David Medlycott

Another 'Terrible Twins' story.

Traveling the dark passages of the mind.

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‘Come in, sit down Mrs. Evans. I am Mr. Feldbrun, consultant in psychology here at the hospital. We must talk about your son, Simon. It says in his notes that he has been suffering from this condition for a few years and that you have coped with him in various ways. Now, we will talk about those ways later, but, for the moment, I think we must say that they may not have been the best. They will probably have, in fact, contributed to the problem.
‘My diagnosis is controversial, Mrs. Evans, but your son has Dissociative Identity Disorder, was called Multiple Personality Syndrome, in plain English ‘split personality’. This is different from schizophrenia, although I know that translates as ‘split mind’.
‘D.I.D. is often brought on by abuse. When the abuse becomes too much a second identity takes over to protect the first, and the first will often suffer amnesia for that period, after. Now, the abuser has now been caught and put away, indefinitely, we hope. So, Simon has to come to realise that and, maybe, he will begin to recover, but he has been two people for many years now.
‘In Simon’s case his other identity has been that of his brother, Daniel. You have tried to ignore ‘Daniel’ in the past, but I think that now you must recognise him and make friends with him.
‘If you think of them as your twins, Mrs Evans, you will make a good start.
‘You are shocked? Yes.’