Getting_to_Know_Steve

Getting To Know Steve As I was beginning my third term here at Southwestern, being in my late fifties, I was as old or older than most of the instructors. Most of the students were just out of high school or a bit older. Soon I felt like a father going to school with his kids, and very nervous about going back to school after forty years. It was in Psychology 203 that I read about Dissociative Identity Disorders as one of the topics we were studying. Dissociative Identity Disorder is defined as a person having multiple personalities. It was also in my third term I had the opportunity to meet Steve, who has this disorder. I usually sat on the picnic bench in front of Randolph Hall; there I could see most of the main campus. I could see the students walking from the front of campus towards Tioga Hall and beyond, thinking to myself; they’re going to be late. One student stood out from the normal crowd wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black leather jacket with some writing, pictures and silver bars on it. What caught my eye was his long hair that was below his shoulders, dark in color with the last six inches or so dyed red. Since my hair is also long, maybe that’s what drew him to me. We would sit and talk for a while between classes and soon became friends. It was shortly afterwards I felt and started seeing a change in Steve. It seemed he was troubled and a little moody about something. When I asked him if he was alright, he said “I have Dissociative Identity Disorder.” I wasn’t alarmed or judgmental since that was one of the topics we learned about in Psychology 203 class. Having D.I.D. means the person has more than one personality that will emerge. Sometimes the personalities conflicted, and Steve discussed his D.I.D. and some of his different personalities. I found Steve to be a fascinating and interesting student, but it was a shock and an experience on one occasion that instead of talking to Steve, I found I was talking to Steven. Steven is one of his personalities that sounded like he just arrived from Ireland. He had the accent and the speech of an Irishman and at times it was hard understanding him. He talked about having some colcannon (potato and cabbage) and was thinking of making some boxty (potato pancakes) for dinner. He also wanted a black Irish Stout, which turned out to be a Guinness beer. I learned that just listening to him when he felt troubled helped him get whatever it was off his chest and he felt better. It seemed he just needed a friend he could vent to. I recall on one particular day, Steve had a bad episode of some type that made him lose his whole identity including his other personalities. He had no idea who he was or why he was on campus with a backpack belonging to somebody named Steve. Since I knew three of his personalities, I tried to reach each one of them by name, but they were gone. Nothing on campus looked familiar to him even his classmates and friends were strangers to him. As I walked with Steve to the bookstore and bought him some coffee, still nothing came back. He was still lost and confused about as to why he was on campus. Frustrated, I took him to Tioga hall, where he spent hours in the library, but he did not recognize that either. Now, I began to worry about his safety, so I took him to Miss M, my psychology instructor and also Steve’s advisor. The only response Steve had about her was that she seemed to be a very nice lady. I explained to Miss M, Steve’s lost and confused state. She told me there was nothing I could have done, but to keep him safe and calm. Miss M said to me, “It might be too late. If we cannot bring him back, he might be lost forever. I was aware Miss M. has a master degree in clinical psychology, so she knew how he liked school and how to use it as a tool to connect with him. As I listened as Miss M. talked to Steve about school. Miss M said, “What classes are you taking now, Steve'” Gradually, Steve answered her questions with a “yes or no.” After several minutes of questioning, Steve started to answer with a much better dialogue as Miss M began talking to Steve about school and changing some of his classes that would suit him better. Finally, Steve snapped out of his confused state and became “Steve” again. With everything I’ve learned about Steve in the time that I’ve had to get to know him, if he were lost on that day it would have been a great loss to society. He has a brilliant mind and a magnificent heart. Steve is now attending Eastern Oregon University majoring in psychology and plans to do the research part of mental disorders in psychology to find out why it happens and how to prevent it. I wished him all the luck in the world.