What exactly are alter egos/split personalities? What is the definition of each? Are they essentially the same?

An alter ego is a secret life someone lives; a double life. A split personality is a person who has psychological problems, resulting in ';two'; people in one body. The brain makes up two different people, essentially. They are a little bit different. An alter ego does not mean you have something wrong psychologically; for example Bruce Wayne has an alter ego - Batman. However, Dr.Jeckyl and Mr.Hyde show a dysfunction in the brain, resulting in ';two'; people.What exactly are alter egos/split personalities? What is the definition of each? Are they essentially the same?
An alter ego is a second self, a second personality or persona within a person. It was coined in the early nineteenth century when schizophrenia was first described by early psychologists. A person with an alter ego is said to lead a double life.





If someone has a split personality, you can usually tell because they often talk to themselves. They ask a question and then answer it themselves.





Split personality is nothing to with schizophrenia. It is a very rare dissociative disorder, in which the sufferer has two or more distinct personalities.





';Dissociative identity disorder is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct or split identities or personality states that continually have power over the person's behavior. With dissociative identity disorder, there's also an inability to recall key personal information that is too far-reaching to be explained as mere forgetfulness. With dissociative identity disorder, there are also highly distinct memory variations, which fluctuate with the person's split personality.





The ';alters'; or different identities have their own age, sex, or race. Each has his or her own postures, gestures, and distinct way of talking. Sometimes the alters are imaginary people; sometimes they are animals. As each personality reveals itself and control's the individuals' behavior and thoughts, it's called ';switching.'; Switching can take seconds to minutes to days. When under hypnosis, the person's different ';alters'; or identities may be very responsive to the therapist's requests.';





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