Ministries, a fundamentalist counter-cult and anti-Occult group, stresses the importance of accurately diagnosing whether the victim has a group of alter personalities; or is possessed by evil, demonic spirits; or is suffering from a combination of the two. He explains that:

Accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment are very important, to prevent the victim's condition from degenerating.

Many conservative Christian faith groups believe that a "born-again" believer cannot be possessed by a demon. The rationale most often given is that when a person is "saved", they are filled with Holy Spirit. Thus Satan or a demon cannot also enter their body. However, those who are born again represent a small percentage of the total human population. Demons are thus seen as free to posses many billions of individuals.

The Roman Catholic church has similar beliefs and also uses exorcism rituals. However, the practice is strictly controlled. Church law requires a direct order "of the bishop, after two careful investigations, based on positive indications that possession is in fact present." ₃ Among conservative Protestantism, there are a number of ministries which specialize in exorcisms. Other rituals are done informally by clergy and laity. ₄

Safety Concerns: There are at least two serious concerns about the use of exorcisms:

1. Exorcisms can be extremely dangerous to the survivor's physical health. The procedure sometimes involves severe physical, emotional and mental abuse. Approximately one person per year dies accidentally from the physical trauma inflicted during an exorcism in North America.
2. Fr. J. Mahoney refers to an unidentified study performed by a Dr. Fraser at the Royal Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, ON, Canada. ₃ The seven patients that he reviewed had all undergone a previous exorcism. The patients' religion, that of the exorcists and the exorcism rituals varied from case to case. He concluded:

References:

1. Rex W. Rosenberg; web site dealing with Demonically-Mediated Dissociation" (DMD), essay at: http://www.awav.net/
2. Rex W. Rosenberg, "Occult Activities and Manifestations Survey," essay at: http://www.awav.net/
3. "How is MPD treated," Bob Larson Ministries, at: http://www.boblarson.org/
4. "Freedom For Mary!"  at : http://members.tripod.com/~J17912/MPDemonPossession3.html
5. Fr. J. Mahoney, "Cast Out What?", essay at: http://www.jmahoney.com/

MPD intentionally induced by Satanic groups:

At first, MPD therapists regarded the disorder as a unexpected consequence of extreme abuse during childhood. But some went further and found what they believed to be evidence of deliberately induced MPD. They developed a theory that "mind-control cults" systematically used techniques of ritual abuse and/or Satanic ritual abuse (SRA) in order to create MPD in children. Bob Larson estimates that "An estimated 25 to 60% [sic] multiples have been subjected to ritual torture, sodomy, and mutilation.  Conservative projections of ritual survivals have reached 100,000 in the United States alone." 1 The Los Angeles County Task Force on Ritual Abuse describes programming as follows:

"Mind control is the cornerstone of ritual abuse, the key element in the subjugation and silencing of its victims. Victims of ritual abuse are subjected to a rigorously applied system of mind control designed to rob them of their sense of free will and to impose upon them the will of the cult and its leaders." ₂

The Task Force lists techniques commonly used by the cult, which include:

It was believed that some women within Satanic cults became pregnant often, in order to maintain a supply of newborns to the cult for abusive purposes. They would be delivered by doctors within the cult. Their births were not registered, so that there would be no record of them having existed. Other infants were kidnapped, and used for human sacrifice. Some investigators believed that the cults maintained large, baby-breeding concentration camps. Teenage runaway women were repeatedly raped there; babies born were transported across North America to satisfy the continuous need of the cults. Children were tested at an early age for dissociative ability. Those who passed were systematically abused and carefully programmed in order to generate MPD.

D.W. Neswald, et al, has listed some common programs, which materialize as alters:

The list of organized perpetrators grew to include cults associated with criminal gangs, twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, other self-help mutual support groups, The Society of Friends (the Quakers) and other religious groups, the Masonic Order, illegal mind-control groups within secret government agencies, etc.

These beliefs appear to be fading in North America. In spite of almost two decades of active searching, investigations by law enforcement officers have been unable to uncover any hard evidence that such practices have ever existed. The only supporting evidence are the recovered memories of persons who have undergone Recovered Memory Therapy, either by therapists, within self-help groups or by personal self-hypnosis. Without tangible evidence, it is difficult to sustain such a belief system for more than a decade.

References:

1. "MPD and Satanic Ritural [sic] Abuse (SRA)," Bob Larson Ministries, at: http://www.boblarson.org/
2. "Ritual Abuse," Los Angeles County Commission for Women: The Ritual Abuse Task Force, Los Angeles CA (1991)
3. D.W. Neswald, et al., "Common Programs Observed in Survivors of Satanic Ritualistic Abuse,"  The California Therapist, 1991-Sept./Oct. At: http://www.xroads.com/rahome/com_prog.htm

MPD accidentally induced by playing role playing games:

The False Memory Syndrome Foundation mentioned in their 2006-JUN newsletter:

"For years, some American trauma specialists have claimed that Multiple Personality Disorder is caused by child abuse -- in spite of the fact that there is no solid scientific evidence to support that claim. In March 2006, another theory was offered by Bert de Wildt of the Medical University of Hanover in Germany. Dr. De Wildt said that he had an example of a female patient who had played internet roleplaying games for several hours a day for more than three years. 'During that time the invented characters gradually took control over the personality which had been neglected. The patient lost control of her own identity and social life,' he said. During psychoanalysis, therapists discovered that she had developed multiple personalities." ₁

Reference:

1. "Internet roleplaying games can cause multiple personality  disorder," (2006, March 13). Deutsch Presse-Agentur, 2006-MAR-13.

Multiplicity seen as a naturally occurring phenomenon:

There is a subgroup within the MPD community who often describe themselves as "empowered multiples" (EMs). Others use terms like "non-disordered multiples." "natural multiples," or "non-trauma multiples." They look upon multiple personalities as a gift, and a naturally occurring phenomenon, unrelated to childhood abuse. They differentiate themselves from what they call "survivor multiples": victim survivors of MPD who are seriously disabled by their multiplicity. EMs have not been well accepted by survivor multiples. When they ask survivor webmasters to install links to EM web sites, they "have been rejected for 'unsuitable content.' "

Sharon wrote: "Empowered groups believe that being a multiple means that you have a community or world all sharing one body. They do not believe it means you have any kind of disorder...many multiples have proven themselves capable of living happy, productive lives WITHOUT INTEGRATING. There is no cure for being a multiple...it is a state of being, and just as natural as being left-handed...We are people, not identities, alters, fragments or 'parts'. We are not ashamed of who we are, because we are multiple and proud!" ₁

Most empowered multiples do not accept:

Most empowered multiples:

Some empowered multiples:

What does the future hold for EMs?

Many therapists who once specialized in diagnosing MPD / DID as a mental disorder have now abandoned the field. The approximately two dozen clinics in North America who specialized in this disorder are now closed or converted to offering more conventional therapies. The future might see empowered multiples become more visible as the number of clients diagnosed with DPD / DID become rarer. With visibility may come acceptance by therapists and the rest of the public.. 

References used:

1. Sharon, "The Empowered: A new brand of multiple," at: http://www.darkpersonalities.com/ This essay is no longer online.
2. Larry, "Larry the Harmonica Player," at: http://www.darkpersonalities.com/ This essay is no longer online.
3. "Multiplicity as a social phenomenon," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/

Related essays on this Website:

Copyright © 1998 to 2004 incl., by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 1998-JAN-11
Last updated on 2004-JUN-10
Author: B.A. Robinson