Comment by Glenn on 23 Apr 2010 at 12:04 pm

Hi Karen,

Happened to read your story this week. I admire you. I have a friend who is mpd. We spent one evening a week ago watching Sybil and United States of Tara. She felt both stories to be extreme and exaggerated. I bought Switching Time and gave her the book after. She said and I agree your case is the first case that makes sense. Thank you for writing it. One question. If you met a fellow mpd patient would you recognize the symptoms if the person was real or not?

Dear Glenn,

Thank you for sharing! I, too, had a difficult time watching Sybil and United States of Tara. Actually, I never completely finished watching Sybil. As for United States of Tara, I did watch every episode during the first season and left many comments on the IMDb message board. There were some similarities to me, but sadly multiplicity, as an illness, was distorted. I’m glad I never watched these shows or movies during my therapy years. I would have found myself distracted, overwhelmed, and in inner turmoil. I’m not sure how your friend perceived watching these shows, but I would hope she discussed doing so with her therapist. Each multiple is unique. I’m not like the dramatic depiction of Sybil or Tara of USoT.  Both are exaggerated depictions of an illness, but I understand the truth may be too boring for an audience in need of drama.

Thank you for buying Switching Time, reading it, and sharing it with your girlfriend. I’m glad to hear you both agree my story made more sense and will help your friend’s healing. That’s very important to me: to know my story can make a difference.

I never ran into someone I recognized as a multiple. But I think I would be able to tell whether someone was faking multiplicity. I pick up on people’s emotions more than I wish to. Maybe it’s my sixth sense. Sadly, there are some who fake this illness to draw attention to themselves.

Thank you for your compliments.

Karen