Lesson 2

Learning Activity: Dissociative Identity Disorder Criteria Within the Movie

Sybil

1. How is the essential feature of a dissociative disorder portrayed in the movie?

- The essential feature of the dissociative disorder in the movie Sybil is that it is
emphasized throughout the movie that she has 16 different personalities, and the
audience experiences these different personalities both from an outside perspective (as
the main character) and through Sybil's eyes (which are different characters;
sometimes a young girl, sometimes another woman); however, there are four main
personalities that she usually recalls when she is under pressure. In these scenes, we
also see how emotional conditions that alter personalities reveal themselves. Vicky is
an overconfident, sophisticated French girl who knows Sybil's other personalities:
Peggy is the p

2. How are the integrative functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or

perception of the environment disrupted in Sybil?
- Where sybil encounters stressors, the integrative functions of consciousness,
memory, identity, or perception of the environment are disrupted. When Sybil
encounters a stressor, she switches identities. And when that happens, she forgets
about it. And her parents' perception of the environment was that if a person is not a
Catholic, that person is

3. Describe Sybil in terms of the Diagnostic criteria for 300.14 Dissociative

Identity Disorder.
- According to the Diagnostic criteria for 300.14 Dissociative Identity Disorder a
person who have a DID is identity characterized by two or more distinct personalities
which sybil have 16 different personalities. According to the Diagnostic criteria for
300.14 Dissociative Identity Disorder, Inability to recall important personal
information that is

4. In the description of course for DID it is stated that the average time period
form first symptom presentation to diagnosis is 6-7 years. Do you feel this is
accurate for Sybil? Why or why not?
- Yes, I feel that it is accurate for sybil because she was tortured/abused when she
was a child and she alter different identity when she was 8 years old. So it goes on 6-7
years when her first symptom happened. She alter different personality because she
learns to cope up by mentally escaping the trauma by pretending in a way that it
actually happened to someone else. She alter different personality when she had
stressor. When sybil are weak other personality controls her body.

5. Sybil had many alters (other identities). List all of them, together with the year
in which each appeared to have dissociated from the central personality and a
brief description of the personality of each of the alters. The DSM states females
have more identities than do males, averaging 15 or more, whereas males
average approximately 8 identities. What are your thoughts, after seeing the
movie Sybil, about why this may be?
 Sybil Isabel Dorsett (1923), the main personality
 Victoria Antoinette Scharleau (1926), nicknamed Vicky, self-assured and
sophiticated young French girl.
 Peggy Lou Baldwin (1926), assertive, enthusiastic, and often angry
 Peggy Ann Baldwin (1926), a counterpart of Peggy Lou but more fearful than
angry
 Mary Lucinda Saunders Dorsett (1933), a thoughtful, contemplative, and
maternal homebody
 Marcia Lynn Dorsett (1927), an extremely emotional writer and painter
 Vanessa Gail Dorsett (1935), intensely dramatic, fun-loving, and a talented
musician.
 Mike Dorsett (1928), one of Sybil's two male selves, a builder and a carpenter
 Sid Dorsett (1928), the second of Sybil's two male selves, a carpenter and a
general handyman. Sid took his name from Sybil's initials
(Sybil Isabelle Dorsett), meaning that Mason's personality would have been
named Sam (Shirley Ardell Mason)
 Nancy Lou Ann Baldwin (date undetermined), interested in politics as the
fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and intensely afraid of Roman Catholics
 Sybil Ann Dorsett (1928), listless to the point of neurasthenia
 Ruthie Dorsett (date undetermined), a baby and one of the less developed selves
 Clara Dorsett (date undetermined), intensely religious and highly critical of Sybil
 Helen Dorsett (1929), intensely afraid but determined to achieve fulfillment
 Marjorie Dorsett (1928), serene, vivacious, and quick to laugh
 The Blonde (1946), a nameless perpetual teenager with an optimistic outlook

Females are more likely than males to experience childhood abuse, making
dissociative identity disorder more likely in the female population. Individuals who
have experienced past violence and mistreatment are more likely to develop
dissociative identity disorder.

6. The DSM supports individuals with DID as “highly hypnotizable and

vulnerable to suggestive influences.” How does this apply to Sybil as portrayed in
the movie?

- Hypnotizing is applied in the last part of the movie, wherein Dr. Wilbur asked
Sybil a permission to hypnotized her so that all of her different personalities will have
the same age as her. And in that all of her personalities became one. And Yes, they
are vulnerable.

7. What is your reaction to the behavior of Sybil’s father in the film?

- In my own perspective, my reaction towards the father of Sybil is that he is
insensitive in the sense that he is not scolding his wife or the mother of Sybil for
hurting her. He neglected his child. He didn't think about the consequences or what
would happen to their child. And her religious belief—yes, I respect that he is a
religious man, but how come he didn't believe a professional who told him about the
real condition of your child? That really hurts.

8. What are your feelings/thoughts about Sybil’s mother?

- The mother of Sybil have schizophrenia. Her mother hurt her like choking her,
tying her up, slapping her, also she broke the bone of sybil. She is a perfectionist, she
belittled sybil. Her mother is not good one. Because of her, Sybil has trauma and in
that she developed 16 different personalities. But we should consider that sybil’s
mother is sick, but it is not excuse to do that to her.

9. In Sybil arguments were made that Shirley Mason – the real “Sybil” – began
acting as though she had multiple personalities because her psychiatrist
pressured her to behave this way. What do you think/feel about the manner in
which Sybil’s psychiatrist dealt with the child Sybil’s hometown doctor? What
could/should he have done? What ethical/legal repercussions do you think he
might encounter in today’s society? What drives your thoughts on this matter?
-

10. People argue about whether MPD/DID is real. What is your opinion? Did it
change after watching Sybil?
- The hardcore MPD proponents cite — that the mind breaks off pieces of
consciousness and splits, so that memories are walled off — there’s no scientific
evidence that this happens. In fact, a common response to trauma is not problems with
remembering, but rather, intrusive memories and an inability to stop thinking about
the trauma, even though you want to. At first, I thought MPD or DID were simply
human manipulations used to conceal a person's true identity. However, after
watching the movie Sybil, I realized that MPD/DID is a real disorder in which a
person forgets his or her true identity and assumes another. Because of his/her
experiences, she created different personalities that can manipulate him/her. I also
realized that having that kind of disorder is hard because it affects a person's entire
personality.

11. Although diagnoses of dissociative disorders are rare, recent research shows
that brief instances of dissociative phenomena are quite common. Even episodes
such as "zoning out" and "daydreaming" are very mild instances of dissociative
symptoms. Have you ever experienced any of these symptoms? What were they
like for you? How did you "snap yourself out" of these episodes? Would your
coping techniques have any implications for treatment of dissociative disorders?
- Yes, sometimes I experience daydreaming. Even when I'm alone, I imagine
myself as a millionaire. For me, it's just normal. I only daydream if I am demotivated,
and I think of myself as a millionaire to boost my self-confidence. My coping
techniques when I am daydreaming are to stand, move my body, and talk to other
people in order to wake myself up from daydreaming. I think my coping techniques
are not enough or do not have implications for the treatment of dissociative disorders
because they need a professional guide.

Lesson 3
Learning Activity

Reflective Blog

The purpose of the blog is for you to reflect about – write about – and discuss the
new knowledge you and your fellow students actually learned in the module
readings and discussions, and how your thoughts, feelings, and actions will be
impacted by this new learning.

Instructions: In order to accomplish this, you need to:

1. watch the movie entitled “To the Bone” (
https://www.netflix.com/ph/title/80171659), exploring the journey of 20-year-old
Ellen that has been hospitalized four times for her anorexia nervosa.
2. provide an overview of the topic and what you learned about it, and
3. describe how what you learned will impact the way you think, feel, and behave
in the future.
4. the minimum blog requirement is 500 original words.

The movie to the bone is about a young woman in her 20s who suffers from
anorexia nervosa. Ellen was a dropout from college And she discovers her body is
losing weight every time. She is doing exercise all the time like sit ups, running inside
their home or jogging, until her size is so thin that her bones are showing up in her
skin. When I saw the thinness of her body. I got goosebumps because how does this
happen and she is weak, fainting and experiencing fatigue. The stepmother of Ellen
Susan wants to bring her to a doctor. Doctor Beckham, portrayed by the famous John
Wick Star Mr. Keanu Reeves keeps on pleasing Ellen but she is reluctant but she is
convinced by her younger sister. People say they love you. But what they mean is
they love how loving you makes them feel about themselves. Wow that line caught
me up in the movie. The module states: "Typical warning signs/symptoms of an
individual struggling with anorexia The two categories of nervosa are
Emotional/Behavioral and Physical. Among the emotional and behavioural signs are:
dramatic recurrent weight loss, obsession with food, calories, etc. remarks about
feeling "fat," consumes a limited variety of foods, and makes up reasons to put off
eating and frequently avoids eating in public. Physical Dizziness, trouble
concentrating, feeling cold, and drowsiness are a few possible alterations. issues, thin
hair or hair loss, and physical weakness are a few examples. Dizziness, trouble
concentrating, feeling cold, and drowsiness are a few possible alterations. issues, thin
hair or hair loss, and physical weakness are a few examples. There are points in my
life that I have experienced cutting back on my food. Because I want my body to be
beautiful and I can't get the satisfaction I'm hoping for, even though people say that
my body is fine and beautiful, I'm not satisfied with it. There are times when I really
won't eat and my family will scold me because they don't want me to get sick. Yes, it
is true that not eating or eating little will really cause weakness in your body. This is
my experience somehow because there are instances where I experience weakness,
dizziness, stomach ache out of nowhere so I thought that it might get worse if I
continued eating less. It came to my mind that I was too young to experience a serious
illness just because of eating a little. So I recovered and ate right with proper
nutrition. Another point is that the products are very expensive now like the food
items so it is a huge disappointment to myself that I am wasting the grace of God that
so many people are not eating and I, I am just wasting that opportunity to change my
mindset because I want to be healthy and strong. Therefore, I hope that those who
experience anorexia nervosa should see or consult with Doctors or Specialists while
it's not too late and while you're still young, meet your needs in life. There is no one
to help you but yourself. Good luck on your journey.
 SUMMATIVE TEST
WHO IS ANNA O.?

Objective: To describe the case of Anna O. and show how her case relates to
dissociative and somatic symptom disorders.

Directions: Search from two websites that contains information about Anna O.’s
background, symptoms and treatments. After this, describe Anna O.’s
background. What symptoms did she experienced? What types of treatments
were used to help her? What information or important details would you like to
know more about if you were to treat Anna O.? What information surprised
you?

Anna O. was the first case described by Joseph Breuer in his Studies on Hysteria
(Born and died February 27, 1859 - May 28, 1936). Her real name, Bertha
Pappenheim, was revealed by Ernest Jones in his 1953 biography of Freud, shocking
his contemporaries. When Breuer saw her for the first time toward the end of
November 1880, Bertha Pappenheim, a friend of Martha Bernays (Freud's future
wife), was about 22 years old. Her problems had been triggered when her father,
whom she loved deeply, fell seriously ill. She soon suffered from other symptoms as
well: squinting, partial paralysis, visual disturbances, and a lack of feeling in her right
arm. She also exhibited alternating states of consciousness, which drew Breuer's
attention as a sign of a self-hypnotic condition that he would gradually use for
therapeutic purposes. These symptoms were followed by speech disturbances (she
could only speak English, then became mute), which led Breuer to conclude that she
was hiding something and must be made to speak. Unconscious or the complex o
mental activities within an individual that proceed without awareness. Sigmund
Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, stated that such unconscious processes may
affect a person’s behavior even though he cannot report on them. Freud argued that
dreams gives clues to unconscious conflicts, and for this reason, he referred to dreams
as the “royal road to the unconscious”. Hydrophobia, lethargy, and language
difficulties are some of the unconsciousness of Anna O. which led her to experience
hysteria. The aversion to food and water left Anna unable to drink for several days at
a time, she passed through the abnormal state or disorder charcterized by
overpowering drowsiness or sleep; and her speech, Anna would repeat the last word
and paused before completing it. A polygot, she began to speak in a variety of
languages, including English to her carers, much to their confusion. Experiencing
severe stomach cramps and hallucinating that she was having her child with Dr.
Breneur. Also, she was hallucinating a “black snake” in Ischl when she was at her
father’s sickbed. However Anna herself was apparently unaware of what she was
doing, and was eventually unable to speak for two weeks. Bertha Pappenheim
treatment was Tormenting, Tormenting” After sunset, Anna entered a state of deep
hypnosis Hypnosis, also called hypnotherapy, is a state of deep relaxation and focused
concentration. It's a type of mind-body medicine. A trained and certified hypnotist or
hypnotherapist guides you into this deep state of focus and relaxation with verbal
cues, repetition and imagery. And also she was cured using talk therapy, and free
association. If I had given the chance to know more about Ana O. or Bertha
Pappenheim I would like to know more about her for example her likes and her
interests in life so that I would be able to ease her sufferings through giving some
enjoyment in life. The surprising thing that would shock if I were to treat Ana O. is
that she is founder of the Jüdischer Frauenbund The League of Jewish Women in
Germany wherein even though she is experiencing a hysteria she still managed to lead
a league of women