Blood Lily is a fictitious story
about a young woman with a condition called D.I.D. or Dissociative
Identity Disorder. As the name suggests, it is a mental condition
where a person invents different personalities, usually in response
to significant childhood trauma. The “alters” are often invented
in childhood, like invisible friends, each taking on characteristics
that the “host” chooses to embody in order to deal with traumatic
events or memories.
D.I.D. is different from
schizophrenia, a term most of us are more familiar with. Symptoms of
schizophrenia usually include delusions, auditory hallucinations
(hearing voices) and incoherent or disorganized speech. They might
be heard having conversations among their various “alters”.
A D.I.D. sufferer can switch
from one alternate personality to another in a moments notice then
jump back again without any memory of the event, as we see in the
hospital encounter. The personalities, sometimes opposite genders,
are usually cognisant of the others but can have complete memory
lapses, as we see in Lily's experience at Jimmy's Grill; not being
aware of ever having been there before.
Lily has created for herself
three “alters” - T.J., the protector and defender; Monday, the
strong and bold female with a penchant for cleanliness; Phoebe, the
innocent child. People have been known to have as few as two and as
many as upwards of ninety different alters.
I became interested in this
disorder when my daughter was studying it for her psych class.
Intense discussion ensued around the lunch table one Sunday afternoon
with her brothers and sisters-in-law; all having studied psych at one
time. My research came from her text book, off of internet sights on
the subject as well as hours of You Tube video interviews with people
suffering under the condition. The interviews are truly fascinating
and I invite you to check them out.
Now that you know Lily's
secret, you may want to read it again. :)
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