DID/MPD

"Often, the test of courage is not to die, but to live."
-- Vittorio Alfieri

The ribbon on the left shows my support for people with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID). It was designed by a dear friend of mine who was hurt terribly in her life, and who now suffers from MPD as a result. Since I don't want to single out any of the distinct people that share her body, I'll refer to them simply by the name they use to refer to their whole -- the Flower.
People who suffer from DID or MPD are not crazy. They're not sick. They're simply people, just like any of us, who were very badly hurt, and whose personalities and identites shattered in order to survive. There are over 70 petals in the Flower, each of whom was formed to take on a specific task, or a specific set of painful experiences, in order that the whole could survive.

People with MPD are, in my mind, perhaps some of the strongest, most courageous people I know of. They have managed to survive things which most of us don't even see in our nightmares, and to find a powerful force to live in even the most horrible experiences. The Flower that I know is like a single white orchid blooming in the midst of a forest fire, a rare treasure who was forged in tremendous pain and hurt, and who nonetheless blossomed and became a special, wonderful person. I feel very lucky, and deeply privileged, to know the Flower and her petals, and to be able to call them my friends.

I encourage you to learn more about MPD and DID, and about the people who suffer from it. They're not freaks or weirdos to be pitied -- they're tremendously brave, strong human beings, with far more courage than I, who have survived, and thrived, in spite of experiences which most of us would pale to hear about, much less experience.