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In the autumn of
1990, reporters nationwide gathered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
They hoped to meet Emily, Franny, John, Ginger, Eleanor, Leona,
Frank, Beth, Sam, and 34 other personalities occupying the
mind of Sarah, an alleged rape victim. Oshkosh prosecutors
argued that the accused rapist exploited Sarah's mental disorder
by coaxing one of her personalities, a flirtatious 20-year-old
named Jennifer, into having sex with him. A jury convicted
the man of second-degree sexual assault. The verdict was later
overturned.1
In the summer of 1983, the bodies of Rod
and Marilyn Carlson were found beside a road in Douglas County,
Colorado. Both had been shot execution-style in the back of
the head. Ross Carlson, their teenage son, was later charged
with the murders. Shortly after the arrest, a psychiatrist
diagnosed the teenager as a victim of Multiple Personality
Disorder. Eventually, therapists identified as many as 10
personalities residing within Carlson. His attorneys later
argued that Carlson's parents were abusive people who forced
their twisted religion on their only child, causing him to
develop the diverse characters as a defense mechanism. But
prosecutors painted Carlson as a cold-blooded killer. The
six-year drama ended in 1989 when, at age 25, Ross Carlson
died of leukemia.
The stories of Sarah and Ross Carlson have
generated huge public interest in the phenomenon of Multiple
Personality Disorder (MPD). In addition to these unprecedented
cases, films like Sybil, The Minds of Billy Milligan, and
The Three Faces of Eve have brought the issue of dissociative
disorder into the media spotlight.
WHAT
MPD IS:
MPD is a mental condition in which the personality
becomes fragmented ("dissociated") into two or more distinct
identities, each of which may become dominant and control
behavior from time to time to the exclusion of the others.
These identities are called "alter personalities" (often simply
"alters") and each maintains its own integrity of characteristics
and habits. Each has its own age, name, sex, intelligence,
and personal tastes.
People suffering from MPD usually endured
devastating traumas in childhood, such as incest, abuse, and
ritual torture. Their minds were shattered by feelings of
guilt, shame, and terror. These emotions, along with the need
to survive in the presence of dangerous circumstances, caused
them to subconsciously divide their minds into alters to keep
their condition hidden and to protect them-selves from further
harm. Certain information, memories, and feelings were encapsulated
in specific personalities.
MPD allows abused individuals like Sarah
and Ross to deal with the past by containing hurtful memories
in various personalities. These alters cope like the pieces
of a pie. Each piece has a limited amount of coping power.
When that limit is reached, the switch to another alter occurs.2
Through effective integration therapy, the disparate pieces
can be put back together to allow the person to reclaim a
normal life
HOW
MPD OCCURS:
According to Dr. James Friesen, author of
the book, Uncovering the Mystery of MPD, about 97 percent
of multiples suffered some type of serious abuse at young
ages.3 Victims of such mistreatment
create altered personality states to absorb the emotional
anguish and physical pain.
Dr. Walter Young, clinical director of the
National Center for Treatment of Dissociative Disorders, explains
that children can't run away from abuse. They have nowhere
to hide but inside their heads. According to Young, "As the
victim grows up, the separate personality becomes more autonomous
and available for everyday use.".4 Breakdown
of this coping mechanism can produce severe symptoms, including
suicide ideation, depression, mental confusion, and intrusive
thoughts or voices.
Most victims of MPD are bright and artistic.
Many are incredibly gifted. It is this high level of intelligence
that allowed them to dissociate to protect them-selves and
function during the abuse. Most suffer feelings of fear, confusion,
alienation, and rejection. Many harbor an inability to trust,
and some feel intense self-hatred. Because each individual
personality is complex and integrated with its own unique
behavior patterns and social relationships, many host bodies
lose track of time when a particular alter is manifesting
("out").
MPD
AND SATANIC RITUAL ABUSE (SRA):
Many victims of MPD emerge from families
which were involved in some form of the occult. Perhaps the
most traumatized of MPDs are victims of Satanic Ritual Abuse
(SRA). An estimated 25 to 60 percent of multiples have been
subjected to ritual torture, sodomy, and mutilation. Conservative
projections of ritual survivors have reached 100,000 in the
United States alone.5
Satanic cult programmers may purposely create
alters in these subjects through the use of triggers, words
or symbols which evoke a previously im-planted response. For
example, an SRA survivor may be programmed so that every time
he sees the color red a self-mutilating alter will come out
and cut the body. Some victims are subjected to mock communion,
are told they will die on a certain date, or are systematically
tortured or mutilated. Often, certain alter personalities
of those victimized by satanic ritual abuse are programmed
to continue attending ceremonies to ensure loyalty to the
cult.
HOW
MPD IS TREATED:
MPD disrupts the victims comprehensive identity
and total memory system. These traumatized multiples lose
contact with the person God meant them to be. To heal, they
must focus on wholeness and truth. The Christian community
is the perfect haven for MPD victims to be unconditionally
loved and accepted. In Psalm 17:8-9, God encourages MPD victims
to seek his protection: "Hide me in the shadow of your wings
from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who
surround me."
Although some secular clinicians and even
members of the Christian community doubt the existence of
MPD, professionals say diagnoses are on the rise. To skeptics,
scars, markings, and increasing reports that correlate between
what patients tell clinicians testify to the reality of dissociative
disorders. Regardless of what critics say, the emergence of
MPD is becoming so great that it can't be ignored. It is the
responsibility of every concerned Christian to minister to
those in emotional bondage and let them know that the Lord
"Heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm
147:3).
1. Chris Waddington, "Multiple Personalities,"
Rocky Mountain News, 4 February 1992, p.27.
2. James G. Friesen, "Treatment for Multiple Personality
Disorder. Integrating Alter Personalities and Casting Out
Evil Spirits," The Journal of Christian Healing, vol.11.,
no.3, Fall 1989, p.6.
3. James G. Friesen, Ph.D., Uncovering the Mystery of MPD,
Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, c 1991,
p. 38, 42.
4. Chris Waddington, "Multiple Personalities," Rocky Mountain
News, 4 February 1992, p.27.
5. James G. Friesen, Ph.D., Uncovering the Mystery of MPD,
Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, c 1991,
p.209.
Written
by Bob Larson
For more information, contact
us or come to our meetings every Tuesday at 7:00 PM
at Ignited Church in Lakeland, FL. |
