LAKE OCONEE — Herschel Walker, University of Georgia and National Football League mega star, has written a book entitled BREAKING FREE.  Walker claims he has been living with Multiple Personality Disorder, or Dissociative Identity Disorder. (DID)

This book follows in the footsteps of previous best sellers on multiple personality disorder such as THE THREE FACES OF EVE and SYBIL in raising the consciousness of our society as to whether such a disorder exists and, if so, what is it all about. This is a very complex issue with many pertinent perspectives relative to such a diagnosis.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association, does recognize such a mental disorder. A summary of its description follows:

“The essential feature of Dissociative Identity Disorder is the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of behavior.  There is an inability to recall important personal information¸ the extent of which is too great to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition. Dissociative Identity Disorder reflects a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory, and consciousness.  Each personality state may be experienced as if it has a distinct personal history, self image, and identity, including a separate name. Usually there is a primary identity that carries the individual's given name and is passive, dependent, guilty, and depressed. The alternate identities frequently have different names and characteristics that contrast with the primary identity (e.g. are hostile, controlling, and self destructive).”

The brain is our three pound internal computer that embodies and facilitates all of our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.  It is complex and not very well understood.  MRI and other imaging techniques are currently of enormous help in understanding how the brain functions.  The brain is both an operant and respondent organ. There are many theories and diagnoses to explain how the brain functions. There is an understanding by many clinicians in the field of psychology that the diagnosis often reflects more of the diagnostician's personality and belief system than it does of the patient.  (Illustrative of such thinking would be those who have studied the personalities and theories of two of the founders of Psychology, Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler).

Most every person has a wide range of feelings, thoughts, and behavior.  How often you personally may have said, “I can't believe I did that.  That's not me.”  Different circumstances and feeling states in our lives at particular times may bring forth behaviors that are not reflective of our “normal” state of being.  Personality is complex, diverse, and often changing over the course of time.

A final thought.  Trauma, particularly in childhood when the brain is developing, is a force that derails normal brain and behavior functioning.  Most all clinical studies involving alleged Dissociative Identity Disorder, have involved some form of severe physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. The brain can become overloaded with the severity of the emotions experienced and may therefore shift into another personality state. How far an individual's personality stretches and if or when it snaps into another is subject for great debate. There is no conclusive evidence at this point.

Whether Herschel has, or did have, this psychiatric disorder is not the intent of this article. Rather it is written to bring objective information about this mental disorder and the range of personality manifestations that can exist in a single human being. Perhaps Herschel's book will foster enlightened interest and dialogue about the complexity of the brain.

— Dr. Stathas is a counseling psychologist, licensed marriage and family Therapist, in the Lake Oconee area. He is the founder of the Stathas Life Development Center. He can be reached at (706) 473-1780. E-mail: Stathas@plantationcable.net Web site: drstathas.googlepages.com.