Sybil
Class Paper
11/18/13
SYBIL
Sybil (originally created in 1976, and remade in 2007) told a story of a girl who was suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (also referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder). “Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual” (Psychology Today). I have chosen this movie to correspond with Chapter 13 (Psychological Disorders) of our psychology book, and because psychological disorders grasps my attention the most within the subject of psychology. If psychology were ever to be a possible major for me, I would focus more on this branch of it.
Sybil seemed like a normal girl, living a simple quiet life as a substitute schoolteacher. After suffering a small breakdown in front of one of her classes (along with a few other episodes caused by memory lapses of very disturbing memories) she is seen by Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, a psychologist. After their first visit, Dr. Wilbur concludes that these incidents are related to a much deeper problem, and encourages Sybil to return for more treatment. Later that same night, Dr. Wilbur receives a phone call from a girl named “Vickie” saying Sybil is about to jump out of a window. After coming to her rescue, Dr. Wilbur tells Sybil that she spoke to a girl named “Vickie”, to which Sybil had no recollection of. Sybil then breaks out in hysterical crying like a small child, and refers to herself as “Peggy”. At this very moment, Dr. Wilbur realizes Sybil is suffering from Multiple Personality Syndrome.
During their next session, “Vickie” introduces herself to Dr. Wilbur as somewhat of the “leader personality”, having insight to every personality Sybil possesses, and informs Dr. Wilbur of the other ones. There were 16 personalities she expressed in total, but only a few were presented more often than others. There’s “Vickie” herself (13 years old), who very
11/18/13
SYBIL
Sybil (originally created in 1976, and remade in 2007) told a story of a girl who was suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (also referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder). “Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual” (Psychology Today). I have chosen this movie to correspond with Chapter 13 (Psychological Disorders) of our psychology book, and because psychological disorders grasps my attention the most within the subject of psychology. If psychology were ever to be a possible major for me, I would focus more on this branch of it.
Sybil seemed like a normal girl, living a simple quiet life as a substitute schoolteacher. After suffering a small breakdown in front of one of her classes (along with a few other episodes caused by memory lapses of very disturbing memories) she is seen by Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, a psychologist. After their first visit, Dr. Wilbur concludes that these incidents are related to a much deeper problem, and encourages Sybil to return for more treatment. Later that same night, Dr. Wilbur receives a phone call from a girl named “Vickie” saying Sybil is about to jump out of a window. After coming to her rescue, Dr. Wilbur tells Sybil that she spoke to a girl named “Vickie”, to which Sybil had no recollection of. Sybil then breaks out in hysterical crying like a small child, and refers to herself as “Peggy”. At this very moment, Dr. Wilbur realizes Sybil is suffering from Multiple Personality Syndrome.
During their next session, “Vickie” introduces herself to Dr. Wilbur as somewhat of the “leader personality”, having insight to every personality Sybil possesses, and informs Dr. Wilbur of the other ones. There were 16 personalities she expressed in total, but only a few were presented more often than others. There’s “Vickie” herself (13 years old), who very
Cited: "Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder): Signs, Symptoms, Treatment." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. "Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder): Signs, Symptoms, Treatment." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.