Have you ever been impressed by a book when you were a teenager, but haven't read it until now? Or you have read it, but you keep reminding yourself of it until now because it was too good to forget?

Or maybe, you read a book when you were in school, and it has influenced your interest in a certain field?

I have one. Yes, at first it was just one, then it became two.
When I was in high school, I had limited funds to buy books even though my interest in reading was unstoppable, thankfully, later I had a friend who also loved to read and diligently bought books. Not only did she diligently buy books, but she also borrowed me all the collections she had.

Until one day, my friend showed me her latest collection entitled The Minds Of Billy Milligan which was later translated into Indonesian with the title 24 Faces Of Billy by American writer, Daniel Keyes. With a cover that gave the impression of dark stories like horror. After my friend explained the premise of the book, which tells the true story of a Billy MIlligan who is a suspect in a serious crime and has 24 personalities in his body.

Unfortunately, by the time it was my turn to borrow it, I had already graduated from school and we were separated by city. I've been thinking about that memorable book ever since. How could someone with only one body have not two but twenty-four personality fragments?

Gradually, my viewing tastes were almost always psychological or sci-fi. I was particularly impressed with Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island who had a similar mental disorder background. After researching, I found out that it was called multiple personality disorder or D.I.D (Dissociative Identity Disorder). In addition to Shutter Island, there are several Korean drama titles that have themes about D.I.D such as: Hyde, Jekyll, and Me, then Kill Me Heal Me. And there's another very recent one called Dear Hyeri.

Apart from that, I also have a reference to a book about multiple personalities that I borrowed through the iPusnas app (fyi; iPusnas has a new look after a few days of maintenance).

OK, back to topic!

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DOUBLE PERSONALITY

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from iPusnas

Author    : Sutrisno, S.Pd
Editor    : Daru Wijayanti
ISBN(e)   : 978-623-238-541-2
Pages     : 148 pages
Printings : 2020
Publisher : Desa Pustaka Indonesia

In this 148-page book, Sutrisno opens with a history of the journey of the discovery of double personality (D.I.D). From pages 11 to 38, readers will be presented with the beginning of D.I.D. in society, which goes back as far as the 18th century. There, according to Sutrisno's writing, people believed this condition to be a 'trance' or epilepsy, only after entering the 19th to 20th centuries did experts find schizophrenia which was more widely adopted by the public for this dissociative disorder.

However, as mental health experts tirelessly researched, especially with the horrific cases of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as the case of Billy Milligan, and another case of Sybill Dorsett who had 16 personalities and was declared cured after undergoing treatment for approximately 16 years.

In addition to the history of D.I.D, Stutrisno also explained about the many conditions of dissociative disorders due to severe trauma as a child. Approximately when the trauma experienced by a person is before the age of 5 years. And, after research, many D.I.D cases are victims of physical or sexual abuse.

Not only that, there are many other possibilities, which may initially be due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), bipolar, schizophrenia, etc.

Reading this book, at the same time taking a lot of indirect experience, about how our attitude if one day we are positioned as a caregiver (caregiver)? What kind of attitude makes D.I.D safe and comfortable. How do caregivers stay in control and take care of themselves, because being a caregiver is not an easy task.

Another thing that Sutrisno emphasizes in this book, is, the confidence to be patient when looking for a therapist who will be chosen for treatment, must be careful when choosing a therapist, because the therapist must be patient in dealing with cases of D.I.D. Preferably look for a therapist who has a history of handling multiple personality cases, if it is too difficult to find, make sure the therapist who accepts you for care is a patient person and willing to actively learn about the new conditions they will handle.

Wow... I am so impressed with this book. How in 148 pages can readers learn so much about this very unique dissociative disorder condition?
Aren't I lucky to be able to fill my spare time to finish a book that I then review here?

Bonus chapters on quotes from people with dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D), and also a number of D.I.D-themed movie titles complete with short reviews.

So, I would like to recommend this book to you if you have a concern about mental disorders or psychological matters. That's my writing, thank you for reading. See you...

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