Comment by S. Jefferson on October 23, 2008 6:16 pm

Hi Karen,

Great story! Crazy in so many distinguished ways and so utterly mind bggling. I can comprehend and grasp your constant headaches. I had one trying to perceive it all. This book well covered an entire therapeutic history. Congratulations to you on recovering and congratulations to Richard Baer on accomplishing the art of writing and publishing a book! Remarkable, immense and unusual!

S. Jefferson

Dear S. Jefferson,

Yes, I agree that my story, in Switching Time, is mind boggling and not for the weak and timid.  It’s interesting to me that you mentioned my headaches.  These headaches were a definite nuisance. I guess I could see how reading our book can cause you a headache, too! 

Thank you for all of your compliments, especially on our book being a complete history of our therapeutic journey.

Karen

Comment by Eleni on October 23, 2008 6:00 am

Hi Karen,

I don’t know what to ask you?  But I will tell you one thing.  This book made me a believer in multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder.  I totally understand it now.  Thank you for contributing to science.

Eleni

Dear Eleni,

I can imagine how hard it is to try to figure out what to ask after reading Switching Time.  Thank you for coming to a understanding of this illness and believing in the possibilities that come from those who suffer from multiple personality disorder and dissociative disorders.

Please come back and visit this site, especially if you should think of any future questions. 

Thank you for your compliment on Switching Time being a contribution to science. That means a lot, not only me, but also to Dr. Baer.

Karen 

Comment by Kara Beth on October 22, 2008 8:55 pm

Karen Overhill,

Did your alters ever fool yourself? I am curious if you ever planned something and an alter came out and ruined everything? I couldn’t put your book down. It trapped me. What an inspiration you are to survive. Thank you for leaving the reader in awe!

Kara Beth

Dear Kara Beth,

Yes, my alters fooled me many times.  I would plan on going somewhere and wind up somewhere else.  Most of the time, if something needed to be done, it was done.  What the alters would interfere with was social activities that I had planned for myself, such as shopping, lunch with a friend, or trying to spend some time alone. When it came to things like my children’s schedules and activities, sessions with Dr. Baer, doctor appointments, or work, I was always on time.  My alters usually kept me organized and never late.

Thank you for your compliments, I appreciate hearing that my story has inspired you.

Karen

Comment by Bridget on October 22, 2008 6:07 pm

Dear Karen,

How are you this time of year? Halloween’s almost here, how does this holiday make you feel? What do you usually do on this holiday? Do you still live in fear, stay hidden inside or found a way to accept things for what they are? I read Switching Time months ago and it came to me about how you deal with reminders during certain holiday events since every holiday was tainted in horror including Christmas?

Stay positive, pray towards heaven but row towards shore.

Bridget

Dear Bridget,

Halloween is not exactly my favorite holiday.  I try never to think back to the Halloweens of my past and try to enjoy the cute parts of this day.  I am usually at work giving out candy from my desk to the over four hundred children that come to visit.  It’s exciting for me to see the joy in their eyes as they collect their goodies, children who have no fear and believe it’s just candy day.  Sometimes I do think back to the fun I could’ve experienced if not abused. When this happens, I try to replace these thoughts with something pleasant.

Although most holidays in my past were met with stress, they no longer are.  I am an adult now, with a more adult way of coping with clowns, skeletons, masks, etc., things that used to terrify me.

Thank you for your questions and encouraging words.

Karen

Comment by Leaf on October 22, 2008 5:22 pm

Hi Karen,

I viewed all the videos and read all reviews. Richard Baer did a great job in writing the book and you are doing a great job answering all our questions. I had a thought about your true identity. Why aren’t you visible to the public eye? Are you ashamed of who you are? Is Richard Baer ashamed of you? Us people need to see real people and you are real right? If you aren’t pretty or photogenic it doesn’t matter to anyone. Can you add a picture of yourself and of Richard Baer here?

Best of luck in your future, Leaf

Dear Leaf,

Thank you for viewing our videos, reading all our reviews and especially for your compliments on Dr. Baer’s writing and my answers.  I’ve kept my identity guarded because I didn’t wish to draw attention towards myself or my family and friends. What is important is sharing my story in hope to help others with their own personal journey.

I am not ashamed to have survived a horrific childhood nor ashamed of surviving MPD.  This is who I am.  And I believe I am a stronger woman because I am a survivor.  Dr. Baer is not ashamed of me, either.  He is proud of all that we accomplished together and never once made me feel less than the survivor I am.  And, yes, I am real.

What I look like is not important.  I am just one woman who decided to share her story.  But we’re not avoiding being more in the public eye, we just haven’t been asked to make more appearances than we already have.  For now, if you view our videos or read some of our many articles you will see a glimpse of the both of us.

Karen

Comment by Professor on October 21, 2008 10:38 pm

Have to review your book! Incredible! Overwhelming! Powerful! Honorable! Hopeful! Encouraging! Irresistable! Inconceivable! Invincible! I know there’s more words to describe this book! I could go on and on. Your mind, Karen and Richard Baer’s mind must have been in constantly challenged! Richard Baer is genius! Karen is brilliant! Two souls merging together to figure out the impossible, integration. Two minds, one journey, you both make the psych world more interesting.

Professor

Dear Professor,

What a joy to read such a wonderful review!  Thank you very much, you made my day!  Dr. Baer and I truly appreciate your comments!  I am glad to hear you believe in our story and that it makes the psych world more interesting.  The mind is very complex and fascinating!   It’s amazing and interesting; I learn more each day.

It’s true, the therapeutic relationship Dr. Baer and I shared was intense and difficult.  We were both constantly challenged.  My healing took a long time.  Dr. Baer’s strength eventually rubbed off on me and together we were able to accomplish an inconceivable once in a lifetime journey. 

Thank you again for all your compliments. 

Karen

Comment by Lucy 52 on October 21, 2008 7:17 pm

Hi Karen,

No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, one Yes from me, My name is Lucy I am an alter suffering in Wilma from mpd. I am the only one of 14 alters who wants to integrate. No one else wants to. My core person is Wilma and she read your book. When she read your book we could read it to. Wilma told her therapist who told her your story was a croc of shit. I don’t agree. I agree that integration will help us. The others now hate me and the book caused a major problem to me. I found this site when looking for you. What could I do to convince the others? I can’t rest. Wilma’s therapist won’t listen to us alters. Claims we shouldn’t be heard. Your doctor talked with all the parts so why is Wilma’s doctor saying he won’t?

Wilma’s alter,
Lucy 52

Dear Lucy 52,

I’m sorry that you are in an awkward position within your system.  Being an alter in disagreement with your partner alters can be very stressful.  Please know that some of my alters fought in the same way.  Not all agreed when integration became a possible solution.  Changing the mindset of all  the alters within Wilma will take time.  There were many steps Dr. Baer had to take in order to even suggest integration.  It took time for each alter to build trust and be confidant in the greater purpose for which they each were born.  As a child, each of my alters had a job to do, but as an adult there was no need for these same duties to be performed.  After a while, during therapy, one by one, they accepted that integration was the best choice for us all to become one.

I believe Wilma read Switching Time because she is interested in getting well.  I’m not sure why Wilma’s therapist is adamant and refuses to believe in Dr. Baer’s treatment and my healing.  It’s hard to know why his opinions of my story are so strong when he doesn’t really know anything about it.  I hope he at least reads Switching Time before making another judgment and sharing his pessimism with his patients.

Thank you for sharing with me. I believe the others inside you are just frightened and fear integration, as my alters once did.  These feelings may pass as understanding is accomplished.

I wish all of you a safe journey to wholeness.

Karen 

Comment by secretshadows on October 17, 2008 1:37 am

Karen,
I just finished reading the book about your healing journey. It was so very touching. I admire your strength, and the persistence with which your system stuck to the task of healing. I also have DID. I am not a survivor of Ritual Abuse, but there were some aspects of your history that I could identify with. I really, really like the artwork provided by Jensen at the end of the book. The picture of Karl speaks volumes!!! And the one with the stars is heartwarming. How awesome that must be for you to have this record of your journey! I can’t even imagine what it is like for you to look back on it all. I am at the beginning stages of my therapy. I was diagnosed a little over a year ago. I wasn’t totally new to the idea. I had been diagnosed “dissociative” in the past, but never had it clarified, and wasn’t really treated for it. I was mostly just stabalized at the time. I read the chapters on integration of the alters, and I was just in awe. I wonder how that’s even possible, but I know it is. It’s really hard when that’s all you know. I could identify, some, with the feeling at the end of being “alone”. I worry about that myself, but I know I am very far from that point and may feel differently when I get there.

Your story is an inspiration. I just wanted to come here and let you know how I felt about reading your story, and tell you that you are definitely reaching people with this text.

Secret Shadows

Dear Secret Shadows,

I truly appreciate all that you have shared.  It’s nice to hear that my story is reaching people.  I can empathize with how you are feeling early in therapy.  It was difficult for me, too!  I never thought I would survive and comtemplated giving up more than a few times.  But I wasn’t alone; there were parts of me that were stronger, and their persistence paid off.  One of my alters sought help and found Dr. Baer.  Of course, there were alters that tried to sabatoge any good thing, but I believe these efforts were caused by fear and not meant to hurt me.

Being diagnosed and in treatment with a dissociative disorder is time consuming and takes patience.  Dr. Baer was a blessing.  He kept me calm and allowed me to call him when I wasn’t.  I always tried to be fair and not take up too much of his time, but he knew in treating me would be draining.  For many years I survived from one session to the next, and from one call to the next.  If it weren’t for Dr. Baer’s care, I surely wouldn’t be here.

My strength and persistence came from knowing that someone cared. My alters stuck to the therapy because Dr. Baer was a great therapist and had gained their trust.  I believe all my alters were on the same side and wanted me well. The period of abuse I suffered in a ritualistic way was minor compared to the many years I suffered at the hands of my father and grandfather, who went through many phases of different ways they could hurt me. The ritualistic period was not long but enough to damage my spirit more.

Thank you for all your compliments on Jensen’s drawings. All of these drawings have a special meaning to me, more than words can say.  My alters are gone now; they are within me, and I am very happy to have all that has been written and the pictures I’ve drawn to hold on to.  I admit, it’s overwhelming for me to look back sometimes.  I try to look forward.  And when I need reassurance of how far I’ve come, I look back and see a world I no longer wish to be a part of.

During my therapy I needed to be stabilized before the real work could begin.  Integration was accomplished and succeeded after building trust, feeling content, and believing it was possible to survive.  I had to first re-establish the faith that was stolen from me as a child.  Dr. Baer helped me with all of this.  I know integration seems impossible, but it really did work for me.  I was very afraid to be alone without alter help after integration.  Realizing that all my alters were a part of me and not removed from me helped me understand the necessity of integration.  I wasn’t functioning well with switching and losing time.  I am now one woman with multiple talents learning to live my life the best way I can.  There are days I miss having an alter. Then I really think back to the chaos and realize my life wasn’t working with alter help.

Thank you again for writing in. I have visited your website and am glad to know there is more information being shared about dissociative disorders.

Karen

Comment by Anonymous on October 20, 2008 10:49 pm

Dear Karen,

It seems to me you understand everybody. This is a multiple’s talent. Were you the same before integration? I am at a loss for words after reading your story. I can’t even describe all that I feel. You touched me. Thank you for giving the world a glimpse into your world.

BB

Dear BB,

Thank you for your compliments. I am glad to hear my story touched you and left you speechless. I try my best to be empathetic to everyone. I believe being attuned to everyone is a gift. Maybe this is a “mulltiple” talent, I’m not sure.  I don’t know anyone personally who suffered from multiplicity like me.

I do make mistakes sometimes when I try to be understanding. I pick up sadness in others. There have been times I was wrong and felt to blame for whatever hurt someone else was feeling when most likely it had nothing to do with me. Being this way, at times, can be a disadvantage. I try my best not to read into something that’s not there.

I care about everyone. At my job I need to try my best to be a good listener. I have always been like this. I remember being this way even when my alters were present.

Karen

Comment by Male 3rd. on October 20, 2008 9:44 pm

All parents are to blame for their children being abused in the event they are. I am not digusting I am normal like all men. God forbid any parent takes their own blame for not being a parent. I begged the parents not to leave with me the girl I was sentenced for abusing. I told them I don’t like kids but they were in need of my help. The girl kept jumping on me what was I supposed to do? I told her to shut up and she went quiet. I won’t ever be hurting a child again, it wasn’t worth it. I pay the price everyday. STOP calling me a child molestor.

Dear ?,

I don’t believe you begged the parents of the little girl you abused not to leave you alone with her. Did you tell them you felt like sexually abusing their daughter?  I think not. You are digusting.  And yes, you are a convicted child molester who hadn’t served enough time in prison for the crime you commited.  I believe this little girls parents trusted you or they wouldn’t have asked for your help. You not only destroyed this little girl’s innocence, you also destroyed her parent’s faith in you.

How dare you write that this little girl was jumping on you!  Are you saying she wanted to be abused?  You are perverted!  What were you suppose to do?  Be a man, gently push her away and do the right thing.  Obviously your mind can’t understand what you’ve done.  You were the adult and should’ve acted appropriately.  Since you acted on your own immature sexual impulses, you are sick and definitely not rehabilitated. Therefore, you continue to have the mindset of a child molester even after you served five years. You are not well. Please seek help.

Karen