Mistaken for deaf

amylynne said:
Good for you. I feel strongly that you have the right to describe your own life, your own experience, in and on your own terms. We all do. I think most people are acutely aware of this, on some level, as it applies to their own existence, but don't always extend that same respect, that they need and appreciate when they get it, to others. I think I hate that more than just about anything I've seen of humanity.

As far as some of the other comments, suggesting that maybe this stuff isn't true, I have to look at it this way: what if it turns out not to be? What's the worst that can happen? I believed something someone said and some people think I'm stupid? I can totally live with that. But if it goes the other way, if it's genuine, that's very important to me, not to be insulting or dismissive, so I'd by far rather err in that direction if I were ever to have any concern. I've had too many experiences of someone telling me that my own experience wasn't valid, telling me in a disrespectful way, when I was trying very hard to be clear about something genuine and very important to me.

So, yeah, good for you.

(It also occurs to me that, in preparation for becoming a doctor, one might want to purge the word "bullshit" from one's diagnostic vocabulary.)
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You have a good point. I should consider that the poster could genuinely be telling the truth.
But from a scientific standpoint, 99% of people with DID have had severe and long lasting childhood trauma. The OP says she didn't.
The prevailing research indicates that the alternate personalities are ways to deal with a traumatic event.


The most famous case of DID [http://www.npr.org/2011/10/20/141514464/real-sybil-admits-multiple-personalities-were-fake] admitted that she made this up.

I don't doubt that DID is a real psychiatric problem but I think it is extrodiornairly rare to have fully formed alternate personalities who all live in one body. The lack of credible case reports is troubling.

I'm just saying this doesnt feel right, especially since the OP is aware of the alters and seems to have read the reddit about this subject. <----I know that reddit isn't a legit source.

Bing skeptical isn't a bad thing and doctors have a variety of coping mechanisms. I'd prefer a physician who curses occasionally on an anaynomous Internet site to one who abuses alcohol and drugs, or has a gambling problem.

To curiouslymute I really hope I am wrong. I debated on whether to write this stuff because what if you are telling the truth but my scientific skepticism took over.
If you are being completely honest, why not find help from a psychiatrist who is skilled in treating your disorder?
 
ecp said:
You have a good point. I should consider that the poster could genuinely be telling the truth.
But from a scientific standpoint, 99% of people with DID have had severe and long lasting childhood trauma. The OP says she didn't.
The prevailing research indicates that the alternate personalities are ways to deal with a traumatic event.


The most famous case of DID []Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder): Signs, Symptoms, Treatment admitted that she made this up.

I don't doubt that DID is a real psychiatric problem but I think it is extrodiornairly rare to have fully formed alternate personalities who all live in one body. The lack of credible case reports is troubling.

I'm just saying this doesnt feel right, especially since the OP is aware of the alters and seems to have read the reddit about this subject.

Being skeptical isn't a bad thing and doctors have a variety of coping mechanisms. I'd prefer a physician who curses occasionally on an anaynomous Internet site to one who abuses alcohol and drugs, or has a gambling problem.
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I definitately agree that being skeptical is not a bad thing. If nobody ever questioned what I said about my situation, I'd be very concerned.

Lack of case studies, and 99% having trauma... Natural multiples don't show up at psychologists offices and thus don't get studied. Only people who are having a problem with their situation show up anywhere for help with it, and thus, those are who are seen in studies. I also said that natural multiplicity is different from D.I.D.

"I should consider that the poster could genuinely be telling the truth."
Thank you. All I ask is you consider it. That said, I have friends who's situations I definitely don't believe, but I am still friends with them and respect their point of view until they give me valid reason not to.
Remember, you haven't been in my shoes. All you know is what you can get from your point of view and your interpretation of what I've told you and your interpretation of what you have looked up on your own.
 
amylynne said:
Good for you. I feel strongly that you have the right to describe your own life, your own experience, in and on your own terms. We all do. I think most people are acutely aware of this, on some level, as it applies to their own existence, but don't always extend that same respect, that they need and appreciate when they get it, to others. I think I hate that more than just about anything I've seen of humanity.

As far as some of the other comments, suggesting that maybe this stuff isn't true, I have to look at it this way: what if it turns out not to be? What's the worst that can happen? I believed something someone said and some people think I'm stupid? I can totally live with that. But if it goes the other way, if it's genuine, that's very important to me, not to be insulting or dismissive, so I'd by far rather err in that direction if I were ever to have any concern. I've had too many experiences of someone telling me that my own experience wasn't valid, telling me in a disrespectful way, when I was trying very hard to be clear about something genuine and very important to me.

So, yeah, good for you.

(It also occurs to me that, in preparation for becoming a doctor, one might want to purge the word "bullshit" from one's diagnostic vocabulary.)
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What I bolded is exactly what I try to get across from people.
If what I claim is wrong, and you believed me... How bad can that be? You entertained the ramblings of some random person on the web.
However, if I am right and genuine... wouldn't it be worse to have dismissed somebody as a liar when they were being genuine?

A friend of mine actually came to mind... Nothing about how she acts or responds actually backs up her claims about her situation. I would never have known if she never told me. I could call her out and ask her to prove it. What could that gain? Nothing really, but it carries the real risk of disrespecting her, hurting her feelings, and destroying that good friendship.
Since it's never been used to take anything from me, I'm much happier taking her word for it and keeping the belief that the reason there is nothing making her condition obvious to me is because I've never been in her shoes and thus know very little about her life from her own view. I bet she also had a life time of good reason to be in a habit of hiding it.
 
Bottesini said:
And do they talk? If the school thought it was just stubborn not speaking, that means she was evaluated and there is no physical problem.
.
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They do, to varying degrees, and they each sound different.
No. I have had no such evaluation, even when we had made our way to the Talented and Gifted program. (Not to insult my headmates, but I am the smartest in our system. We were removed from the Talented and Gifted program because I didn't speak. I'm still a little bitter about that, and still trying to let it go.)
I would agree on that implying there is no medical issue, and it pointing to it being psychological, except for one thing...

It is known that multiples are quite unpredictable from a medical stand point. Different headmates within a system often have different ailments.
In our own system, one of my headmates has a problem with her eyes that our optician was able to see and measure, and the rest of us don't have that problem. He sat in his chair, mind blown, saying "You can't possibly fake that". She has her own separate pair of glasses and if I were to put them on, I wouldn't be able to see clearly.
We used to know another system (we have lost touch with them, I hope they are ok) who had one headmate who would test positive for thyroid cancer, but if they switched to another headmate and had the same test done, no cancer was detected. For them, this actually delayed treatment. They didn't know at first that the different tests results were because different people were front, and thus had to go through many retests before they actually received treatment for the cancer.
Another system we are friends with has one headmate who is deaf. They have actually been to an audiologist and tests confirmed that headmate can't hear. There is no explanation as to why some in that system can hear and some can't.
There was also a multiple I saw on TV whom were all blind, and there was physical reason why they were blind. Yet ONE member of their system had decent vision. I do not know them personally.

That said,
I don't know why I can't speak and my headmates can. I have tried, and put a lot of effort in to it over the years. I can make whisper sounds, which don't actually use voice. However, no matter how hard I try, there is just no voice for me.
My personal theory is that my portion of the brain just isn't properly connected to the vocal cords. I am no sort of medical professional, and so that is simply my own personal theory.

My headmates' experiences are very separate from my own. I have no experience with speaking, and honestly don't know what it's like to do so - other than one of my headmates making an attempt to explain it to me when I asked her,
 
Moelza said:
that's amazing.. i've never met a person who can hear but cannot speak.
it's funny b/c... when i meet people and tell them that i cannot hear.. for some reason, they thought that i'm just.. "mute"... so they woudl be like "oh.. you cannot talk! oh wow.. ok.. " (continues to talk)... ugh..
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UGH tell me about it... You're deaf so you can't talk!

This was brought on back to the lack of education and understand of the deaf that we have now a days that we didn't have way back then. Back in the day, if you were deaf, you were commonly known as "deaf mute." So, this outdated and stupid way of thinking has somehow trickled through society today to where people still assume "deaf mute" is one grouping, when in fact, they are two separate entities. -_-
 
ecp said:
I am very skeptical of this.
........bullshit.
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I'm skeptical about, um, all of it. It just screams bullshit so loudly a deaf person could hear it ;)

I would like to put hooey out there as a choice. I'm mighty fond of that word, and yep, sounds like a bunch of hooey.

Bunch of personalities all living in perfect harmony all talking to each other in her head, no trauma in the past, one can't talk, you know....just because, gets stabbed in the foot.....crickets. I'm becoming increasingly convinced AD is a magnet for a) crazy people b) people spinning yarn in desperdkate need of attention and think deaf people must be morons, gullible, or overly sympathetic???? I have no idea.

Hooey, btw, not sure if you can tell, but I'm once again on the rag so my bullshit tolerance is very low right now, I should probably step away from my keyboard, slowly. Tmi??
 
ambrosia said:
I'm skeptical about, um, all of it. It just screams bullshit so loudly a deaf person could hear it ;)
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Like I said, I don't need everyone to believe me. Especially since none of you have met me in person, I could say absolutely anything on the web.
I have my friends who accept me as I am, and the purpose of starting this thread was that I had a question I wanted answered. I'm not here to convince you guys multiplicity is real.
Those of you inclined to do so are more than welcome to ask me questions.
 
Hi there, CuriouslyMute

I have a hearing friend that cannot speak. Many other people thought she is deaf but she isn't. She does use ASL. She and I went to the same elementary school where there had a deaf/hh program. I know she was in deaf/hh class even she is not deaf or hard of hearing!
 
I am not sure if you told the truth about have headmates but I'll carry on, anyway. So, I'm kinda confused. The OP is CuriouslyMute but it seems a few posts of hers are not CuriousMutely? Sorry, I kinda lost.

Also, I hope you don't mind me to ask. Who are those headmates in your head?
 
KarissaMann05 said:
I am not sure if you told the truth about have headmates but I'll carry on, anyway. So, I'm kinda confused. The OP is CuriouslyMute but it seems a few posts of hers are not CuriousMutely? Sorry, I kinda lost.

Also, I hope you don't mind me to ask. Who are those headmates in your head?
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Of all the members of my system, I am the only one to have posted on this site.

There are a total of 9, including myself.
Since you asked, I'm Julie.
There is also Mia, Luna, Pastel, Rogue, Kate, Jenn, Lillian, and Rebecca.
All of them are very different. I actually don't have much in common with them, other than Pastel. Pastel and I are very close.
 
Glad that they all are female. It would be awkward if one was a male.

Sounds like you will never be lonely. You'll always have someone to talk to.
 
CuriouslyMute said:
Of all the members of my system, I am the only one to have posted on this site.

There are a total of 9, including myself.
Since you asked, I'm Julie.
There is also Mia, Luna, Pastel, Rogue, Kate, Jenn, Lillian, and Rebecca.
All of them are very different. I actually don't have much in common with them, other than Pastel. Pastel and I are very close.
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You wouldn't happen to be a fan of the Harry Potter series would you?
 
If i read this thread right. when did you realize that you have mulit-personality?
 
Frisky Feline said:
If i read this thread right. when did you realize that you have mulit-personality?
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My earliest memories include my headmates, but I didn't understand who they were at the time. I don't have any memories in which they don't exist. They would say the same if you asked them.
 
CuriouslyMute said:
Actually, I hate Harry Potter and think it's the second dumbest thing written. Why? There a multiple joke in there at my expense?
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No, because of the names Luna and Pastel, although there's also a Jennie and a Lily, Harry's mother, fairly close to jenn and Lillian.
 
Wait a second, you go by Julie Rae? Hmmm it could be a coincidence, and maybe I'm reaching, but that sounds very similair to Julia Regan. Perhaps we found another version of mushiecookies??? Perhaps not, but makes me wonder hmmmmm :hmm:
 
ambrosia said:
No, because of the names Luna and Pastel, although there's also a Jennie and a Lily, Harry's mother, fairly close to jenn and Lillian.
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Sorry for the knee-jerk response... most people who say I'm bullshit would be making a joke. My apologies for making the assumption.

No... we had our names long before we had ever even heard of Harry Potter.
 
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