Surprise in Herschel Walker's upcoming book

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nitrah55 · #1 Post by **nitrah55** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:46 pm

The Heisman Trophy winner will reveal in his about-to-be-published autobiography that he has multiple personality disorder.

This just seems odd.

Jeemie · #2 Post by **Jeemie** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:59 pm

Did he have one personality for every draft pick the Vikings gave up to get him?

OK...maybe that was a little harsh. That IS an odd thing....but definitely not fun. My neighbor around the street when I was young had that.

SportsFan68 · #3 Post by **SportsFan68** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:59 pm

Victims of DID have usually experienced a severe, traumatic shock of some kind and most report being abused as children. Treatment for this illness involves integrating the various personalities into one and usually requires psychotherapy that may continue for years, according to Merck.

It's very rare. I took a psychology class which spent a little time on this, and the prof refused to identify it as a separate disorder because it gave a serious illness a romantic overtone. He said it was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in response to trauma or abuse as noted in the blurb above.

Like most of us here, Walker almost certainly has some OCD -- he said once he couldn't concentrate on anything in college unless he'd made his bed that morning. The articles I just read don't indicate the sort of behavior common in PSTD or DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder, the new psychology name for it).

silverscreenselect · #4 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:39 am

No wonder he was so tough to tackle.

It was like five guys coming at you.

#5 Post by **eyégor** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:58 am

I, for one, do not find it that hard to believe. I don't think that Sybil was lining up for the Cowboys, but the development of other personalities that are gradations of your actual personality can be a manifestation of PTSD. I can tell you firsthand that it can be difficult to realize you are interacting with one of these 'alternates'. The person remains high functioning, but may not have any recall of the interaction later.

The overuse in cheesy fiction and the ease to inspire jokes, along with its relative rarity makes many in the psychotherapy field to disregard it entirely.

Trust me, it does happen.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #6 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:05 am

Some people are saying the Britney Spears might have it too.

lilclyde54 · #7 Post by **lilclyde54** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 2:50 pm

Nice Witticism SSS. One of his personalities must have included a Superman delusion. The most prominent memory I have of Herschel Walker is one of the years we played GA in Oxford. They had the ball on about our 2 yard line and had HW attempt to leap over the pile. He must have had a vertical of about 6 ft back then

and leaped all the way to the top of the pile before beginning his descent. His helmet was the first thing to contact another player and he wound up doing a sort of somersault roll. After completing the flip, he landed on his feet without stumbling and just strolled over to the official and handed him the ball.

That play was on highlight reels a long time and it happend right in front of us.