JWs and Multiple Personality Disorder

by Illuminated 15 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Illuminated

  Strangely, my Bible Study Conductor spoke to me about how sometimes when witnessing someone would ask a question, and he would recall an answer that he had forgotten he knew, and how it must have been the Holy Spirit taking him over.

  "Holy Spirit" in WT terms aka cult personality. Creepy. 

  I just watched a video on Youtube with Steve Hassan. He was at an exJW event/film review answering questions from ex members. He did confirm Jehovah's Witnesses (cult members in general) have dissociative  personality disorders--cult personality versus the natural/real personality.

  http://youtu.be/MduiLRExRyc

  
  
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  Shanagirl1

  Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD is no longer the term used with this dissociative diagnosis. The current term is Dissociative Identity Disorder.  There are specific criteria for this diagnosis which is usually a result of severe traumatic event to a small child dealing with abuse that is physical and sexual for a sustained period of time.  Though it is a condition that can cause pain and suffering for those that suffer from it, often a survivor with a good therapy program with qualified professional and sometimes with pharmocological support of a psychiatirst, healing will occur thru the integration of these pained "personalities" back into their whole personlity.  Many can and will go on to lead happy and fulfilling lives especially if they are not faced with having to deal with their abuser.  I don't beleive the Jehovah cult personality is DID or Dissociative Identity Disorder. Although a DID patient can have a separate personality within the others that splits off and becomes the "JW" part, with specifc issues and triggers that can exasperate and bring out this part of them.

  
  

  Shana
  
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  steve2

  As others have said, Multiple Personality Disorder currently has a new moniker, Dissociative Personality Disorder (See the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual 5th Ed) - which shows the unsettling ease with which "professionals" (mere fellow humans but you'd never know) create new disorders at the stroke of a few keys. This creation of "disorders" would be laughable and deserving of derision were people's lives not affected and even ruined by the proliferation of psychiatric diagnoses - but I digress:

  There is no evidence to link Dissociative Personality Disorder to the effects of cult membership - although we ought never underestimate the human need to pigeon-hole and the "creation" of even more labels to saddle luckless individuals who embrace their new disorders with impotent gratitude laced with relief.
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  Illuminated

  Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm still a bit confused and  perhaps I'm not understanding DID fully. I did watch this video...http://youtu.be/MduiLRExRyc

  At 30:36 Steve Hassan says:

  "As a mental health professional I would talk about mind control as a dissociative disorder where you're split from yourself, from your true self or your authentic self and part of the healing is feeling your feelings, having your thoughts and developing a tool kit for reality testing..." 
  
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  rebel8

  "Dissociative disorder" is not the same thing as "Dissociative Identity Disorder".

  You can Google the definitions of these things but they has nothing to do with cognitive dissonance or typical cultist behavior.

  Unless Hassan's using the common/dictionary definition of the word dissociation instead of the clinical definition/diagnostic criteria sense), then I completely disagree with him. And even if he is, that is not the same thing as DID.
  

  Calling cultism medical disorders mucks up the issue. Once we can understand what it really is, we can reduce it, but calling it something else eliminates that possibility.

  Cultism is not a disease. It's a lot of things, but it's not a medical condition.
  
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  Illuminated

  rebel8 thank you for clarifying. Prior to creating this thread, a friend of mine had mentioned DID/dissociative disorder when I spoke to her about the natural self being split from the cult personality. I googled the info a bit prior to creating this thread, but was further confused in the articles I read. 

  Hassan did't mention DID in the video--my mistake in thinking it was the same thing. He did respond to another question stating many professionals misdiagnose cult member's symptoms when it's actually a cause of the cult.