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“Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

freddiedeboer.substack.com

171–175 of 175 posts

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone very close to me had a serious mental illness. Nobody has any idea what the illness is. Different doctors give it different names. The same doctors give it different names. I eat the impression doctors are less worried about the “anatomy” of the illness, and more worried about finding a cure. If “take these anti-psychotics daily, get 8 hours of sleep a night, and meet weekly with a therapist” prevents symptom…

You seem to be implying that this is a bad thing. Diagnoses and categorisations are all fake, and constructed. The only reason why it's interesting to diagnose is that we may notice similar treatments are helpful for people with similar diagnoses. Diagnosis isn't inherently useful; it's a means to an end.

It leaves out a very important part of processing illness: knowing what happened.

When people are sick they want to know “what’s wrong with me.” When given medication they want to known how the medication works.

Unexplained healings are better than being sick, but not as good actually knowing what was wrong with you.

For example, someone has 6 hour episode where they detach from reality and have intense hallucinations. What are these hallucinations? Repressed fears? Forgotten desires?

These hallucinations are possible the most intense phenomena this person will ever experience. What do they mean?!?

The real upside is that psychiatrists have the humility to say “we have no idea how this works.”

The downside is it leaves room for pseudo-experts to peddle whatever trash they want.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#172
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Multiple personalities in the same body? Being chased by imaginary dragons and lions for the rest of your life? Fuck yeah, I'm being dismissive.

> Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

What work?

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#173
post #125

Self-interpretations can't really be right or wrong. Science can't tell you how you should see yourself. That said, there are self-interpretations that seem pretty self-destructive, and seeing yourself as having multiple identities seems like one.

> there are self-interpretations that seem pretty self-destructive That's the counter argument to your previous assertion. A self-interpretation is wrong if it destroys the self. By destroying the interpreter (the self), the interpretation becomes an unfalsifiable claim.

This is just nonsense. You're not wrong for being foolhardy, or for doing something I see as self-destructive. Presumably you have a reason that makes it worth it to you. Everyone is destructed in the end anyway.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#174
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there are self-interpretations that seem pretty self-destructive That's the counter argument to your previous assertion. A self-interpretation is wrong if it destroys the self. By destroying the interpreter (the self), the interpretation becomes an unfalsifiable claim.

This is just nonsense. You're not wrong for being foolhardy, or for doing something I see as self-destructive. Presumably you have a reason that makes it worth it to you. Everyone is destructed in the end anyway.

> Everyone is destructed in the end anyway.

Is this true? How do you know?

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#175
post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

What work?

Not only work.
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