Tiana Young

Professor Jhe
Memoir Reflection Paper
3 November 2015
Robert B. Oxnams A Fractured Mind: My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder
helps give readers insight about living with MPD or Dissociative Identity Disorder. Oxnam went
many years without knowing he had MPD. Just like we discussed in class, he went to a
psychiatrist for another problem. He went to see Dr. Smith, because of his anger and depression.
DID is comorbid with depression and substance abuse. When he went to therapy, Dr. Smith used
free association with Oxnam. He would listen while Oxnam talked without interruption, and
then he would discuss what was said after Oxnam was done talking. Oxnam showed signs of
substance abuse of alcohol. He believed his anger and depression led him to drink heavily. At
first, Dr. Smith believed Oxnam was having problems due to issues with authority figures. He
eventually developed bulimia. He showed some of the symptoms we talked about in class. He
was overeating and vomiting the food back up. His weight fluctuated, and he had low energy.
The medical complication he experienced was tooth decay from the stomach acid due to
vomiting. He was able to hide his problems from people at work, but could not hide them from
his friends and family. He experienced memory loss and loss of time. The psychiatrist
diagnosed him as a Class A Alcoholic due to his unstable emotions, memory loss, drinking to get
drunk, and him being proud for not drinking for some time and then start drinking again. The
psychiatrist eventually realized he had another disorder when Bob turned into a young boy
named Tommy. Dr. Smith discovered there were 11 identities in one body. Bob was the host

identity and the other 10 were the alters. I believe the memoir did a good job describing the
disorder, and the symptoms met the criteria for MPD or DID.
Some cultural factors played a role in Oxnams disorder. He had an abusive childhood.
He remembered that his family was very successful, and they had really high expectations for
him to succeed as well. He was taught how to succeed in school by his mother, and developed a
new alter identity to succeed. When he did not reach his goal, he did self-harming techniques
and was too hard on himself. What he did not remember as Bob was his abuse as a baby. He
was severely punished with whippings, and he was constantly told he was a bad boy for doing
natural things, such as crying when his diaper was full. He developed DID even though it is
more common in women. It is more common in women due to sexual abuse, which he also
endured as a baby. DID is identified in all social economic statuses and racial groups. Oxnam
came from a well-educated and high economic status class. I think he was unique, because of
how long it took for him to realize he had a problem and needed professional help. He was still
able to be successful in his job, and his alters secretly helped him accomplish his goals for his
job. What was not unique about the disorder, was it took a toll on the relationships in his life.
He got divorced from his wife, and he lost friendships because of his uncontrollable temper.
After he discovered he had DID, I believe it is probably common to research the disorder.
People want to know and understand what is happening to them, but it is not always a good idea
to believe the first type of information that can be found on the subject. A person should let the
professional psychiatrist help guide him or her to information and guide him or her to recovery.
Dr. Smith used therapy to treat Oxnam. The therapys goal was to integrate the identities
together. Oxnam continued to go to the therapy sessions. Slowly, the alters started to identify
themselves to Dr. Smith. The alters seemed to be cooperative when asked to show themselves to

the doctor. Bob and Dr. Smith discovered the wide variety of identities, such as some being
young, old, male, female, and one unable to speak or write. The treatments were helpful in
integrating the identities. The session even helped with changing the dominant identity of Bob to
another identity named Robert. Then Robert, Bob, and Robbey integrated into one identity. The
therapy helped in remember the abuse he had as a baby, and the next step was for Robert to
process the trauma. Dr. Smith believed it was now time to move forward with his life, because
the trauma happened in the past. Robert eventually found a new job, and got married to a
women who was understanding to his disorder. There were 3 identities that had not integrated
together, and they were Robert, Wanda, and Bobby. They do work together as a unit, and they
decided that they would write a memoir about their experiences.
I learned a few things while reading Oxnams memoir. I learned that the identities can
change who the host of the body is going to be depending on the weakness of the host. Bob
changed to Robert after they were in agreement that it was the best decision to make. I knew a
little about DID from watching Sybil. I learned that it can be caused by a traumatic childhood,
and the identities truly have their own personalities. I was surprised that Bob was able to go so
long without knowing about his disorder. I was shocked about the alters that did not have a
name, but was referred to as a title, such as Witch, Eyes, and Librarian. I would have thought
they would all have a specific name to go by. It was also shocking when they discovered Eyes,
who could not write or talk. My views changed about the inner world. I did not know that a
place was created for the host and the alters to live inside the inner world. They lived in a castle,
and there was so much detail inside and outside of the castle. There was also another place that
was foggy and close to the castle, and the Witch and Eyes lived there. I thought it was
interesting that Robert compared the business meeting to the inner world. He explained that one

person was talking and in charge at a time, while everyone else interacted silently. It is also
interesting when Bob is finally able to feel the emotions of the alters and was able to build a
system to communicate with Robert. The one alter that was difficult for me to understand was
Lawrence. He was a time keeper, but barely showed up, and only met Dr. Smith once. I learned
the importance of treatment of integrating the identities into one or a few identities. It is also
important to know why a person developed the multiple identities in the first place.