Sybil discussion

When my mom was diagnosed as a schyzophreniac, i am really affraid that i can become a 'Sybill' sometimes. I've waited, but it never happens.

first, rizu i know that i can't be sorry for you, your family and your mother. but for lack of a better word i am sorry. when i was younger i was pretty close to an older woman who had a son with the same diagnosis, and it was really really hard on her.

sybil is an extreme, and i mean EXTREME case of split personalities. it was not the case of schizophrenia. it was her past, her childhood that brought her to protect herself by splitting into so many different "personalities." i had a best friend with split personalities but on a small level she was aware of all three people. it was how she dealt with years of extreme physical and sexual abuse from her grandfather.

so i wouldn't be so worried about sybil in connection to your mom's schizophrenia. they have found that schizophrenia doesn't run in families, it can happen, but it doesn't seem to be the trend. hopefully there is someone you can trust that will tell you and watch over you if you do have any or either symptoms.

if sybil had been close to anyone or if she had had family her split personalities would not have become so extreme and she would have been diagnosed A LOT sooner than she was.

Take a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_...

I read the book awhile ago..didn't it mention that much of her family had a strong history of mental illness?

Yes this is a factual book. I felt badly for her. But she became integrated through her sessions with her psychiatrist. I saw the movie and she had a rough childhood.

SYBIL EXPOSED is a recent book arguing that Shirley/Sybil faked her symptoms. I haven't read it, but author interviews sure sounded intriguing!

It does not seem that she purposely faked her symptoms. There is some good evidence that her psychiatrist, Cornelia Wilbur, manipulated her through a combination of drugs and emotional blackmail into confessing to these symptoms conforming to Dr. Wilbur's pet theories about multiple personality disorder.

I would not be concerned about the story in relation to anyone's real schizophrenia, since the story is a lurid fabrication. It's just a shame that it's causing real suffering and worry.

Schizophrenia and disassociative identity disorder (what Sybil allegedly had) are two completely different mental illnesses.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-...

Also, sorry to say, there does seem to be a genetic component to schizophrenia.

http://www.schizophrenia.com/research...

There is no reason to assume that having a schizophrenic parent will automatically make you a multiple in response. People respond to stressful situations in many different ways. It's possible that some kind of counseling could help you sort out these worries and resolve your feelings about your mom.

Shirley Ardell Mason was multiple, but because Dr. Wilbur had certain set ideas about the way multiples originated and behaved (including the "schizophrenic mother" stuff), Shirley was expected to conform to type in order to get help for anxiety and other problems. In fact, Dr. Wilbur's repeated attempts to integrate her failed and Shirley actually said she felt better when her inner "family" was around.

Shirley Ardell Mason was a great lady(s).

After Sybil... From the Letters of Shirley Mason tells her real story, through her letters and phone conversations with Nancy L. Preston who was one of her students when she taught at Rio Grande College in Ohio. You might also want to read Sybil in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings Kindle Edition by Dr. Patrick Suraci.

Jack

Rizu wrote: "When my mom was diagnosed as a schyzophreniac, i am really affraid that i can become a 'Sybill' sometimes. I've waited, but it never happens."

It doesn't work that way. Sybil was abused emotionally, physically and mentally hardcore that is why she came to be with all her multiple and was diagnosed with her multiple personalities. GOOGLE multiple personality disorder. Or Dissociative Identity Disorder. YOU are fine.

What I know is that it's a true to life story and I really feel sorry for her. If only she hadn't had those experiences being abused as a child maybe she have lived a normal life like everyone else. *.*

Sybil, now, lives a normal life. It's taken years of therapy to develop her into one whole person, but it was done. I read this book in the 70s and couldn't believe what I was reading. I think this book was my first true test of loving biographies and true crime novels. Sybil's mother was severely mentally damaged, which was why she abused her daughter in the way in which she had. There are details and accounts of this story that have remained with me because it was that gripping. No child should EVER have to go through what poor Sybil went through. It's really terrible how human beings treat other human beings, whether related to them or not. This was an outstanding read!

Mary wrote: "Schizophrenia and disassociative identity disorder (what Sybil allegedly had) are two completely different mental illnesses.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-......"

Sybil was not diagnosed Schizophrenia only DID. I have read and reread the book.

Rizu wrote: "When my mom was diagnosed as a schyzophreniac, i am really affraid that i can become a 'Sybill' sometimes. I've waited, but it never happens."

Sybil went through a very traumatic term of events that consisted of physical, emotional and mental abuse for most of her childhood. Since you are obviously older than Sybil was when the abuse would take place, you would know that these events are wrong and mothers should not do these things. Sybil was doomed from the start because she was so young and innocent and didn't know any better than to think that everything that happened to her was completely normal and that mothers do these things to their children. Also, even though one may be diagnosed with schizophrenia does not mean that they will do these horrific things to their child, friend, e.t.c. Hattie was very ill and thankfully, we live in the age where those kind of symptoms are easily identified and can be easily treated with significant, positive outcomes.

Sybil is not schizophrenia but multiple personality disorder..schizzophrenics do not have different personality it is an archaic popular mistake. Now I believed this was all true, but have just discovered a book http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11... which seems to go into further details about what actually really happened.

If you have a parent with Schizophrenia, you have a 90% chance of being healthy. A friend with a parent who was diagnosed foundSurviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers to be helpful.

Sybil whether true or not, was not diagnosed with schizophrenia. Good Luck!

I read this book in college while in the middle of Abnormal psychology....One of my all time favorites, and the proof is that I actually read a book for pleasure during the middle of semester...that almost never happened. I was a little disheartened when I found out that this case study was fraudulent...this is what I think happens when people in the human service field try to write a book.

While having a parent with a mental illness does increase the likely hood that you will suffer from one, that doesn't mean that you will, there are four other parts do the DSM that most people forget. Also DID is usually brought on by sever exposed over a long period of time, and is somewhat rare.

I have a vague memory of reading this book many years ago and having this gut feeling that Sybil's psychiatrist turned writer Cornelia must have exaggerated the incidences...If Sybil really faked her symptoms that puts Cornelia in a bad light as she was not able to detect the performance despite her several 'sittings'. Hard to believe as there should have been some misgivings; else Sybil should win an Oscar for her outstanding acting abilities...Personally i feel if there is any truth in Sybil Exposed, Cornelia is the culprit.

My mother has the other psychosis - she is bipolar (manic-depressive). My great-grandmother probably had it too, and it does run in families. Am I scared one day I will take the wrong drug, it will interact with my genome wrong, and I will turn into my mother? Of course - to the point I have told my husband to commit me if that happens.

Children of people with untreated psychosis often do have to undergo abuse that frequently is undetected by the outside world. The stories are so bizarre who would believe them anyway? However, that does not mean that we will become mentally ill ourselves. I do have ADHD, and I take meds to keep me focused and see a psychologist for it. More just to talk about life's stresses, but I have never seen psychologists and psychiatrists as bad.

That being said, after reading this book, Dr. Wilbur was a horrible doctor. I don't know if Sybil had what the book claimed she had. Despite the fact that I was abused, I don't even know if Sybil was abused the way she said she was or to the extent she said she was. But I do know that if you have questions about your own mental health, seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist is not a bad thing. They can even give you tests to alleviate your fears - for example if they test you for schizophrenia and you come up negative, you at least have the peace of mind that you do not have it. They can also help you if you do have a mental illness. To find a good psychologist, ask for a recommendation from you family doctor.

i read this book as a child and i never for one moment doubted its truth

There is some controversy about whether her doctor embellished, and guided her into some of her claims for her own fame.