# Article - From Split to Psycho: why cinema fails dissociative identity disorder



## 99880 (Mar 17, 2016)

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/12/cinema-dissociative-personality-disorder-split-james-mcavoy

It's very controversial but the research on blood flow, mentioned in the article, is interesting.


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## Zed (Jul 25, 2015)

Interesting article, though it doesn't really address the reason WHY DID is so negatively portrayed in the media. Most (if not all) of the films the author mentions, which are (loosely) based on DID, come from the Hollywood studios btw.. they're the main ones relaying the untruths about DID. You'll notice if the media run a segment on someone with DID, there'll be clips of at least one Hollywood movie in there...

The new film 'Split' looks like the typical garbage that's been coming out of Hollywood for decades - as usual portraying the male multiple as a dangerous, violent psycho, prone to 'doing bad things'.. As the article suggests, nothing could be farther from the truth.

So why the untruths about DID? And why the denial by so many 'professionals' and people in our society that it even exists? I was told by a psychiatrist who specialised in DID and dissociative disorders, that about 1/3 of psychiatrists won't accept DID exists, another 1/3 refuse to see patients presenting with DID and the remaining 1/3 accept the illness and do their best to help. So even in a profession which specialises in mental health, only approximately 1/3 will be willing to offer any assistance. Denial just bleeds down from there...

The vast majority of multiples come from backgrounds of repeated, ongoing childhood sexual abuse - starting before the ages of around 5 or 6. Our societies have a lot of trouble accepting this fact. Most people just don't want to believe this could happen to a child and spend the majority of their lives living in denial. Such a heavy component of denial across the board from professionals to family and friends makes it very difficult to recover from the trauma that was inflicted on DID patients - it takes a long time and a lot of support to recover from DID. It's similar for people trying to recover from DPD and DR. Denial and lack of support in our communities hold back our recovery.


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## TDX (Jul 12, 2014)

> So why the untruths about DID? And why the denial by so many 'professionals' and people in our society that it even exists?


Some days ago Elliott, me and some others had a chat with inferialpolice. He is a nice guy and it's my impression that he wants to do good, but if all people in the dissociative disorders community share his beliefs I can understand why many psychiatrists don't believe in DID. I also find it very difficult, because of all the bullshit that surrounds this topic and have not yet decided whether it really exists or not.

For the very same reason I'm against putting Depersonalization Disorder into the same drawer.


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## Zed (Jul 25, 2015)

TDX said:


> Some days ago Elliott, me and some others had a chat with inferialpolice. He is a nice guy and it's my impression that he wants to do good, but if all people in the dissociative disorders community share his beliefs I can understand why many psychiatrists don't believe in DID. I also find it very difficult, because of all the bullshit that surrounds this topic and have not yet decided whether it really exists or not.
> 
> For the very same reason I'm against putting Depersonalization Disorder into the same drawer.


What's your reasoning with finding this all so hard to understand? Give us some examples


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## Billy D.P. (Apr 12, 2016)

Good article and good point in the end. It's unfortunate but you can't expect Hollywood to portray mental illness or DID accurately. That's not what they do. That's not their business. And most importantly, that's not what makes money. It's nice there's growing awareness about this subject but I wish it was more in the realm of public policy, government and schools rather than in Hollywood.

I've also always found it baffling how some "experts" refuse to acknowledge certain conditions. I just don't understand how people who've devoted their lives to helping others aren't willing to listen to those people whom they're trying to help. It's beyond crazy to me.


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## Zed (Jul 25, 2015)

^ yes very true about Hollywood not in the business to educate people - rather it's all about the money. Interesting though because most peoples understanding of DID often comes from the movies they've seen, and as we know, they've typically portrayed a very inaccurate picture of what DID really is, so most peoples ideas are very distorted.



Billy D.P. said:


> I've also always found it baffling how some "experts" refuse to acknowledge certain conditions. I just don't understand how people who've devoted their lives to helping others aren't willing to listen to those people whom they're trying to help. It's beyond crazy to me.


Me too.. I gave up on 'experts' who don't listen a long time ago. Psychiatrists are well known for their inability to sit and listen to their patients. Instead we're met with an attitude of 'I am the expert and I know what's going on for you', when in actual fact they mostly have very little knowledge about how to properly DX and treat dissociative patients.. Dissociative patients are very often articulate in describing their symptoms, and to fall on deaf ears is not only frustrating but also potentially very damaging because incorrect diagnosis's and treatments can do more harm than good.


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## Chicane (Oct 8, 2015)

What I hate about dissociation in the media is that they always have a field day with the most extreme example they can dream up. The Split movie has a pretty absurd premise to begin with, and although it's possible to have a multitude of personalities, the degree to which the main guy experiences all of them is clearly ridiculous. It's like that show, Criminal Minds. The people they track down in it always have a "psychotic break" and become instant serial killers, because clearly, that's what all those who experience psychosis become. :roll:

To me, Hollywood and TV studios have done nothing except contribute to and exacerbate the social stigma that accompanies mental disorders. I get that having a guy who's maybe just a little mentally off wouldn't make for a great film, but I kind of think mental illness should be treated with a little more reverence. It's not like we're bad people, we don't choose to have poor mental health.

I think it's contributed to a lot of people fearing that they may have something like schizophrenia too. Because we only ever hear of the worst possible cases. There are numerous people with schizophrenia who have semi-normal, productive lives who aren't batshit crazy and don't hurt people. They take medication and get on with their lives the same as anyone else. But you'd think it was an unmanageable crazy person death sentence the way it's portrayed in the media.


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2017)

Perhaps one issue with the disbelief in genuine DID is that it is used as a legal defense when someone has committed a serious crime in order to avoid responsibility for their actions. Sometimes this is a tactic and bogus, and it's not hard to see why some people are cynical in those instances. Those tend to be rare and sensationalized examples, but sadly those tend to be the ones that shape popular opinion.

Although I think it's always difficult to place a person's mindscape into a convenient model and describe it accurately, I think that DID likely does exist, if you choose to describe it that way. Different thoughts/memories/triggers access different states - of being and awareness if you like - so if you believe, as I do, that mental illness is just a question of degree, then if you take it to the extreme it could certainly appear that someone is switching from personality to personality - again, if you choose to describe it in those terms.

As for the movie, Shyamalan has had a very mixed career and made some real stinkers, but as pure entertainment it looks like it might be worth a watch!


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## Guest (Jan 28, 2017)

Watched it last night, great performance by James McAvoy, went from meek to intimidating in an instant. It is bull in psychological reality (or is it??) but was entertaining.


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