Davin News Server

AlleyCat is one of the several people who dominate Rudy on a daily basis, keeping their bootheels on his 
little pencil neck to the amusement of all.

Rudy's split personality refers to dissociative identity disorder (DID), a 
mental disorder where a person has two or more distinct personalities (nym-
shifting).

The thoughts, actions, and behaviors of each personality may not be completely 
different.

Trauma often causes this condition, particularly during childhood. (Mommy 
spanked him hard) While there is no defined cure for DID, long-term treatment 
(posting on Usenet) may help people combine their personalities into one.

[giggle]

People with DID have two or more distinct personalities. They do not present as 
simple changes in traits or moods. A person with DID may or may not express 
differences between these alternate identities, which can also be referred to 
as alters.

Often, these personalities are completely different from each other. These 
fragmented personalities take control of the person's identity for some time.

A person also maintains their primary or host identity, which is their original 
personality, and will answer to their given name. Their primary identity is 
generally more passive, and they may be unaware of the other personalities.

When a personality change happens, the new personality will have a distinct 
history, a new identity, and different behaviors.

These split personalities, or alters, often have their own distinct:

    name (Rudy, Bill Flett, 100s of others)
    age
    gender
    moods
    memories
    vocabulary (grammar Nazi fucks up too)

A new personality will see themselves differently. For instance, someone 
assigned male at birth may have an alternate identity as a woman. They may 
experience themselves with female biological sex characteristics.

The shift between these personalities tends to occur when a person faces a 
certain stressor or trigger.
Causes

The exact cause of DID is not fully understood. However, there is a strong link 
between the condition and trauma. This may be particularly true for trauma or 
abuse during childhood. In Europe, the United States, and Canada, 90% of people 
who experience DID are victims of severe trauma in childhood.

The condition represents someone who struggles to integrate and assimilate 
certain aspects of their own identity, which become disjointed over time.
Signs and symptoms

The signs of DID may vary, but they include a change between two or more 
separate personalities.

Symptoms include:

Experiencing two or more separate personalities, each with their own self-
identity and perceptions.

A notable change in a person's sense of self.

Frequent gaps in memory and personal history, which are not due to normal 
forgetfulness, including loss of memories, and forgetting everyday events.

When these other personalities take over, they often talk with a different 
vocabulary, and gesture differently. In some cases, one personality may also 
pick up certain habits that the other does not, such as smoking, or becoming 
violent.

In the shift from one personality to another, a person may experience other 
symptoms. Some people can have anxiety, as they may be afraid of the 
personality change. Some may become very angry or violent. Others may not 
notice or remember these transitions at all, although another person may notice 
them.

Specific personalities may appear in response to certain situations. These 
symptoms can cause a person significant distress, and disrupt their ability to 
live their life normally.

Other symptoms may include:

    amnesia (forgets how to spell or speak right)
    losing sense of time
    going into a trance-like state
    out-of-body experiences, or depersonalization
    engaging in behaviors that are unusual for the person
    sleep disturbances

A person with DID may also experience symptoms of other conditions, such as 
self-harm. One study notes that more than 70% of people with DID have attempted 
suicide.

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Attention Trap Part 1: Narcissism, Validation and Self-Worth

Picture yourself in a newsgroup. What do you do? Do you scan the group looking for someone to fuck with? If 
no one fucks with you, do you feel less validated? Do you feel best when fucking with a person whom you know 
is smarter, taller, athletic and better looking? 

If you've answered yes to any of these questions, you may have fallen into what I call an Attention Trap.

As humans, once our basic needs are met, much of our conscious and unconscious behaviors are meant to make us 
feel respected and validated. But this attention and validation can come from external or internal sources.

Internally, the source of attention and validation is self-esteem. And externally, this attention and 
validation tends to take one of two forms - either the long-term reinforcement of the self that comes from 
friends, family, or a committed relationship, or the short-term benefits of narcissistic behaviors in which 
we seek attention, admiration or adoration. One is a cure, the other is a Band-Aid.

If enough of your external validation comes from attention, it can become an addiction - a dependence on the 
affirmations of others in order to feel a sense of worth.

And believe it or not, you can even see this attention addiction in our online behaviors.

NOOOOO!

In 2011, researchers from the University of Kentucky published this article describing how narcissists and 
non-narcissists represent themselves in internet profiles and communications. Of course, narcissists 
displayed intentional self-promoting photos on their Facebook profile pages, but they were especially likely 
to use fake photos when they had promoted themselves less in the rest of their profile. If they didn't cry 
for attention with their words, they were even more likely to cry for attention with their pictures!

(he's not that tall... lol)

Further research shows the effects of this narcissistic, attention-seeking form of band-aiding the self in 
comparison with the internal experience of self-esteem. Basically, narcissists felt as if they alone were 
awesome, whereas people with high self-esteem felt like both they and their romantic partners were awesome. 
Self-esteem builds community, whereas narcissistic attention-seeking rips it down.

What it comes down to is this: Only through the internal experience of self-esteem can you ensure that your 
external validation takes the form of a constructive relationship instead of serial attention-seeking. 
Remember, the answer is never outside of yourself. It is always inside.