tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post909852132120629922..comments2023-10-22T08:00:19.479-04:00Comments on Life Examined: "Sybil"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-30816086586349717802019-04-01T08:56:50.957-04:002019-04-01T08:56:50.957-04:00 My opinions on the case of Sybil and her Dissocia... My opinions on the case of Sybil and her Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) are the following: It’s a case that wasn’t a money scandal, but rather a breakthrough in psychological research. The case of Sybil was significant enough to cause change in the DSM (Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders) by the third edition. However, what I find odd is that not everyone was welcome to this change. Every other change, people didn’t care much for. But then, this one came around and it caused backlash. I would argue that Sybil was a true multiple, and this is because she didn’t remember the things her other personalities did, quite frankly, she would have no reason to fake this seeming as most of her personalities didn’t do overly bad things. There’s also the fact that, when compared to a list of symptoms from Psychology Today, they all match Sybil’s life during her case of DID. Including but not limited to her symptoms causing her distress.<br /><br /> A lot of people will argue that what Dr. Wilbur did to attempt healing Sybil was unethical. This is because she would tell her patient she loved her, and would hug them and have them sit in a chair with her. However, I believe this wasn’t unethical. Sure, by psychological standards back then, and even today, it was unethical. However, A psychotherapist in reality, should do whatever it takes to improve the lifestyle of their patient, as long as their actions are not causing their patient harm. Dr. Wilbur wasn’t hurting Sybil by doing these things, she was helping the case if anything. This is because Sybil needed someone to love her, she never had that growing up and still didn’t by the time she was seeing Dr. Wilbur. Receiving this love from Dr. Wilbur helped Sybil develop as a character. <br /><br /> On another note, I believe that the reason cases of diagnosed DID skyrocketed after the release of this movie, is because there wasn’t enough awareness of the disease to diagnose it in great amounts before. Plus, due to its low awareness, psychiatrists were mixing it up with schizophrenia. I really doubt a lot of people would want to fake being disordered, as some claim they do with DID, and that’s because by doing that the fakers are giving themselves a socially discriminatory label. Plus, I really doubt a case of DID would protect someone from a criminal punishment, they might send them to a psych. ward instead or have them sent to therapy once in a while, while in prison, but I don’t think having DID would be enough to keep yourself out of legal trouble. <br /><br /> Although, continuing my advocacy for this disease, I believe DID should continue to be a diagnosable mental disorder in the DSM. I mean, granted, presence of the disease is pretty hard to prove. I believe this disorder is a valid diagnosis despite that. This is because it’s a mental rhythm that hinders the victim’s everyday functioning. It hinders their functioning by making them forget everything their other personalities do, and sometimes that can be a lot of memories lost. This can be problematic in the working world, as well as during the victim’s social life. Basic to say, I believe this is a valid diagnosis not because the presence of the disorder is easy to prove, but because the people that have it need the support.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-73243135180863249892017-03-28T11:07:28.165-04:002017-03-28T11:07:28.165-04:00My opinions on this case are that although Dr. Wil...My opinions on this case are that although Dr. Wilbur may have helped Shirley with her disorder, Wilbur crossed the line by getting close with her. I understand that a therapist must develop close bonds with their patients because of the information being put out and the vulnerable stages they may go through together, but the therapist in the move was almost motherly to Sybil. I think that is mostly because Sibil never really had a loving mother and she didn't know what it would be like to have that bond until Dr. Wilbur. But their relationship should have stayed as professional as possible. For that I do not blame Shirley, I blame the doctor because Shirley was not in her own state of mind half of the time they were together. Maybe even most of the time they were together. With that said, I do believe that DID is a real and diagnosable disorder. Perhaps this movie did spark some fake cases, but I don't think that Shirley's case was staged. I also believe Shirley when she says that all of the symptoms in the movie were true and did really happen to her. I also believe that Dr. Wilbur wrote the book with good intentions and wasn't trying to use Shirley's story for money. Their close friendship (though is was wrong in my opinion) justifies this. I do believe the story and that Sybil was a true multiple.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-58411685117320774912017-03-16T06:57:17.959-04:002017-03-16T06:57:17.959-04:00I truly do believe that Mason or Sybil had Dissoci...I truly do believe that Mason or Sybil had Dissociative Identity disorder. I feel there was no way that you would fake something this serious for a long period of time. She had to have something wrong with her. Also I do not think that the doctor had faked the case for money or fame. I believe this because wilbur did share some profits with her but also left her 25000 dollars when she died. It does not seem like enough money for her to have Mason fake things. I believe Mason was a true multiple. She had many different personalities. All of these personalities were to protect her from her rough past. Since Wilbur was a Doctor and documented these very different alters herself I do believe that She really did have DID. Dr.Wilbur did become very close friends with Sybil after a while with the girl. I do think that this is unethical for her to do this. You also have to think that she had therapy going on for 11 years. She was probably seeing her every week or every few days. This is a lot of time over 11 years. So, I think it would be impossible for her not to become close with Mason over that period of time. That is really the only acception to her being friends with her. She was really the first of her kind during that time period to be documented to have Multiple Personality Disorder now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder. After her case the number of diagnosed cases of DID skyrocketed. I think that most of these would have to be fake. They probably heard of her case and then decided to either diagnose patients with DID or the patients decided to fake it themselves. This was most likely done to try to obtain some sort of fame or financial gain from it. Though this probably did not work out for most if not any of these people. Though I do believe most of these cases reported after Mason’s case were fake some could have been real. Maybe someone with this disorder later came out that they had this after mason case had been seen by them. Also the Mason’s case of DID could have been used to help doctors see this relatively unknown mental disorder in a new light. Then they could have diagnosed new cases based on what they had seen with Sybil. I think for the most part that the book and the movie brought out many fakes and copy cats. I think that MPD or now known as DID is a valid diagnosis. I think it is valid because if a doctor really works with a patient like Doctor Wilbur did and they see many personalities in a person then, they probably have DID. My overall reaction to the film was good. I truly did like the film and thought it had some good suspense. Even though it was not a movie that had a huge budget I still thought it was a good film. Seth Parknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-27819664032219561962017-03-01T18:38:41.693-05:002017-03-01T18:38:41.693-05:00I think having DID wasn't something she was fa...I think having DID wasn't something she was faking and I think from all of the traumatic things that her suppose to be "mother" did to her was when she was little would create this disorder. Since Sybil didn't really have any friends having Dr. Wilber around kinda helped in that aspect but as time went on as Dr. Wilber help Sybil, Sybil slowly started getting comfortable with her and she was able to start telling her everything about her child hood. Sybil having this disorder is kind of tough to tell if its real or not because how can someone fake it for 11 years but then again how can they diagnose it, come up with a whole name for it and everything just because one person has it. I truly believe that what Sybil had though was real. Some parts I question though like the father? Where was he most of this time? At the beginning of the movie where shes at the park with the kids and the teacher and shes standing in water. Why did the teacher not question what is wrong with her? To me it sounds like back then people either really don't care or that'ts just normal to others. I think that it's best that Dr. Wilber and Sybil stay friends because who knows if Sybil would ever make friends that would understand her situation at all. Dr. Wilber knows so much about her and knows how to help her and Sybil trust her so that works out perfectly for them to stay good friends. While being hypnotized the movies plays parts where Sybil was put in a box tied up with a crayon, she was tied to a piano made to hold her own urine, cut on her insides, beaten for no reason and no one knew about it not even her grandmother who was just upstairs. Sybil was sexually, physically and mentally abused as a child and it still haunted her to the point where she needed help but she didn't know it someone else had to call a doctor for her. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-42221080084193171452017-03-01T10:43:26.509-05:002017-03-01T10:43:26.509-05:00The case of Sybil was a very interesting case. I a...The case of Sybil was a very interesting case. I am not entirely sure if this case is 100% true but some parts i believe and some parts i don’t. I think that there were many components contributing to sybil's case and although she showed signs of have MPD i'm not sure it was all played out the way it should have been. I think that in the beginning Sybil did truly need help and that Dr.Wilbur was good for her but after awhile i think that Sybil was cured but she was so used to relying on Dr.Wilbur that she partially faked her illness just so she wouldn’t have to face things alone. If Sybil truly did have MPD/DID then i think Dr.Wilbur did nothing wrong. I think that having the willpower to help someone that much and risk your job is truly a nice things to do. Even though Dr.Wilbur got personally close with one of her clientele she was only trying to do her job and help Sybil. People can say it was unethical and wrong of her to be that close with Sybil but without Dr.Wilbur then Sybil probably would have maybe committed suicide or potentially could have hurt someone else or would have never been cured and would have never got to accomplish anything in life. I believe that the number of MPD/DID skyrocketed after the case of sybil because everyone believed that they had that problem and since the case was famous that maybe they could get some publicity for it. Now that it was a thing people wanted to use it to make themselves stand out. I think that the the book and movie were a good portrayal i don’t see it as attention seeking in anyway. I think it made MPD/DID more believable and real because people could actually see what happens. I think it made it more understandable even if it wasn’t the true thing. I think that MPD/DID is a valid thing but it is very hard to prove. I'm not sure if i believe the whole they turn into different people part but i can see people putting their mind in another place to avoid a bad memory just like Sybil did. I think if someone was abused as bad as Sybil then they could definitely train their brain to do weird things to avoid being in pain or scared. The case of Sybil made metal illnesses stand out to me even more and made things way more interesting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-45873886968450082242017-02-28T13:16:14.206-05:002017-02-28T13:16:14.206-05:00I believe Sybil was a true multiple. I don’t think...I believe Sybil was a true multiple. I don’t think that a person would take 11 years of their life to live out a lie like this could have been. I think she went through a traumatic experience as a young child that required a lot of time and effort to get through and put all the pieces together to finally heal. I don’t think Dr. Wilbur did anything unethical in becoming a close friend to Sybil because that is what Sybil needed in order to have the breakthroughs she did. She needed someone to trust her, believe in her, and to have someone to trust. Sybil needed someone to give her hope, as much as that scared her. In breaking those “boundaries”, Dr. Wilbur became that person and helped Sybil heal. Dr. Wilbur’s judgement wasn’t clouded in my opinion. She did what she believed would help Sybil. We shouldn’t judge what she did because standards were different back when this case came to light and most doctors had never worked with someone of that nature. Dr. Wilbur had one of the biggest breakthroughs in psychology with Sybil, and was one of the first to do so. I think the amount of cases skyrocketed after the case was publicized because doctors were able to diagnose due to the new awareness, patients sought treatment, although others may have faked it for the publicity. I think MPD/DID is a valid diagnosis because knowing what Sybil went through as a child, seeing her transition from one personality to another, and by working with/treating Sybil, it is clear that MPD is the correct diagnosis for her. I don’t think Dr. Wilbur used Sybil for money and fame. If she was going to use Sybil for money/fame, she wouldn’t have kept Sybil’s identity a secret for that long, nor would she have worked with her for eleven years without revealing her identity. Dr. Wilbur also split the money with Sybil and left her money after she died. Sybil said everything in the book was accurate and the input was given by both Sybil and Dr. Wilbur, I believe they were both telling the truth, but how will we ever know for sure?<br /><br />Adriana DaltoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-4145085057712604322016-03-29T23:59:08.653-04:002016-03-29T23:59:08.653-04:00The sybil case was a controversial landmark case i...The sybil case was a controversial landmark case in the world of psychology. It started with the book ‘The Strange Case of Sybil’ written by DR. Wilber. Although this was not the first case of DID (dissociative identity disorder) it was a big deal for two reasons, It was studied for over eleven years and the doctor studying “Sybil” (Shirley Ardell Mason). The case became more famous after the movie aired. Before the book and movie became well known. DID was a fairly uncommon disorder, however after the release of the book and movie these cases became for frequent and numerous leading controversy to the legitimacy of these people’s disorders. Some people say that these people who claim to have this disorder are simply faking it and giving false data. Others see it as more people willing to seek help and treatment because they saw someone else who also suffered, become cured. Another controversy is how Dr. wilber became too close to her patient, treated her too motherly. Some would say that there should be a professional distance between the patient and the doctor. Others would say that over the course of eleven years that, these two become close naturally and especially in Sybil's case a loving mother figure was needed i order to progress her treatment. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-17752533765029585162016-03-01T14:32:16.173-05:002016-03-01T14:32:16.173-05:00Sybil was originally named Shirley Ardell Mason. ...Sybil was originally named Shirley Ardell Mason. As a child she had experienced abuse in many ways. She was a true multiple personality.Dr. Wilbur was/not unethical in becoming such a close friend of her patient. The number of diagnosed cases of MPD/DID skyrocketed after this case was publicized. However, MPD/DID is a valid diagnosis. Certianly there are many variations in the diagnosis. As we learn more, the more we will understand these differences.<br />She experienced psychological, physical and mental abuse. Her mother flung her across the room “just for fun” and hung her over wheat bin. Her mother did this “preparation” ritual every morning for when she was older. Other rituals included inserting instruments, for example a buttonhook, in a place where it is not even supposed to be. It is possible for Sybil to develop these personalities, because of the abuse that she experienced as a child. Simple things would “trigger” some of Sybil’s alternative personalities, like Peggy. When she heard a creaking sound and saw a woman with gray hair, it reminded her of her mother. <br />Dr. Wilbur helped Sybil for eleven years, in which she became like a mother to Sybil. She was someone who helped her get past all of her problems. Yes it might have been unethical but, is it possible to not be attached to a person after eleven years of therapy?. I believe not. I believe that Sybil was a true multiple and all of those details that were written and shown in the movie could not have been made up, if they were then the inspiration would have been really big and really must have been thinking outside the box . It is also interesting that multiple cases of MPD or DID arose in just a short amount of time, right after the movie and book were published. Is it because of the awareness of this disorder that people were reporting these cases, or did people think that they actually had this disorder? Overall this case really was interesting and intriguing too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-38325714384671640682016-02-26T08:56:18.597-05:002016-02-26T08:56:18.597-05:00I found this case study was very interesting. I do...I found this case study was very interesting. I do not believe the Case study of “Sybil”(Shirley Ardell Mason) was in any means fake. It would extremely hard to fake this illness and think up all the horrific events that took place. One question I have is, how could a mother possibly do all those horrible things to their own daughter? It obvious that her mother was mentally ill, but what's the point in having children if you’re going to treat them bad? Sybil was very lucky to find Dr. Wilbur to be her role model and mother like figure. I believe that Dr. Wilbur did cross some professional lines but in this case I think that is what Sybil needed at the time.After eleven years it would be highly impossible to become attached to someone. Sybil needed the love and support she got from Dr. Wilbur in order to get better because she didn't get much as a child(only from her grandmother). After this movie the cases of MPD skyrocketed because people became more aware of this tragic disorder. I mean sure some people were faking it, people fake illnesses everyday, But MPD would be a very hard mental illness to fake. Sally Field’s did an amazing performance in this film.<br />lizzy Muratorrinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-8958838934476766282016-02-25T22:20:18.256-05:002016-02-25T22:20:18.256-05:00I never really knew that much about multiple perso...I never really knew that much about multiple personality disorder until we started to talk about it in class and we watched Sybil. It is really insane to me that someone could have 16 different personalities, but after seeing the movie and learning about Shirley Mason I can see it’s possible. Mason’s case is almost unreal, but I really believe she had MPD. I don’t think that a person could keep up with faking 16 different personalities for 11 whole years. I don’t think that someone could just make up those stories about her abusive past. What she went through is truly something a normal person doesn’t just make up for fame. Both Mason and Wilbur gained fame for the movie and book, but I don’t think they faked it. Mason’s name wasn’t even let out to the public as her being Sybil until after she was dead. So I definitely don’t think there really is any way you can deny it being a real case of MPD. Looking at her treatment and her relationship with Dr.Wilbur I don’t think there is really anything wrong with it. Wilbur did get really close to Sybil and maybe too close for a patient with a different condition, but with Sybil’s condition I really think it helped. Dr.Wilbur’s feelings for Sybil(Mason) I think helped in her treatment of her, as they really grew close and it gave Sybil that connection she never had growing up. I think if their relationship had been much different, things might not have worked out like they had. Looking at the diagnosis of MPD/DID I think it can be difficult to prove, but I still think it can be. I think in some cases it can be faked, but you can’t deny someone like Sybil having MPD. It simply would be too difficult for someone to maintain fake personalities as wildly as she had for very long at all, let alone 11 years like Sybil. I think MPD/DID is definitely diagnosable and you can’t deem it too difficult to diagnose, because if you it would be really difficult just to fake. Finally, I think the movie and book did probably give people a blueprint to fake an illness, but I also think that it just brought awareness of the illness. I don’t think many people knew about MPD before the movie (just like me) and I think it’s release showed more people what it was. After that I think it was a matter of people just connecting the dots and realizing that was a problem they or someone they knew had. Overall, this movie really taught me a lot about an extremely real illness that tons of people suffer from.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-4550330402666214582016-02-25T21:18:06.806-05:002016-02-25T21:18:06.806-05:00Watching the movie Sybil and hearing sections of t...Watching the movie Sybil and hearing sections of the book, the story about Shirley Mason, I do believe that it was a true case. Sybil suffered from multiple personality disorder, now known as dissociative identity disorder, and she held 16 alters. Sybil was abused as a child, both mentally and physically, by her mother. I do believe that this case is true for several reasons, but mostly because it would be very disturbing and concerning for someone to make up the things that Sybil’s mother did to her. I also believe that Dr. Wilbur would not have worked with Sybil for 11 years just for fame purposes.<br />I do not think Dr. Wilbur and Sybil had an “unacceptable” relationship. Dr. Wilbur cared for Sybil, and wanted Sybil to trust her. She slowly took her time to get to know each of Sybil’s alters, and like I previously mentioned she spent 11 years on Sybil’s case, and Sybil needed that kind of love and support. I believe that everyone deserves help, and I don’t think their relationship was in the wrong. Also, when Dr. Wilbur died, she left Sybil a lot of money and half of the profit from the movie and book went to Sybil too. <br />By creating this book and movie, I think people are more familiar with dissociative identity disorder and started to recognize this more. I believe that some people may have faked having this, possibly for attention, only because it’s still fairly new and it’s hard to test if someone is being real or not. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-43273774145793006742016-02-25T20:50:33.371-05:002016-02-25T20:50:33.371-05:00I believe that Sybil suffered from multiple person...I believe that Sybil suffered from multiple personality disorder. I do not believe that someone could/ or would go through the trouble to create “other people”. Sybil went almost everyday changing personalities when bad memories started to resurface. She was in therapy for 11 years, why would someone go through all that trouble? How could someone remember all these small elaborat details? Sybil went through a lot of trauma through her childhood, So much I can’t even begin to describe how she must have felt everyday of her life. She had no one to go to, except her grandmother, who died when she was a child. Her dad was always gone it seems, working everyday. Her mother was the one who was abusing her, and she got no help from the outside world. She begged her doctor to take her home and take her away from the pain she was going through. Her doctors noticed things were wrong, but never looked further into it. She eventually couldn’t keep up with the pain and torture and her personalities split. That way she, her waking self didn’t have to deal with the hurt, her alters could do it for her, Her altars were also the ones who remembered the graphic, horrific details of her past. <br /> I think it was fine Sybil and Dr. Wilbur became friends. They spent so much time together, early mornings and late nights trying to figure how to help Sybil. They got personal with each other. Yes Sybil was “crazy” but she was still a sweet, caring person. She was still Sybil. Dr. Wilbur went through a lot, spent a lot of her free time dedicated to solving Sybil’s mystery. Naturally one would become friends with the person they hung out with also every day for eleven years. <br /> I think the sudden spike in diagnosed cases that came out after this movie was both realistic and fake. Some people might not have known they were experiencing the same things, or were too scared to get help. Then on the other hand, some people could have been faking it to get out of law trouble, pleading insanity. It is not impossible to have multiple personality disorder, but it is rare, It would be pretty hard to fake this disease, but not impossible. I do not think someone would go through therapy for eleven years and not have any love, or social life like Sybil, who never dated or had children. Sybil also lived alone until she passed away.<br /> Yes it is hard to prove that Multiple Personality disorder and dissociative identity disorder may be hard to prove, but I do believe people can be diagnosed with it. Lots of things are hard to prove, such as getting sick, but we can still figure out over time. Sybil’s case was a case study, a study over a long period of time. Sometimes it does take hard work and time to figure out disorders, so you can’t just assume. But you can’t just ignore signs either. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-86518688961245670872016-02-25T20:16:13.848-05:002016-02-25T20:16:13.848-05:00The case about “Sybil” in my opinion seems very co...The case about “Sybil” in my opinion seems very complicated in a way where there is so many strange things I can’t understand. This case was very detailed for me to actually know if she really had 16 different personalities. Watching the movie Sybil, she had a very traumatic childhood and it seemed to haunt her in a way where it became to be a part of her alters to get rid of her past. I think Sybil really had this disorder as it was proven that she would act very differently to people and Dr. Wilbur. Dr. Wilbur was defiantly there to help Sybil and how she would have all these personalities because of the alters to forget her past that affected her life in the future. I also think that not telling the world what “Sybil's” real name really helped her as a person so she could get better having her disorder as a young adult. I think all the traumatic and strange information being told after she had past was to give people a heads up on that people can really get multiple personality disorders. These kinds of disorders can really happen, even though they are very rare, knowing about them can still help you be aware if you ever come across to it, just to be prepared if you go through something like this. Dr. Wilbur really spent years and years trying to get Sybil’s personalities out of her so Sybil could know what was going on with her. Sybil needed to know why she was having these blackouts and why her alters were taking her away for so long. When Sybil finally realized why she was having blackouts and not remembering where she was really helped her move on in her life. Dr. Wilbur is a very great psychiatrist in my opinion because she spend years trying to figure out why Sybil acted the way she acted. She never gave up on helping Sybil and that's the way all psychiatrists should be like if someone needs help. At the end of the movie I think that it all came a good ending of how she figured out what was really happening. It may have been a little strange on how she figured out who her alters were but at least she won't be having her 16 different personalities that really messed up the way she acted. After all I think that this case study had its strange times. It's a very detailed movie for me to know if some stuff is true especially with her family. Questions still come to my mind like, how did her dad not know her mom was beating her, was there bruises to prove it? Why was he (The Father) never home? How did Sybil’s Grandmother not know, from Sybil crying or screaming from downstairs? So many things question me. This is how I really felt about this movie, it’s such a sad thing for anyone and I am glad in the end things came together for Dr. Wilbur and Sybil.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-69442938703242617652016-02-25T19:46:31.733-05:002016-02-25T19:46:31.733-05:00The case of Shirley Ardell Mason, who is otherwise...The case of Shirley Ardell Mason, who is otherwise known as “Sybil”, was truly a one of a kind case. After learning about Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) which has since been changed to what we call it today, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). We then went over Dissociative disorders and different types of them in class, which helped to further my knowledge of them, which was virtually zero as a starting point. After watching the movie, reading passages from the book and reading articles online Sybil's case began to get more and more interesting. I found it really interesting how Sybil's mind adapted to the horrific life-altering abuse her mother was putting her through on a daily basis so that she personally (in the mindset of Sybil) wouldn't remember or feel any of the pain. Her alters would take her mind over and endure the abuse for Sybil.<br /> I believe that Sybil was a true sufferer of multiple personality disorder (MPD). I believe this because when you think about the lack of knowledge/experience with DID at the time of Sybil’s diagnosis I find it hard to believe that she could have made up sixteen personalities, and done it so flawlessly, and kept with her story for an entire 11 years. Not only would it have proved extremely difficult to pull off, she doesn’t stand to benefit from it other than having her name remembered, which she didn’t know she would. She showed all of the symptoms of DID. She reported many times about “losing time”. <br /> I also believe that Dr. Wilbur was not in the wrong, especially for making friends with her client. I don’t know why people think that a psychologist can’t be friends with their patients, because that can only help a doctor to treat the patient, and also give them more reason to. So no, I don’t think Doctor Wilbur was trying to make money off of Sybil. The alters seemed to be easily distinguishable and Doctor Wilbur got to know each and every one of them, and got as much from them as possible, which of course takes a long time to do.<br /> Like we talked about in class, I think the reason why the number of MPD/DID cases skyrocketed after Sybil is because of several different things. Some of the reason is because the increased knowledge of the disease, leading to more research being done on it, and also leading to an increased awareness of the disorder among not only psychologists, but regular people. With increased awareness of the disease and seeing that it is in fact a serious problem, more people who are experiencing, or who think they might be experiencing MPD will step up and get themselves checked out by a psychologist. There are also of course the people that simply want attention and find out about the disease from the movie so they pretend like they also have multiple personalities.<br /> In conclusion, it’s virtually undeniable that Sybil is a true multiple, She has the backstory that led her personality to dissociate, she has all of the personalities, and we know that she at least had all of these personalities for the 11 years she was studied/ being treated during. I also don’t think Dr Wilbur did anything wrong in becoming friends with Sybil. And lastly, The number of MPD cases spiked for completely rational reasons, not simply because people were faking it, although i’m sure many were.Chris Finleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-45601802186661913142016-02-25T19:14:30.669-05:002016-02-25T19:14:30.669-05:00Shirley Ardell Mason, or “Sybil” (as she was commo...<br /><br /> Shirley Ardell Mason, or “Sybil” (as she was commonly known) was a woman who suffered with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). She became the subject of the most famous, but perhaps most controversial case studies in psychology. In the past few weeks, my psychology class was shown her story; through the miniseries and book “Sybil”, which were informative, and full of suspense. I had always been aware of DID, but I never really knew how patients acted, or how they got the disease. Actually, I originally thought that people were born with DID, but like schizophrenia, DID is not something somebody is born with. In the case of “Sybil” or Shirley, she faced several traumatic events, including sexual abuse, which caused her personality to be split into sixteen differing alters. This shocked me, because I just couldn’t imagine how someone’s consciousness could be so separated and diverse (she had two male personalities in her sixteen, which was really bizarre). Shirley was unaware of this before she went to see Dr. Wilbur; all she knew was that she had recurring “blackouts”, was afraid of dishtowels, button hooks, the color green, etc. In a period of eleven years, “Sybil” or Shirley underwent several hours of therapy, including hypnosis and age regression; this eventually led to her alters rejoining into herself, and allowed her to live a pretty normal life. She was no longer afraid of dishtowels, button hooks, and the color green, because they were a reminder of her abusive mother; knowing about her mother and what she did, made her stronger as a person. After the book and miniseries were released to the public, the cases of DID blew out of proportion. Were they faking it to gain attention themselves? Some of the cases probably were faked, by mimicking Sally Field’s portrayal of Sybil; but I think that most of the cases were actual patients who were just unaware of what DID is. They, just like Shirley, perhaps knew they had blackouts but didn’t know the reason why. “Sybil’s” case probably helped give people who had DID the courage to go to the doctor and get the treatment they needed; it also gave a message of awareness about DID and what people who have it have to deal with. <br />Was Shirley a true multiple? Personally, I believe that she was. How her mother abused her was so specific and traumatizing that it couldn't have been imagined by Dr. Wilbur or Shirley. If Dr. Wilbur and Shirley just wanted to gain fame and money, why would Dr. Wilbur give Shirley eleven years of treatment to make her whole again? Family members, like her cousin Naomi Rhode even say that it is true, the treatment and her abuse. Shirley’s paintings seem to reflect her abuse too, through the colors she feared. Also, I believe that the treatment that Shirley received from Dr. Wilbur was completely necessary and not unethical. Although it is “unprofessional” to get close to patients, in Shirley’s case, it was necessary. She needed a mother-like figure who actually cared, listened, and gave her hugs. Sometimes, people really need to talk and hug things out; and I believe that doctors should help their patients in that way, when it is necessary. I also believe that for some patients, who need love, animal therapy could help as well, to give them a best friend. DID is a controversial subject for many doctors, but I believe it is valid as a diagnosis. This is because I have, when I was a kid, let my mind wander sometimes, and I had no memory of what happened during it. Could that happen on a larger and more extreme scale? I think so, and in that “blackout” period, your consciousness could be shielding you, like “Sybil” and her alters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-38358101641645300712016-02-25T17:31:37.172-05:002016-02-25T17:31:37.172-05:00I believe that Sybil did suffer from DID, I do not...I believe that Sybil did suffer from DID, I do not think a case the severe could be faked or even why someone would want to keep up a shame for that long. I think that what Dr. Wilbur did in some ways could have been labeled as unprofessional but I believe in this case I think what she did was what needed to be done for Sybil in order for her for her to heal from DID. Dr. Wilbur took this case further than most doctors would take a case like this, but then again, it turned out to be the biggest case in her career. Some people might say she still would have healed even without the comfort and closeness Dr. Wilbur. The truth is, she may possibly have, but she also may have not been able to, with how severe Sybil was, it may have been a huge factor of how Dr. Wilbur treated Sybil and that playing huge role in helping her recover. Once the case of Sybil came out the cases of DID started to rise, and I believe that the simple answer to that is that once the light was shined on what DID was, people became more aware of it, and sense people were more aware of it, it more more easily identifiable, and that’s the reason to why they saw an increase to people who were diagnosed with DID. I do believe there are those people out there who will try and copy-cat this disorder but the main reason for the rise of diagnoses was the awareness that was raised by this case. DID is a tough disorder to be able to diagnose, especially because nowadays people are more likely to try and copy the symptoms to make it seem like they have the disorder for their own particular reason, but the professionals I feel like should be able to spot even the littlest things to help them identify if someone truly has DID and be able to tell if someone is just being a copy-cat. I believe that the reason this case and story gets so much neglect and hated on is because it became so famous and really became the face for MPD at that time. Dr. Wilbur was doing things with Sybil to try and help her, which some people may not thought was right because the year that this was happening and for the fact that she was a woman. This type of disorder was, and is, rare to find, and Sybil’s was a very mild case of MPD, which made it even more famous. People try and say that Dr. Wilbur only did all this to get famous, and same with Sybil, but now knowing that nobody knew who the real Sybil was until Dr. Wilbur and Sybil passed away, I think that should be absolutely forgotten and not even brought up as a possibility. I feel that there was certain things like that that took the eye away from what the story was actually trying to talk about with what Sybil had, the severity of it, and what Dr. Wilbur did to help her live a normal life. None the less, this case will always be one of the most popular cases in the psychological world, and always be looked upon for what happened through it all from why Sybil was the way she was, what Dr. Wilbur did to help, and how Sybil went on to live a normal life. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-74938194288124190892016-02-25T14:58:19.764-05:002016-02-25T14:58:19.764-05:00The movie “Sybil” was probably the best movie i’ve...The movie “Sybil” was probably the best movie i’ve ever seen. Sybil Dorsett is a girl with 16 different personalities. I do believe that she had different personalities. There's no way she could’ve honestly not remembered what her horrific mother did to her. Or how could she explain her “sleeping” for two years when she was actually Peggy. How couldn’t Dr. Wilbur not realize that after working with her for eleven years. Too many ends just don't add up. I don't think anything Dr. Wilbur did was unethical. She did everything and worked with Sybil until she got her to realize how many personalities she had and meeting all of them. It took eleven years but she did it. I think the scene when Sybil was saying how she didn't have the personalities she has, was her way of defense from Dr. Wilbur opening her up and finding out everything. Personally I don't think Wilbur did all this for fame and what not because who would honestly even make up such an awful story for money? That's just messed up. I want to know about her mother's past because what happened to her to make her like that and to hurt her own daughter. It angers me how her father never noticed anything or said anything. How could he not notice his daughter with broken bones, crying at the sight of certain objects, it's makes me mad. Or how did no one else mention anything else like her doctors or anything. This is the biggest case of Multiple Personality Disorder, I think once this case was open for the public other people saw how serious it is and brought people in for help because one of Sybil’s alters was suicidal “Marsha” and people don't want their patients or loved ones to end up like that. This can be difficult to discover in a person because you never know who could fake it for attention. Over all I thought the movie was very good, the actress who played Sybil did a very good job. It can’t be easy to play someone with multiple personality disorder. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-55093790146980397622016-02-25T14:02:27.405-05:002016-02-25T14:02:27.405-05:00Sybil was a very interesting and saddening case st...Sybil was a very interesting and saddening case study to learn about because of how unique it was from anything we have learned about. To think you can have different versions of yourself with different memories and personalities is a hard concept to wrap your head around. For a little girl to go through such traumatic experience that she would make a new personality to give her memories to as her way to cope was very shocking to learn . Although it may seem impossible to have many personalities in one person I don’t believe her story was made up by either Sybil or doctor Wilbur as a way to gain fame. I also don’t believe anything doctor wilbur did was unprofessional because Sybil went so long without being showed affection I believe it was needed for her to feel safe to help her recover and be treated of her illness. This is a case that very detailed and went on for 11 years and I think that if she was faking it for all those years then she would of had a slip up where she would of been caught faking it. The way her mother abused her also makes me believe her story because the abuse was so horrific and evil I would hope only someone who is not well in the mind could come up with such things. Although I believe Sybil's story doesn’t mean I think all cases of MPD/DID are true and aren't made up for attentions. The jump in these cases after the movie aired I think could've been from awareness it brought to MPD/DID but i'm sure there were many people who tried to fake having it. That being said I think there would be much easier mental illnesses to fake for attention than having multiple personalities but that's just my opinion. But just like any other mental illness they can be harder to diagnose and prove than most regular illnesses but I believe MPD/DID is a true, but rare illness that can happen to someone after being in a traumatic experience they are trying to cope with. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-63802425765527542632016-02-25T13:44:11.693-05:002016-02-25T13:44:11.693-05:00Many people say that Sybil shouldn’t have received...Many people say that Sybil shouldn’t have received as much love from Dr. Wilbur as she did. I disagree with that because without all the love Sybil was shown she wouldn’t have revealed all her past abuse. She would’ve been too scared to tell anybody anything “Peggy” would just come out and start freaking out. To cope with her past she needed to know what love felt like because without it I believe that she wouldn’t have been able to be cured or live a normal life and pursue a job. I think that this case is too detailed to be false.<br /> Also, to think of such terrible abuse like this isn’t in anyone’s right mind. That itself is kinda mentally ill. Seven years is also a really long time to spend with someone faking a mental illness. To spend seven years day in and day out faking an illness is very committing. Everything in this case seemed very ethical to me because Sybil needed love. Without love Sybil wouldn’t ever know comfort and she wouldn’t be able to remember anything and accept that her mother did these horrible things to her. <br />Doctor Wilbur was able to keep Sybil safe from her other alters when she’d have her panic attacks. When Marsha was present Dr. Wilbur was able to save her from self harm or suicide. The movie Sybil has actors that played their parts stunningly. It showed how maybe just one thing like hands or voices, like Sybil’s mother can change a person’s personality so quickly and cause panic attacks or unsafe actions. <br />I believe that MPD/DID is real and should be diagnosed. Sybil was able to be cured after being diagnosed. This illness was a real problem for Sybil, I mean it took her 11 years to be mostly recovered from her awful childhood. For me it’s very difficult to understand how Sybil could just escape consciously from being present during the time her mother abused her. I’m confused how she could blackout but then when she would see something that would make “Peggy” present she would start to freak out. Then when Sybil returned she would be confused on why she drew a picture of her mother or heard her mother’s voice on a recording.<br />When watching the movie I noticed that all the actors played their characters very well. Sybil did a very wonderful job switching personalities and being able to change emotions. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-88642693504170751292016-02-25T13:44:05.046-05:002016-02-25T13:44:05.046-05:00In the movie we watched, and in the few lines that...In the movie we watched, and in the few lines that were read to us from the book, I came to the conclusion that there is no way that Sybil, or "Shirley Mason" which is her real name I honestly do not think that she or Dr. Wilbert could fake any part of that, and if either one of them did they need to get help, because most of things they said happened to her were really messed up. I also do not think people could fake having this disease just for the fact because I don't think anyone could fake being more than one person, especially for 11 years! That would take some dedication. You have to ask yourself if you think that Sybil faked this, why would she nobody really knew she had this disease until she was dead, it's not like she got any money or anything from it. Also after watching this movie it opened my eyes to what this disease is and how much it can effect your life and the people around you. It made me realize that when you have this it makes it so you like black out basically, but you're still functioning because your other personality's take over for you when something around you reminds you have bad things that happened to you as a kid, and when they "wake up" they have no knowledge of what they just did, where they went, and what they said. It is a really scary disease to have if you think about it. It is really incredible that her doctor, (Doctor Wilbert) stayed around and pretty much dedicated her whole career to Sybil to figure out what was wrong with her and what caused everything. On the other hand her mother they said that she s=had a pasted of having schizophrenia, maybe that is why she did all this crazy things to Sybil, but if she had schizophrenia then she would be detached from reality, so she wouldn't be so careful with what she did, how she did it, and wouldn't try and cover the whole thing up. So maybe she had more than that that the doctors didn't test her for. She must have something else, I know schizophrenics can be crazy but still you have to be physio or something to hurt a child like that and scare a child for life like that is insane I could never imagine doing that to someone especially a little 3 year old kid. At the end of the day though this movie was very good, opened my eyes and I'm sure it opened other peoples to this disease, it must of because after this movie and book came out more people stated saying more often that they had different personality's which is kind of strange to me, but you never know maybe it just helped other realize what they had, and helped the doctors that work with that realize what they have and how to diagnose it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-22436467311447545812016-02-25T13:27:06.351-05:002016-02-25T13:27:06.351-05:00In the case of Sybil and her multiple personalitie...In the case of Sybil and her multiple personalities disorder, I believe it was all true. The events that happened in the film were too detailed to make up. My feelings on what Sybil went through as a little girl was shock and disgust. They claim her mother had schizophrenia, but I don't think that was the case. I believe in order to do those things you must be much more sick than just hearing voices. My first thoughts was that she was a psychopath. I don't know how else she would have been capable of doing those things to her own daughter. One question I had was how did nobody find out. Sybil was hurt everyday, and some of that must have left marks. How did her dad not think that through? Also, when her mother locked her in the barn, and her father found her. Sybil's mother told him a little boy down the street did it. But she was tied with their dish towels, and as far as we know, no further action took place. It's hard to believe a father would just ignore all these instances and not do anything about it. Before watching this movie, I didn't know much about multiple personalities disorder. I knew the basics, but not into detail. I learned what can cause this illness, and that it can apparently be cured. This movie taught me a lot. I do believe Sybil was a true multiple. <br />One reason I think that the reported cases of DID went up after books were published and movies were made was because the awareness of the illness was much more known. Some people think that Doctor Wilbur faked what happened for fame. It is said that she told Sybil to exaggerate her illness for attention. I however do not believe this. What happened in the story seems much to real. I have a hard time believing anyone could come up with what her mother did to Sybil. Sybil was also in therapy for eleven years, that is a long time to carry out a scam. She also had 16 different alters. It all just seems to much to be fake. I believe Doctor Wilbur had good intentions, and wanted nothing more than to help Sybil. When Sybil's therapy was over, her and Doctor Wilbur stayed in touch. They were very good friends even after her sessions were over. This can also prove the whole thing wasn't fake. They probably wouldn't have stayed such good friends. Over all I believe the movie was a good representation of Shirley Mason’s story. It accurately showed the real things that happened in her life and the way she described them. In the end scene where all her alters come together, I think they did a good job showing that. It helped you understand what it would have been like.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-23645514466401184392016-02-25T12:49:14.613-05:002016-02-25T12:49:14.613-05:00Before watching the movie Sybil, I had already hea...Before watching the movie Sybil, I had already heard about Dissociative Identity Disorder, but didn’t know the extremes of the disorder. While watching and learning that she had sixteen different alters amazed me. I had no idea that one who had DID was able to have so many alters. I do believe that Sybil did have this disorder. I don’t know how anyone could pretend to be this way and live so long like the way she did without something actually being wrong. I also believe that she did indeed have this because of just all of the crazy things she did that were sown in the movie. After being abused by her mother through her childhood, Sybil only could deal with it by blocking herself out from the situation and having an alter come in her place instead. Even after her mother died and she was safe from the abuse, the long term effects were put into place and took eleven years with a lot of help to get out of. I couldn’t imagine going through something like that or having someone I love go through that. While spending eleven years with the same patient, I think that it would be hard not getting close to each other or growing an attachment. In Sybil’s case I think that it was the right thing for them to do by becoming close only because Sybil never had a good mother figure so having someone like Doctor Wilbur had a positive effect on her. I think that having the bond that they had even helped Sybil with her disorder. Someone not only was helping her through this, but she also had a friend that she could talk to. I do not think that Dr. Wilbur was wrong by any means in this situation. I also believe that these kinds of cases skyrocketed after the book and movie came out because everyone was now aware of what was happening and felt more comfortable coming out with what was happening to them. To me I think that no one could just fake having this so I do not think that Sybil pretended to have DID just for attention. No one even knew who the real Sybil was until she passed away. Only close family knew the real Sybil and some only speculated. Also I do not think that Dr. Wilbur wrote the book for her to become famous off of it. She used her real name to show people that this was a real story with a real educated doctor. Learning more about DID made me connect to Sybil and it was very moving. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-56413023014606199802016-02-25T11:51:08.354-05:002016-02-25T11:51:08.354-05:00The movie and book, the Strange Case of Sybil is s...The movie and book, the Strange Case of Sybil is story about a girl with Multiple personality disorder. This disease is when someone has multiple alters. When Sybil was in fear or having some kind of memory than one of her alters will come out and take over the situation. While this is happening Sybil is blacked out, so when the memory is done she comes back and is always confused. Some people think that it was all fake. I think it actually happened because who make all of this up? The things Sybil had done to her are all absolutely terrible. Sybil’s real name is Shirley Mason. When the movie came out no one really knew who the story was about except for close friends. Sybil for the longest time was hiding everything and letting her alters do the job and dealing with everyone. When Sybil was having her hard times she finally went to a psychiatrist. Her psychiatrist’s name was Dr. Wilbur. The doctor grew a bond with Sybil, she was very concerned for her. Some people argue about this whole deal because you aren’t supposed to become too close to your patients. She was like a mother to Sybil, and I really think Sybil liked that throughout her therapy because after all her mother treated her so poorly. Not having a Mother in your life is very hard. Sybil also grew a huge bond for her grandma because she was the one who actually took care of her. Sybil growing up I think was very confused on what her mother was doing because one minute she was sort of nice and then the next she was beating her or doing something horrifying to her. Her mother was always threatening her too. She told her not to tell anyone, she also called her a threat to God. When Dr. Wilbur finally concluded that hypnosis would be one of the best ways to help Sybil get over her fear, they did it. But because of her alters, she could not recollect anything that happened to her. When she finally finished her first thing of hypnosis she could finally understand why she afraid of all these things, such as button hooks, and dish towels. One thing I could never understand was how the father never realized that the mother was doing all of these terrible things to their daughter. Sybil’s mother used to tie her up and put her in a wheat box. Sybil snuck a purple crayon in there with her so she could mark the box up so people could she was trapped in there. This one particular time her father found her in there, and the mother said that it was the boy down the road! She was tied up with her own dish towels from there house! Most people don’t believe this story but I truly do, and most people don’t like the way Dr. Wilbur took her into the house and was so fascinated with her because it’s against the rules. I disagree with people who don’t believe this. They should take this more serious. Dylanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12582507510838735819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-38457281713788662482016-02-25T10:28:29.334-05:002016-02-25T10:28:29.334-05:00By Sophia Rampone
In studying the case of Shirley ...By Sophia Rampone<br />In studying the case of Shirley Ardell Mason, better known as Sybil, I have developed my own opinions about the efficacy and reality of this case and dissociative personality disorder. Many people are suspicious about Doctor Wilbur’s motives for writing the work. Some believe that she made it up or exaggerated Shirley’s symptoms for notoriety and profit. I don’t agree with these people. I think that all the details in the writing were too specific to be made up. The doctor would also have to be pretty messed up to imagine all the awful things that happened to the patient. Also, Wilbur was already pretty well-known in her field so it’s unlikely she wrote this for fame. And, if she had written it for money she probably wouldn’t have left $25,000 to Shirley. I believe that Doctor Wilbur wrote this book in order to document the disease and raise awareness of it. Many people in the psychology field question the ethics of becoming so close to one’s patient. It is regulation to not have physical contact like hugs and tell patients you love them. Wilbur almost became like a mother figure for Shirley. I believe it was necessary for Doctor Wilbur to treat her patient in this way. It most likely helped to speed her recovery because she never had a positive mother figure and was extremely emotionally damaged. I also believe it would be very difficult to treat a patient for 11 years and not become attached to them at least a bit. I believe that if Doctor Wilbur’s documentation of Shirley’s treatment is accurate, Shirley was a true multiple. It would be very difficult to fake such extreme symptoms especially of an extended period of time like she did. I believe that the amount of documented cases of MPD/DID increased so much after the release of the book and movie because it raised awareness of a disease that many knew nothing about previously because it was such a rare disorder. Although there may have been some people who faked their disability for attention based on this source, I still think that the majority of cases reported were real. I truly believe that DID is a real disorder many people suffer from. There is overwhelming evidence that is is a true disease similar to the proof of schizophrenia. I’m amazed that Shirley was able to reach something of a recovery after her traumatic past even though it took 11 years of therapy. I wonder if Doctor Wilbur’s methods were implemented more after the apparent success in this case. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863912990448736589.post-46195942591945807092016-02-25T10:27:03.766-05:002016-02-25T10:27:03.766-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com