15 Personalities in One Woman (Mental Health Documentary) | Real Stories 

I met Paula today. She's working at a respite center helping trauma survivors like myself. The fact that she's still 10 years after this documentary devoting all her time to help survivors means so much.

My mother had (DID) back then it was called MPD (Multiple personality disorder) her childhood was filled with massive physical and sexual abuse. All her personalities liked me for the most part. My friends thought it was so cool to have a mom that would play with us. I spent my childhood hiding this from everyone. I could always bring my mom back. Her alters would listen to me for the most part. She was a single mom of 3 kids at a young age. She was successful and was college educated and owned a home for us kids. She was a survivor. She could at times control it as life calmed down. She would get extremely tired when she switched alot. All her alters were kind. There was only 1 that was mean and agressive. She was like a tough woman with an accent. I only saw her once and that situation traumatized me. I had the most amazing wonderful mama. Sadly she died of cancer 5 years ago. We were best friends and close as ever. I feel lost in this world without my amazing mama. I hate that i was ashamed of her because of this growing up. But it was just fear people wouldnt understand. I still dont speak of her disorder.

This just breaks my heart. This is what abuse does to a child's mind

"It's not literally real, but it's very psychologically real." That's the best description of this disorder that I've heard. It doesn't matter if it's "real" or not, literally. It's real to the person and affecting them negatively, so that's what needs help.

i like how when she says “i knew i was different.” and the dr says “you knew Something was different.” its so small but its nice to be reassured that you arent different you arent weird. its nice. good on him.

The little girl saying “I don’t want to be hurt no more” broke my heart. This must be incredibly hard to deal with. Hearing about the doctor who told her she was faking for attention really made me angry, first of all that’s not how a medical professional should talk to a patient who is in distress whether he thinks it’s real or not, and the reason she ended up at the hospital in the first place was because she was clearly suffering, which she hardly would if she wanted to be this way/was in control of it. She (they?) is very brave to speak openly about this misunderstood condition. I wish her (them?) all the best.

I see RU-vid recommendations brought us all together today.

The human body is one mysterious crazy thing. And probably the most craziest part of it is you're brain

The documentary was 10 years ago, I wonder how she/they're doing now.

and then there’s trisha paytas who makes a mockery of the community. thank god no one takes her seriously

I just wanted to give that poor woman a hug the whole time :(

She was sexually abused. So "left her body: it makes sense and I hope she gets help. I believe her God help her

Did they really say "omg this disorder is so misunderstood, we gotta change that!" then put scary music over this woman speaking about her disorder?

The spooky music is so inappropriate.

I love that this woman has been able to accomplish a master's degree! This would stop most people in their tracks in regards to progressing in life .. She is amazing !

No wonder she really wants to prove she's not lying probably one of the biggest reason is her own sister.

I get this totally. I am a survivor of CEN (childhood emotional neglect) where I had to hide any strong or negative emotions as they weren't acceptable in my family. Combined with a narcasstic mother I have suffered from lifelong depression which started at age 6/7. I can't remember much of my childhood and young adulthood and I was always accused of daydreaming. It wasn't but it was dissociation and depersonalisation. Fortunately I have had counselling and meds which helped a lot. It has damaged my life though to this day. I really feel for this lady and have some understanding of how damaged she is.

I had to pause for a second midway to write...that police sketch artist is incredible, especially without reference features to draw from, and whoever cast the models based on those sketches literally did an INSANELY amazing job. It was so precise I'm floored.

Such an interesting story....she truly turns into that person at the moment. Her demeanor, everything...is there to protect her. That must be tough to have so many different voices in your head...definitely something hard to deal with on a daily basis. Wishing her continued success in her journey ahead. :)

“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”― Tennessee Williams..

I am a therapist who specializes in DID. Thank you, Dr. Ross, and a big thanks to you, Paula and the alters. I believe you.

it may be hard to believe that this disorder is real, but it comes from severe childhood trauma. it’s literally a world created by a child’s brain in order to allow the child to survive the trauma they’re going through, so it varies from person to person and can be simple or fantastical, according to whatever that child needed when they were little. the alters/personalities would take over and live through the extreme trauma instead of the child, so every alter/personality deserves respect because their existence was/is necessary for the child’s survival

I wish this woman and her system the best of luck in the future.

the topic is very interesting, considering how little we know about the brain. what pisses me off though is the editing of the whole thing. they make it feel almost like a horror movie with suspense unstead just showing it through an undistorted lense. the poor woman. people with d.i.d. face enough prejudice and fear already because we can't understand what's going on with them and media made them out to be dangerous, and here this documentary is giving it a horror vibe

Paula, I know and understand your journey with DID. I was diagnosed DID/SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse) from birth to ten. My addiction to food helped me to stuff down my horrific pain. I always knew someone broke my leg so I wouldn't talk. I always knew they told me I had polio; which was a lie. I always had the thought, "was it a crib or a cage" and later understood from my alter that it was a cage. I used food to self-destruct to cover up the self-hate which I never understood. Many counselors/pastors/clinics didn't understand me, and the pain below the surface. At 68 I finally found someone who understood DID/SRA. My alters were held down by the demonic. When my counselor dealt with the demonic, all 20 alters were able to surface to tell their stories. In 1-1/2 years in prayer counseling each multiple personality told their story, were healed, and then integrated back into my heart where they broke off from, at an early age. Today I am fully integrated, fully healed of their trauma, and whole. In integration each one of them made me stronger, I now have their strengths their understanding, and their insights. They haven't been lost, they have completed my heart and we are now ONE. All my alters have written a book about "their truths, their healing, and their integration." Thank you so much for your bravery, for putting yourself out there, for being real, and for educating the world of DID. I would love to talk with you.

I think this an amazing coping mechanism. She’s amazing and I’m glad she could share her story and experience with us.

Awe I feel so honored to have gotten to know Paula and all her alters. I'm sorry for what happened to you for you to need alters. And in case no one told you, it was never your fault. You did nothing wrong. On a positive note, you are helping those who do have a mental health disorder that it's ok to talk about it as well as helping those who don't have DID what it is and how it effects your life. For that I thank you. You're so brave!

As an alter who doesn’t relate to the body’s appearance, I avoid mirrors and reflective surfaces at all costs. Not because our host is ugly, she’s very pretty, in my opinion. But it’s just... not my face. -Erika

My Mama who is now decreased, suffered from both paranoid schizophrenia and D.I.D. She suffered severe emotional, mental and physical trauma during her childhood. I've seen how detrimental this can be and my heart goes out to this lady.

Mad respect to Mariah she came in to protect Paula when she needed it

I was just diagnosed with DID this year. Mine is not nearly as "concrete" (I can't see them), and I'm still learning the distinct personalities. This is an incredible resource. Thank you to Paula for sharing your story.

I hurt for her and the little girl she once was and never got to fully be. it’s so terrible that because of some terrible person that did terrible things, a woman’s entire life is greatly and negatively impacted. it breaks my heart. I hope she finds a way to heal and happiness.

When a child is exposed to repetitive trauma over an amount of time, their minds develop differently from a child raised without trauma. A child raised without trauma will have incorporated all their feelings and emotions into one personality, usually by the age of six years old. They understand the word sad and the emotions that it represents. You can see their personality traits developing and how they handle feelings and emotions. Children that suffered prolonged trauma understand differently. When their minds could not take what was happening to them anymore, instead of developing a feeling or emotion about it, they developed another personality to handle those situations when those feeling or emotions were present. So instead of developing anger, they developed another person that handles that emotion/feeling. That's why I think they called it split personality disorder for so long. Because their mind did split into different people that represent certain feelings and emotions. Instead of sadness they developed an entity, that can be any gender or age, and only that entity knows the depth of trauma that the system endured, from their childhood to their present time. The The Front Person understands sadness probably the same as everyone else, but not the sadness caused by trauma. The Front Person may know that they suffered trauma, but they will not know the true extent of the trauma, although they may have a good idea about it. We developed feelings and emotions are rolled it all into a nice little bundle named Marion. Paula was rolled in a nice little bundle of separate personalities that share the same body, or system. These personalities are as real as you are and they all believe they are real people because, well, THEY ARE REAL PEOPLE.

when she started crying after the scan thing, I almost had to exit out the video. That was really rough to watch. she is so strong I can't imagine suffering so much and not having anyone believe you

This was excellent. Paula has helped so many people by telling her story. Thank you Paula! This has helped not only people with DID but also family and friends to understand more about what is going on. The doctor did a terrific job as well shedding more light. Paula is such a nice person. Wonderful that she wants to help others and is doing just that.

I was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder last year and it has completely changed how I look at my life. I started a you the channel to document things

I just don’t understand the people that say she’s faking. Like who would want to go through so much pain?

Has anyone read the book Sybil? She had Multiple Personality Disorder. That's what it was called decades ago. Amazing book. She suffered terrible abuse at the hands of her Mother, literally was tortured. It makes sense to create other personalities in your mind, in order to 'escape' the abuse. Can't physically leave when you're a young child, so escaping in the mind makes all the sense in the world to me.

Surely she is a very strong woman. This must be really tough for her. God bless you Paula.

When mom told us kids her diagnosis MPD, at the time, everything made sense… I would look at situations & how she was acting. She integrated with the help of a great therapist. Though, she always had terrible depression. Mom & I were in a great place when she passed. I miss her so much. Man, she was funny too. ❤️

watching this brought tears. She's a strong woman and a survivor.

Paula y'all are validated and it doesn't matter even if drs don't know bc they aren't experienced enough. You're a survivor, baby and we support you!

Jonathan really stands out to me. He's so... I don't know, like he really loves Paula but is too "tough" to say it

At around 32:50 - when the psychiatrist showed Paula the monitor , after Jonathan went away , should have asked her what she saw and waited for her to answer- not ‘lead the witness’ so to speak by asking if she saw alternating images of herself and Jonathan. He does that a lot . He never waits for her to answer, he pretty much ‘gives’ her the answer or suggests the answer and she agrees. Not very objective if you ask me. Having written that- I do believe in DID. This just wasn’t very professional and objective.

A good book is called When Rabbit Howls. I recommend reading it. Its very detailed though about the trauma experienced but it's a true story of DID

I have just found this months later but I have DID and I honestly expected to find cruelty and skepticism in the comments and it feels so validating to see how many people have opened up to the truth about people like us and not just what hollywood has portrayed us as.

Absolutely brilliant to give people an understanding of what created this and to realize that horrific sexual abuse when you were very young created this . Very brave of you and I thank you.

"Can't we compromise" Story of any relationship... except it's (number of alters) more often when you have DID. You guys have such strength!

I wish I could give her a hug. She is so sweet! So unfair and horrific that she had to survive like this because of people who hurt her so much

I've been reading the comments and see that there are a lot of loving and warm people out there. One of the most important things I learned during my therapy is to love all the parts. That's all they have ever wanted. Life is peaceful now. A young child will present occasionally when she senses that the people in the room are very kind and loving. Bravo to her and to her courage. You know satan tries to destroy us but God enables us to split apart for a time so he can bring us back together again. We have terrific attributes, God given, we have his attributes of creativity, lover of music, art, dance, math, sociology, anything, nature, animals. We are created in his image. Thank you for telling your story. God bless you.

Hi Paula..if you read this, just wanted to tell you that you seem like an amazing woman. Paula, don’t ever be afraid, your never going to be alone as I believe your friends will always be watching over you. You got this girl...you will move mountains, just don’t sell yourself short. Peace and love~ Mary

I’m not dismissing her condition. But, it’s hard to believe the different personalities can be called to the surface immediately. I knew someone with this, and it was different levels of stress that triggered it. They couldn’t just close their eyes and 2 seconds later a new personality came out. They didn’t/couldn’t dictate the presence.

MPD/DID survivor! I believe you and know all too well what your life is like. I hate that they call it a disorder because for me it's my ORDER! It saved my life and mind from horrific ritualistic child abuse! 40 years of therapy later with many disasters like bring told by a therapist I must intrograte my personalities! Today I think GOD for the powers of my mind that saved my sanity and life!

Johnathan is cool. Love the free throws

What a terrifying experience must a child have to literally split to 15 pieces for life! I wish I could help this child in any way I could. Heartbreaking :(

You are absolutely not a fraud because the abuse was very real. This is really how you've learned to cope. My Mom was severely abused as a child and she has coping strategies that you couldn't develop outside of a traumatic scenario. 🙏🏻💟

Thank you so much for helping to fight the stigma by doing this documentary in a respectful, well researched, and informative way

this comment section needs to stop thinking ppl with DID are scary jfc

I believe this beautiful Lady...believe me i truly understand her very very well. God continue to bless her and help her to heal. I know. Its not easy to understand it but its very very real.

I want to give Paula a hug and tell her God loves her. ❤ She’s not alone. This happened to me too and so many people.

Thank you for being brave and courageous enough to share

I work in mental health and I have always doubted that DID is actually real. But I see this woman's distress and pain and I don't think it matters if DID is real or not. This is not done for attention, it's clear that whatever is happening in her mind is very, very real. I think it's more a dissociative feature of PTSD, but regardless, she deserves all the support in the world. Wishing you well, Paula!!

Wishing peace and happiness to her 💐

Paula you are so strong. Thank you for your help in the mental health community. I am proud of you for your hard work.

My teachers tried to let me know that I had something wrong with me...but I was unaware of why they would be shaming me. I was unaware that anything was different about me. I was an adult when my alters let themselves be known. Then my whole life made sense!

1. Everyone has multiple moods. Ex: “Woke up on wrong side of the bed.” 2. Everyone has different personality traits. Some can be stronger at different parts of your life. Ex: I can be super bubbly and outgoing, want to hang out with friends. The next day, I just want to hang out at home, and can’t handle talking to people. 3. People’s interests change through their lives. Ex: I played video games 24/7 when I was a teenager, then I got older, and I didn’t enjoy playing them anymore, then the last few years I starting enjoying them again. It can even change daily. I want to listen to classical music in the morning, but then in the afternoon, I wanna listen to EDM. 4. Cravings and food likes change constantly. One day I’ll have the worst sweet tooth. The next day I won’t want sweets at all and I want salty foods only. Sometimes, it can even vary in the same day. 5. Everyone has an internal dialogue. Inner Critic: the inner voice that judges us as inadequate. Inner Defender: the inner voice that judges, blames, and criticizes others. Inner Guide.: The inner voice tht seeks to make the best of any situation.

It's clear that this soul is / has suffered in her life and can not deal with it like others can. If nothing else it brings home issues that we all can relate to, and for me, it will help me to be mindful of how I react to life's problems, both big and small. It also brings home that none of us are qualified to judge anything online and letting loose your own Melinda.

DID isn't that rare it's as common as having red hair. It's always a result of childhood trauma. It makes me so sad that people with DID is so stigmatized most people keep it secret to not be shunned. A lot of people can't see a specialist so never get diagnosed. I don't have DID but I was abused and have ptsd and other issues from the after effects. I hope she's doing well and gets all the help she needs and deserves.

What a wonderful documentary. Thank you for this, Paula! Your alters are the colors of the rainbow that you are, a beautiful prism of the light. I am absolutely amazed so see how hard our psyche fights for survival under the most adverse conditions - which, to me, simply reflects, how precious life is (i.e. our essence is). Your alters have saved you, Miss Paula. Bring them closer to your heart... this great family.

Thanks Paula, I too have DID, there's 7 of me!!

I’m cheering for you Paulo... whatever happens to you or is happening to you has a reason. Just never give up and have faith that you will get over it eventually.

17:25 "if it was all for attention, then it would be getting recognized and diagnosed all the time" i'm looking at most of tiktok folks who claim to have DID as i quote this.

Fascinating. I'm so intrigued by did. I, however, have never seen another system be able to call people to front at will. So that gives me questions. But I'm glad to have watched this. I have an anxiety disorder and I believe it's so important to have open conversation.

I myself have thirteen. And to see someone who is just like me, I don’t know it just makes me happy. Her and I have a lot of similar experiences, mostly in my middle school and early night school years. We were mocked and mimicked. So they hid. I remembered one of them calling it a “social experiment”. I only just now, a few months ago, began to let them come out and hang out with a very small group of friends, my parents and my councilor. EDIT: It’s going well so far, besides the few mishaps where one of them is prone to violent outbursts.

Paula is one of the most fascinating people I have ever come across. I pray she finds peace and safety in her mind and life. She’s incredible. ❤️

My best friend in high school has this. He wasn't diagnosed yet. He thought he had demons living inside him. Not all were bad. He couldn't control them coming out. They all had different names and if you listened closely, different voices. One spoke a language I didn't understand. Repetition of certain words makes me think it's an actual language that I didn't know.I may have not fully believed it was demons. But I knew it was something that was outta his control. This has to be it. I moved away in the middle of high school and lost contact. I miss him.

I believe her. I don't believe a lot of youtubers that have popped up in the last few years claiming to have this and how the switch on command at the perfect moments. My mom used to work at a group home and she was allowed to take the nonviolent residents out into town to help them adjust to normal life and one day she brought a lady with DID to our house for lunch (which was weirdly allowed from the company, doesn't seem like it should have been but ok I guess) the lady was nice and 98% of the time you couldn't tell anything was different about her but once she got all quiet and said, in a really strange voice 'pull her hair' about my mom who had super long hair at the time. My mom just turned and calmly said 'no, we don't do that, that's not a nice thing to do.' and the lady said 'ok' in the weird voice and then a moment passed and she carried on talking normally like nothing had ever happened. I was a young teenager at the time so I was really freaked out and didn't like the encounter because I didn't understand. But as I got older I can empathise with how hard and exhausting this must be.

I know DID is real, it’s so hard to wrap your head around when you DONT have the condition. The same thing as eating disorders, as a healthy person who eats you can never fully understand why someone else would purposely starve themselves to be skinny. The same for DID, the reason DID happens is due to trauma at a young age. Your brain tries to protect you from the trauma by blocking out the memories, if the memories are so traumatic your brain will “split” into different personalities like this to protect you from the truth of what’s caused your trauma. Many people with DID do not know what caused their DID because their brain is protecting them from that information. The other personalities are there to hold that information for the person(host) that’s why many people with DID will have alters who say they “protect them from bad people” because that’s the alter that holds the trauma and comes out when a potential traumatic event may occur. It’s a hard thing to live with because many times you can never live in harmony with your alters in order to live a normal life.

I wasn't aware people with this could consciously switch alters...

You CAN scientifically prove DID now, with a scan of the brain - going in "normal" getting triggered, and then see the different parts of the brain light up. Also, there's physical tingles [other conditions also have this], there can be voice changes, derealization, depersonalization, audible voices or noises [I've called them 'echos from the past'] but yeah, the thought pattern is different - asking a question in the brain and get the answer right away - sometimes the thoughts are gone, but other times the arguing is sometimes ongoing... People calling you a manipulater, even though you are high in empathy - being the "chameleon" in the group, like it's easy to blend in in different environments .... There's Alot more - but i beg of you reading this - if you want to imitate this, it's getting harder for us having it actually getting help ... There's a reason we have it, life has been hard, so please, don't make it harder for us. I wrote this, if someone is out there asking questions if they have it or not ... It's normal for the host not knowing, it's what the systems job is - to keep it from the primary alter (host) so they can take the body trough life without the knowledge of the trauma... I don't know if someone's going to read this, but it was nice venting ... Wish you a happy life, you're worth so much, be kind to yourself and others Lots of love from Denmark

When she drives, does any of her other personalities come out? The ones who are children probably don’t even know how to drive and I’m sure they don’t have a drivers license! 😬

Thank you for telling her story. I hope this helps anyone who needs it.

I can’t be the only one that just wanted to give her a great big hug

Oh, Paula, I just want to hug you. I wish you good health, peace, & ❤️. Thank you for sharing your story. I, for one, believe you.

Terrible, where abused children end up to. I think the worst part is that some people don't even believe Paula and think this is all about attention. I literally hate how often that word has been used here because humanity can't accept that some people among us just do not function right due to post trauma, stress coming from abuse. I feel so sorry for Paula.

This was a year jerker! I believe her and I adore her for coming forward and allowing herself to help others! This has made a difference n I thank u and I think u are an amazing , beautiful women. You are going to help so many! Dont listen to any negative comments. You know your truth and everytime someone should judge remember the ones your helping! Lots of love

I’ve had disassociate identity disorder for many years and it was diagnosed along with my bipolar disorder but because they couldn’t get funding it was just ignored. Nine years later things have become very chaotic and I simply cannot get control of my apartment because there are so many different things going on at once! Starting, stopping or just being in the middle of something. It feels like I’m constantly cleaning after somebody else. I’m co-conscious but it doesn’t feel like it most of the time!

I went through postpartum psychosis and I went through symptoms of DID and schizophrenia it was scary I could feel myself switching into a different person

Weirdly it looks like the editing was done on an iPad in iMovie.

I definitely believe her because I can not believe someone faking something so tragic. It just seems unreal to do something like that. I mean she stated herself that she wanted to not believe it or hide it she wouldn't say that if she wanted attention. All she wants and needs is help. Alters come when someone has gone through something and they are meant to help or protect their host.

I believe u can know this is real from the different handwriting between the alters, the timing of when she breaks dwn n cries when talking abt specific things that wld b sad or hurtful, the different physiological changes shown tested and monitored that happen when switching btwn alters etc. Also from things she says when explaining abt it that wld only come from someone experiencing what it is like....stuff u wldnt think of unless it happened to u.

I was beyond fortunate enough to have a session with Dr. Ross he is an amazing doctor I was truly amazed that I got into the Ross Institute for trauma in the first place but to get the additional step of having a session with to have a session with a trauma specialist of his Caliber and his standing in the trauma Treatment Community was mind-blowing and and so amazingly helpful his compassion and devotion to helping his patients is truly all inspiring as someone with polyfragmented dissociative identity disorder it was amazing to have him help me through one of the biggest stumbling blocks in my recovery lately

I believe that a good and innocent child will try to escape the reality of abuse with imagination, but the imagination has become so great that it hinders his life.😭 It was difficult to deal with many obstacles, so I sought help from internal people. I believed that each one of them was capable of overcoming an obstacle.

It's really heart breaking that her own sister doesn't believe her, like wtf!

God, when Mariah came out I almost cried☹️ It’s so horrible how anyone can hurt a child like that Okay, scratch that. This documentary made me cry and feel so hard for her

I only recently had situations where I dissociated. That alone was simply terrifying. To imagine a situation so cruel that your mind develops a seperate persinality just to cope is beyond anything I can fathom...

Thank you for presenting this to society. It really helps to identify where the behaviour is coming from. The silver lining of such a horrible experience in such a young age is realising the capacity of what human brain might do and how it can comfort and fulfil itself which can become a huge pride that yes, you can take care, protect and be enough for yourself.

I believe her entirely.... and completely understand her not wanting to lose them ❤️🙏🏼

Dang, I wonder when Mariah comes out and she’s alone at home, does she know how to care for herself? Or does she wonder where her parents are? Sad 😢

i just wanna share a small incident which proves to me this is real thing. once i was so upset and stressed and had couple of drinks. when i got into my bedroom with my girlfriend i was keep saying someone there within me. first she thought i was joking, but then we got so scared because i was behaving like different person inbetween. i still remember the feeling like someone was looking at me, what i was saying or doing from inside. it was so weird feeling. still dont understand why it happened but thankfully he never came back