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split personality disorder and crimes


Ryuk

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Lets say for example You have a split personality one personality is your normal every day one, Nice etc, Then theres your other personality, Bad, Lets say obviously your bad personality is a murderer, and when your the Nice personality you have no memory of what the bad one does, Would you still be Innocent in the crimes your bad personality has committed? Or are you just as guilty?

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Exactly what I was going to say Moogle, including the film reference. The main character was the guy in Fight Club.

 

In case you were wondering, the proper name is Dissociative Identity Disorder and most of the time it is more than two personalities.

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I'm pretty sure you would be committed to a mental institution.

 

That's pretty much the answer. I don't know the exact terms of the law, but if you have a psychological condition that is proven through tests by both the prosecution and the defense during the course of a trial, or have evidence confirming any mental instabilities prior to the trial, then rather than go to prison, you are committed to a mental institution because they can't fully lay claim to any misdemeanours if you are mentally unstable.

 

Something like that. It's actually more common than you think. Not massively common, but it happens enough that I know of instances of it turning out as above.

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I'm actually recalling these discussions I had with a couple of friends of mine...weird! :p

 

I'm recalling these discussions from this forum. I believe we also mentioned that case where someone was dreaming and ended up strangling his wife. I think the verdict was as Moogle said: if they can prove the condition then mental asylum.

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Depends on the crime. If your "normal" personality knows the nature of the act is wrong they could be more culpable. But if you can prove it you can use a defence of insanity. It can get you off but with a condition of spending an indefinate amount of time in an institution. Many would please guilty to an offence using recklessness and take a longer sentence than consider themselves insane. But as mentioned it does depend on the offence.

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Exactly what I was going to say Moogle, including the film reference. The main character was the guy in Fight Club.

 

In case you were wondering, the proper name is Dissociative Identity Disorder and most of the time it is more than two personalities.

 

Or schizophrenia?

 

The goalkeeper Andy Goram was diagnosed with mild schizo which led to the greatest football chant of all time, "There are only two Andy Gorams".

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Or schizophrenia?

 

The goalkeeper Andy Goram was diagnosed with mild schizo which led to the greatest football chant of all time, "There are only two Andy Gorams".

 

Yeah that is a massively common mislabelling, an actual split personality is DID like Diageo said. I think schizophrenia originally meant split functions and got mistranslated.

 

I think, as people have said, if it can be proved you have a mental illness under the Mental Health Act, then you'd be sectioned for treatment and taken somewhere appropriate, rather than to prison.

 

As for the film people mentioned, iirc it's called Primal Fear and it starts Edward Norton and Richard Gere(as his lawyer). It's a pretty good film from what I remember actually, though I haven't seen it since I was like 12 or something.

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Yeah that is a massively common mislabelling, an actual split personality is DID like Diageo said. I think schizophrenia originally meant split functions and got mistranslated.

 

σχίζειν (schizein) = to split

φρήν (phren) = mind

 

It's obvious why it's always mistaken for split personality disorder. If I recall correctly, schizophrenia covers any degree of perception distortion (hallucinations, hearing voices, etc.), meaning that a split personality would also fall under that category.

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σχίζειν (schizein) = to split

φρήν (phren) = mind

 

It's obvious why it's always mistaken for split personality disorder. If I recall correctly, schizophrenia covers any degree of perception distortion (hallucinations, hearing voices, etc.), meaning that a split personality would also fall under that category.

As a man who is studying psychology, I will have to tell you that you are wrong. And Dissociative Identity Disorder[split personality as you like to call it] is in no way related to Schizophrenia.

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Tbh, he didn't say it was. He was expressing an understanding for why it is commonly mistaken. Also, psychology =/= psychiatry. Also, I wouldn't put it past either being misdiagnosed as the other at some point in the history of man. Also, schizophrenia's a bit ridiculous in its diagnosis itself anyway.

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Yup, my main point was why they were often confused from an etymological standpoint. I'm always careful about expressing my understanding of things I don't know much about, hence the "if I recall correctly" at the beginning. I'm pretty sure I've seen/read/heard it being described that way before, but apparently not from a reliable source.

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