laurarichardson said:

benni said:

Laura, no one has said that he was a Superman. In fact, there is a lot of research that shows childhood trauma DOES impact chronic pain in adulthood. This would support your statement that he was NOT superman. My question of wondering whether Prince was self-medicating, not just the pain, but the trauma from his childhood, as well, and his discussion of there being another person "inside of him" (which from his description closely correlates to DID). Usually people who experience childhood trauma experience MORE chronic pain as an adult.

"My question of wondering whether Prince was self-medicating, not just the pain, but the trauma from his childhood, as well, and his discussion of there being another person "inside of him" (which from his description closely correlates to DID). Usually people who experience childhood trauma experience MORE chronic pain as an adult."

We have no means of knowing any of this so what we have is people on this board with childhood trama and drug issues projecting their problems on to Prince without knowing the facts.

We have numerous people who knew him who are telling us over and over again that his drug taking was for pain. People who actually knew him but many on this borad persist in making it something else. No wonder he did not bother to tell only a few about his problems what good would it do if is all about some issues other then joint pain.

Your question will never be answered and even back at the time people on this very board laughed at the idea that he had a split personality and some professionals think the entire split personality is a bunch of nonsense created by hacks i.e. Sybil.

I find it hard to belive he made it to 57 if he had a split personality and funny how know drugs for that stituation were found in his system. I am not saying he did not have abuse as a child and I am not saying he never was prescribed meds for mental or emotional issues but we just do not have access to his medical records.

People on this board get attacked for saying he might have some under laying physical illness but it is okay to say he was bonkers?

Laura, I stated in my first post that yes, Prince was taking the medication for pain. There is NO DOUBT in my mind related to that. However, the fact remains that chronic pain is chronic pain and research has shown that a traumatic childhood increases chronic pain in adulthood for many individuals. Traumatic childhoods REWIRE the brain and central nervous system so that the way in which that person interprets physical symptoms is forever changed. I have no doubt that he had chronic pain from the work he did, however, it is possible that the traumas he experienced in his youth ADDED to that pain and that using the medications wasn't JUST to address the chronic pain but to also medicate the trauma from his youth.

DID is actually a diagnosable condition that is recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual used by psychiatrists, psychologists, and clinical social workers. They changed it from a "split personality" to Dissociative Identity Disorder. The personality isn't "split" but it is fragmented in some situations. Dissociative Identity Disorder takes on many forms - such as dissociating from the body during times of crisis (they feel separate from their body, as though what is happening to the body isn't real, or it is being done to someone else), disconnection between thoughts/consciousness/identity/memory. It's a depersonalization of the self, a derealization of the self. HOWEVER, some individuals with DID do have another personality or more that come forward to deal with certain situations.

More on DID:

Symptoms and signs of dissociative disorders include:

• Significant memory loss of specific times, people and events


• Out-of-body experiences, such as feeling as though you are watching a movie of yourself


• Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide


• A sense of detachment from your emotions, or emotional numbness


• A lack of a sense of self-identity

The symptoms of dissociative disorders depend on the type of disorder that has been diagnosed. There are three types of dissociative disorders defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM):

• Dissociative Amnesia. The main symptom is difficulty remembering important information about one’s self. Dissociative amnesia may surround a particular event, such as combat or abuse, or more rarely, information about identity and life history. The onset for an amnesic episode is usually sudden, and an episode can last minutes, hours, days, or, rarely, months or years. There is no average for age onset or percentage, and a person may experience multiple episodes throughout her life.


• Depersonalization disorder. This disorder involves ongoing feelings of detachment from actions, feelings, thoughts and sensations as if they are watching a movie (depersonalization). Sometimes other people and things may feel like people and things in the world around them are unreal (derealization). A person may experience depersonalization, derealization or both. Symptoms can last just a matter of moments or return at times over the years. The average onset age is 16, although depersonalization episodes can start anywhere from early to mid childhood. Less than 20% of people with this disorder start experiencing episodes after the age of 20.


• Dissociative identity disorder. Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, this disorder is characterized by alternating between multiple identities. A person may feel like one or more voices are trying to take control in their head. Often these identities may have unique names, characteristics, mannerisms and voices. People with DID will experience gaps in memory of every day events, personal information and trauma. Women are more likely to be diagnosed, as they more frequently present with acute dissociative symptoms. Men are more likely to deny symptoms and trauma histories, and commonly exhibit more violent behavior, rather than amnesia or fugue states. This can lead to elevated false negative diagnosis.
  
  
  
  And no one is saying he is "bonkers". HE said he had another person inside of him, that he discovered this when he was taking someone else through therapy. From what he was saying, it sounds like DID, which is what caused me to post this, going by what Prince himself said. In fact he said he felt that when he changed his name to the symbol, that personality had taken over, because he felt "divorced" from Prince.

I got this very often: Depersonalization disorder This disorder involves ongoing feelings of detachment from actions, feelings, thoughts and sensations as if they are watching a movie (depersonalization)

I always thought that everyone has this, but when I asked people around me if they get this feelig too, they looked at me as if I'm crazy or something. It's a strange feeling, it's like I'm not here, as if this body is not mine, It feels like you are watching someone else, like I see the person that should be me through VR or something. I can't really describe it but I don't know anyone that knows what I'm talking about. They just look at me and say: "That's strange."

anangellooksdown said:

benni said:

Laura, I stated in my first post that yes, Prince was taking the medication for pain. There is NO DOUBT in my mind related to that. However, the fact remains that chronic pain is chronic pain and research has shown that a traumatic childhood increases chronic pain in adulthood for many individuals. Traumatic childhoods REWIRE the brain and central nervous system so that the way in which that person interprets physical symptoms is forever changed. I have no doubt that he had chronic pain from the work he did, however, it is possible that the traumas he experienced in his youth ADDED to that pain and that using the medications wasn't JUST to address the chronic pain but to also medicate the trauma from his youth.

DID is actually a diagnosable condition that is recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual used by psychiatrists, psychologists, and clinical social workers. They changed it from a "split personality" to Dissociative Identity Disorder. The personality isn't "split" but it is fragmented in some situations. Dissociative Identity Disorder takes on many forms - such as dissociating from the body during times of crisis (they feel separate from their body, as though what is happening to the body isn't real, or it is being done to someone else), disconnection between thoughts/consciousness/identity/memory. It's a depersonalization of the self, a derealization of the self. HOWEVER, some individuals with DID do have another personality or more that come forward to deal with certain situations.

More on DID:

Symptoms and signs of dissociative disorders include:

• Significant memory loss of specific times, people and events


• Out-of-body experiences, such as feeling as though you are watching a movie of yourself


• Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide


• A sense of detachment from your emotions, or emotional numbness


• A lack of a sense of self-identity

The symptoms of dissociative disorders depend on the type of disorder that has been diagnosed. There are three types of dissociative disorders defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM):

• Dissociative Amnesia. The main symptom is difficulty remembering important information about one’s self. Dissociative amnesia may surround a particular event, such as combat or abuse, or more rarely, information about identity and life history. The onset for an amnesic episode is usually sudden, and an episode can last minutes, hours, days, or, rarely, months or years. There is no average for age onset or percentage, and a person may experience multiple episodes throughout her life.


• Depersonalization disorder. This disorder involves ongoing feelings of detachment from actions, feelings, thoughts and sensations as if they are watching a movie (depersonalization). Sometimes other people and things may feel like people and things in the world around them are unreal (derealization). A person may experience depersonalization, derealization or both. Symptoms can last just a matter of moments or return at times over the years. The average onset age is 16, although depersonalization episodes can start anywhere from early to mid childhood. Less than 20% of people with this disorder start experiencing episodes after the age of 20.


• Dissociative identity disorder. Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, this disorder is characterized by alternating between multiple identities. A person may feel like one or more voices are trying to take control in their head. Often these identities may have unique names, characteristics, mannerisms and voices. People with DID will experience gaps in memory of every day events, personal information and trauma. Women are more likely to be diagnosed, as they more frequently present with acute dissociative symptoms. Men are more likely to deny symptoms and trauma histories, and commonly exhibit more violent behavior, rather than amnesia or fugue states. This can lead to elevated false negative diagnosis.
  
  
  
  And no one is saying he is "bonkers". HE said he had another person inside of him, that he discovered this when he was taking someone else through therapy. From what he was saying, it sounds like DID, which is what caused me to post this, going by what Prince himself said. In fact he said he felt that when he changed his name to the symbol, that personality had taken over, because he felt "divorced" from Prince.

Stay away from the psychiatric titles. They'll spiral you downwards into depression and hopelessness. Start seeking out a solution. If you seek hard and long enough and god knows you are willing, He will provide.

Morgaine said:

ThatWhiteDude said:

When I first saw this Interview last year I thought that Prince might have been tired because he was awake for days, when I found out that their son died just a week ago I was shocked. Because I thought: "How could they handle that? How could they handle to do that interview.

One thing's for sure, both Prince and Mayte showed during that interview how strong people can be during the probably most horrible times. Losing a child might be the cruelest thing that can happen in life. It's an unnatural loss.

To be clear, I'm paraphrasing what was said. Oprah asked Mayte for examples of he was romantic, she replies the songs he's written particularly, 'Let's Have s Baby' because that's why she got pregnant. Check out his facial reaction after she says this. How difficult this period in their lives must have been for both.

I didn't say anything else. I can imagine that this was the worst thing that happened to both of them.

Morgaine said:

ThatWhiteDude said:

I got this very often: Depersonalization disorder This disorder involves ongoing feelings of detachment from actions, feelings, thoughts and sensations as if they are watching a movie (depersonalization)

I always thought that everyone has this, but when I asked people around me if they get this feelig too, they looked at me as if I'm crazy or something. It's a strange feeling, it's like I'm not here, as if this body is not mine, It feels like you are watching someone else, like I see the person that should be me through VR or something. I can't really describe it but I don't know anyone that knows what I'm talking about. They just look at me and say: "That's strange."

I know exactly what you're referring to, it's one of the most common reaction to trauma and can also occur after the event. It is connected to self-preservation - the event is too much, so disassociation occurs as a survival method.

Can it be "cured" or can I just learn to live with it?