Mangled Mindset

A Poem by Alicia Hirshey

co-written with Robin Jones. 1st half by Robin Jones, middle by us both and the 2nd by myself.

Multiple persons,
controlling his brain.
Society preaching,
“This child is insane.”
At nine years old,
he’s left without control.
“George is ready”,
he’s taken his toll.
Gripping a knife close
to his father’s throat,
“Mom, it wasn’t me.”
George is ready to gloat.
Medical remedies,
failing to last.
Rehabilitation clinic,
soon will be in grasp.
Childhood lost,
personality replaced.
Uncontrollable actions,
decisions misplaced.
Unexplained anger,
violent rage.
“How is this likely
for a boy at this age?”
Memory loss
pertaining to deed.
“Mom, I don’t remember.”
Accidental concede.
Dangerous personality,
leaving no slack.
“Mom, when will I rule
the childhood I lack?”
Multiple persons,
controlling his brain.
Society preaching,
“This child is insane.”

******

Tiny Visions

Hazy scene

Dislocated memories

Judgmental extreme

******

Little child

All but seven

When she dies

Will she go to heaven?

Millions of voices

In her head

Imaginary play dates

With unseen friends

Friend named Sarah

No one else see’s

Covered in red

Stories she’s seen

Mental disorder

So her doctors say

Untouchable

In the world of play

Talking to windows

Staring at walls

She wants to be normal

But she has seen it all

Sarah her friend

Left for dead

She talks and walks

Inside of her head.

Schizophrenic onset

Happened at age three

Everyday she wonders

Why is this happening to me.?

Angry child

Curses the world

Playing make believe

That is normal to her.

Little child

All but seven

When she dies

Will she go to heaven?

© 2011 Alicia Hirshey

Author's Note

As the name implies, Multiple Personality Disorder is a mental condition in which 2 or more personalities appear to inhabit a single body. Since the 1970s, it is believed to be caused by very severe abuse during childhood -so extreme that the child cannot absorb the trauma in its entirety. The child dissociates, and creates an alternative personality (a.k.a. "personality state," "alter," "part," "state of consciousness," "ego state," "fragment," "identity.") to handle the abuse. If the abuse continues, additional alters are created as needed. "Trying to escape overwhelming fear and pain by imagining you are somewhere else - or someone else -seems to lay the groundwork for separating off some parts of your identity." 1
Dissociation is a common experience. Most people have observed mild dissociative episodes in which they lose touch with their surroundings. Examples include daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or losing oneself in a movie or book. MPD is viewed by some as an extreme level of dissociation, "which may result in serious impairment or inability to function." 2
According to MPD therapists, the "host" (the victim/survivor's basic personality) is not necessarily aware of the existence of these alters. The abuse memories contained within the alters are not typically accessible to the dominant personality. Various "triggers" can cause one of the alters to take control of the mental processes of the victim for periods of time. This is called "switching." Control then passes back to the dominant personality or to another alter. This may be sensed by the survivor/victim as blocks of missing time. She/he may detect it as a result of the sudden appearance of new possessions that they cannot recall having purchased, or withdrawals from their bank account signed for in a strange handwriting.
Some alters create new alters as needed. Others perform a system regulatory function; they determine which alter will be in charge at a given time.

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Kayla K

My, this left me speechless. First off, it was amazingly written. And then to add to it, the meaning behind it was just great. There's practically nothing that describes this -- I just love it so much!

This shows us a side of people that we don't see. When a human looks at somebody with a mental problem, we only see that problem. People don't realize that they're a person too.