 |
|
|
|
|
April 15th, 2008
12:10 PM ET
Herschel Walker's alter personalitiesBy Dr. Sanjay Gupta When I first heard that former football great Herschel Walker had multiple personality disorder, I was pretty stunned. Even though, I am a doctor, I had to admit that I knew very little about this particular psychiatric disorder. For starters, it is called DID, or dissociative identity disorder, instead of multiple personality disorder. Most people think of Sally Field's character Sybil, but another thing I learned is neither Sybil nor Walker actually has multiple personalities, but rather the lack of one cohesive personality. In Walker's case, he has 12 – yes 12 – alter personalities, which are all better described as fragments of one. (Here is an article I thought was very informative: http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=11122) 
Herschel Walker
 Sitting down with Walker, I met an extremely charismatic and likeable man who certainly didn't overtly flip from one alter to the next. It became clear, though, throughout our conversation that these alters were just under the surface. From stories of playing Russian roulette while still an extremely successful football star to rapidly switching from one alter to the next with absolutely no recollection, it was mind boggling, confusing, and a little bizarre. Again, unlike uncontrolled rage or depression, Walker really could not remember from one alter to the next. He even had names for his alters. The one that showed up on the football field was the General, and he was a competitive killer. Because of the lack of memory of these various alters, we found it important to speak with people who witnessed this firsthand. So, we flew to Dallas and met with his former wife, Cindy. She described many incidents, including a chilling one of waking up with a straight razor to her neck and Herschel threatening to slit her throat - and then having Herschel quickly flipping and asking her if she was OK. She saw that flipping back and forth and it scared her – eventually leading to their divorce. Medically, I was fascinated to learn that DID is much more common than people realize – about 1 percent of the population has the disorder. It is often associated with psychological and physical abuse as a child; in fact it is a childhood disorder that is often diagnosed as an adult. The child starts to separate his or her personality into fragments in order to deal with different aspects of life. By adulthood, these fragments become full-fledged alters. Herschel himself admitted he was bullied a lot as a child, because he was overweight and stuttered. In Walker's case, sometimes the alter personalities worked for him as the General did on the football field, but most of the times they were destructive. He is getting help nowadays, but there is no specific medication that can be prescribed. Instead, he goes through counseling to sort of teach his alters to know one another and become one cohesive personality. While he seemed to have things in control as we talked for a long time and even threw the football around, the alters are still very much there. As I said, I found the story of Herschel Walker to be absolutely fascinating. And I wondered how many more stories like his are out there. Have you ever seen or heard anything like this? Programming note: Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's interview with Herschel Walker and report on dissociative identity disorder on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight at 10 ET. Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation. |
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
 |
|
|
|
http://dougbelfiore.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=www.masternearme.com
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you writing this post and also the rest of the website is also really good.
http://yourtruth.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=bestservicenearme.com/
http://seejanekick.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=nearmyspot.com
Greetings, There's no doubt that your website may be having internet browser compatibility problems. Whenever I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine however, if opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Apart from that, fantastic blog!
http://charlotte-fashions.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=bonus-books.com
http://www.fanslations.azurewebsites.net/release/out/takami-no-kago-chapter-39/11534/?url=http://www.bestservicenearme.com
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/?administer_redirect_16=https://bestshopnearme.com
Great blog you've got here.. Itís difficult to find good quality writing like yours nowadays. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
http://audiencerock.net/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=www.masternearme.com/
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful post. Many thanks for providing this info.
http://oidhreacht.ie/webpilot/translate/lang.asp?url=https://bulknearme.com
http://rusnor.org/bitrix/redirect.php?event1=&event2=&event3=&goto=http://bonus-books.com
Great blog you have here.. Itís difficult to find quality writing like yours these days. I seriously appreciate people like you! Take care!!
http://complete-saving.net/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=www.masternearme.com/
http://www.stylecode.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=www.masternearme.com/
Tỷ Số đá Bóng Trực Tuyến Ngày Hôm Naytruc tiep htv 7Theo thể thức thi đấu, đội thắng ở cặp đấu này sẽ giành tấm vé đến Lithuania trong ngày hội bóng đá lớn nhất thế giới đến futsal. Tuyển futsal Việt Nam bước vào trận play-off lượt đi tranh vé dự play-off World Cup 2021 với sự tự tin. Tuy vậy, HLV Phạm Minh Giang bày tỏ, toàn đội ko ngán Lebanon song sẽ tìm cách để khắc chế sức mạnh của đối thủ bởi trên băng ghế huấn luyện là nhà cầm quân Ramiro Lopez, người từng dẫn dắt futsal Tây Ban Nha.|Dựa vào lịch tranh tài, bạn hoàn toàn có thể chuẩn bị xếp công việc
https://virandoamor.com/detail/tinh-bong-da-24h-42541.html
http://l-www.sitepal.com/affiliates/entry/?spdirect=1&affId=75895&promotionId=17691&link=thelawofattractionisreal.com/
https://it.paltalk.com/client/webapp/client/External.wmt?url=https://www.orangecountypondbuilders.com
You are so cool! I do not think I've truly read a single thing like this before. So great to discover another person with original thoughts on this subject matter. Really.. many thanks for starting this up. This site is something that is required on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
http://profil.uniag.sk/pracoviste/predmety.pl?id=56;zpet=https://commercialrepairshop.com/;lang=cz
Having read this I thought it was extremely informative. I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this content together. I once again find myself spending way too much time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
http://sweetpaulmag.com/Redirect.aspx?destination=http://www.autopartsservicenearme.com
http://bcdairy.ca/dairyfarmers/index?URL=http://www.postfallsayurveda.com
https://pickyourownchristmastree.org/XMTRD.php?PAGGE=/WashingtonStateTreeRecyclingDisposal.php&NAME=&URL=https://www.ocrvshop.com
The next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn't disappoint me just as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I genuinely thought you would probably have something useful to say. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something you can fix if you were not too busy searching for attention.
http://www.go.20script.ir/index.php?url=ocrvfleetservices.com/
http://blog.ss-blog.jp/_pages/mobile/step/index?u=http://www.statewidesecurityguards.com/
I couldnít resist commenting. Perfectly written!
http://whois.zunmi.com/?d=http://boxtruckrepairshop.com/.com
May I simply just say what a comfort to find an individual who really knows what they are talking about on the internet. You definitely realize how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More people need to look at this and understand this side of your story. I can't believe you are not more popular because you certainly possess the gift.
https://pickyourownchristmastree.org/XMTRD.php?PAGGE=/WashingtonStateTreeRecyclingDisposal.php&NAME=&URL=www.ocrvcenter.com/
http://www.adminer.org/redirect/?url=https://ocrvexperts.com/
http://www.7ba.info/out.php?url=postfallsfitness.com
Hello there! This article could not be written much better! Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept talking about this. I will send this information to him. Fairly certain he'll have a good read. I appreciate you for sharing!
http://www.london.umb.edu/?URL=http://www.ingenieurleistungenreiter.com/index.php?option=com_phocaguestbook&view=phocaguestbook&id=1&Itemid=4&t=1200&limitstart=86260
Having read this I thought it was really informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
https://www.banan.cz/goto.php?url=https://hootnholler.net/survey-85-of-small-business-across-us-fully-open-in-march-greater-baton-rouge-business-report/
https://directory.pasadenanow.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=http://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-big-bear-lake-california
http://www.bytecheck.com/results?resource=ocrvcenter.com/motorhome-interior-remodel-near-me
bookmarked!!, I love your blog!
http://ww1.screenwritersarena.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=leeds.ac.uk
I want to to thank you for this very good read!! I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. I've got you bookmarked to look at new stuff you postÖ
http://www.citrix.iamgold.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=http://www.ocrvcenter.com/playstar-collision-repair-shop-near-me
Aw, this was a very nice post. Spending some time and actual effort to create a very good articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I put things off a lot and don't seem to get anything done.
http://hudsonltd.com/?URL=www.ocrvcenter.com/camper-van-repair-near-me
Great post! We will be linking to this particularly great post on our site. Keep up the great writing.
https://www.livedocs.my-retail-store.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=https://www.ocrvcenter.com/toy-hauler-trailer-collision-repair-shop-near-me
This site was... how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Kudos!
http://freecenter.com/db/review.cgi?category=pda&url=http://www.ocrvcenter.com/service-truck-collision-repair-shop-near-me/
http://ymg-ssz.jp/cms/modules/wordpress0/wp-ktai.php?view=redir&url=https://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-rosemead-california/
I could not refrain from commenting. Well written!
https://www.azlawhelp.org/externalsite.cfm?url=//http://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-rialto-california
I'm excited to uncover this web site. I need to to thank you for ones time just for this wonderful read!! I definitely liked every bit of it and i also have you saved to fav to see new information in your web site.
http://bugcrowd.com/external_redirect?site=http://ocrvcenter.com/trailer-repair-near-me
Everyone loves it whenever people come together and share opinions. Great website, stick with it!
https://www.sweetpaulmag.com/Redirect.aspx?destination=ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-lomita-california
http://ww17.dummy.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=http://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-la-puente-california
I really love your blog.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you develop this web site yourself? Please reply back as Iím looking to create my very own site and would like to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is called. Appreciate it!
https://nanos.jp/jmp?url=www.ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-south-gate-california
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you ought to write more about this subject, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people do not talk about these topics. To the next! Kind regards!!
http://novalogic.com/remote.asp?NLink=http://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-valley-village-california/
https://www.telecom.uu.ru/?a%5B%5D=<a+href=http://www.ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-monterey-park-california
Your style is very unique compared to other people I've read stuff from. Many thanks for posting when you've got the opportunity, Guess I'll just book mark this web site.
http://www.mahaloliquor.biz/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=www.ocrvcenter.com
http://fast.accesstrade.com.vn/deep_link/4498810930962836187?url=ocrvcenter.com
You made some decent points there. I checked on the internet to find out more about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this site.
http://www.catchingthetrain.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=www.ocrvcenter.com/
https://www.forum.kinoafisha.info/cc.php?url=ocrvcenter.com/
http://www.campuscoupons.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=http://ocrvcenter.com/
https://www.riddlelaw.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=http://ocrvcenter.com
I wanted to thank you for this very good read!! I absolutely loved every little bit of it. I have got you book marked to check out new things you postÖ
https://casatile.org/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=http://www.ocrvcenter.com/
https://it.paltalk.com/client/webapp/client/External.wmt?url=http://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-san-marcos-california/
This site was... how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Kudos!
http://dereferer.org/?ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-apple-valley-california