Briefly describe Sybil’s early relationships with significant others and discuss/analyze how this interaction met (and failed to meet) her basic need for safety and significance. b. Sybil had several central and peripheral alter personalities in her multiple personality complex. Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Sybil, who was diagnosed with dissociative identification disorder (DID), suffered from a troubled childhood that saw her suffer physical and sexual abuse by her mother (Merskey (2018)). Her traumatizing childhood likely contributed to Sybil’s multiple personality development. The alters enabled her to be free from the past and the painful memories that triggered it (Putnam 2019). Sybil was the child of three alter people: a helper alter took care her body and an attacker alter relived the abuse. Sybil also had a little girl alter, who represented Sybil as a vulnerable and innocent child (Merskey 2018). The concept of ego defense mechanisms can help the mind cope with challenging emotions and experience (Foster 2018). Sybil had the ability to cope with the traumas of her past by having alter personalities. Sybil’s story is very relevant socially psychologically. Sybil was subject to abuse, which made it difficult for her to build a sense of self. She also struggled with living problems, including difficulty in forming and keeping relationships (Merskey 2018, 2018).