Tea Party Conversation
Welcome to Visit #2 with patient #77106, who you may know by now as Alice. If you have not yet read Visit #1, I encourage you to go back and do so now. I, Dr. Rose, have included this transcript because it highlights a unique aspect of DID, also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder. In this transcript you will see Alice's inner personalities have conversations with each other. It will be very important to pay attention to who is speaking to fully understand the conversation.
The four main personalities we will see in this transcript are The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. These personalities interact with one another often and they enjoy each other's company. Even though these four personalities belong to their own narrative you will see their stories overlap in this visit.
*****Beginning Partial Transcript*****
Dr. Rose: Hello, Alice! How are you feeling today?
Alice: I am feeling fine, Dr. Rose. However, I am finding it particularly hard today to concentrate.
Dr. Rose: And why is that?
Alice: Because when I shut my eyes, I see a large table with peculiar-looking characters around it.
Dr. Rose: Who are these characters and what do they look like?
Alice: I see a short old man wearing a top hat. He is accompanied by a mangy off-white crazy-looking rabbit. And when I look across the table on the other side I see two plump boys that look so pristine they appear to be wax figures. And in the middle of all of this there is a tiny brown mouse asleep in a teapot.
Dr. Rose: Interesting.. what does this mean to you, Alice?
Alice: I think.... it means... I've gone mad.
Dr. Rose: My dear girl, you are just simply troubled, not mad. Alice, do you have any questions about your conditions I could help you with to assure you are, in fact, not mad?
Alice: Why.... Why, yes I do........ (MAD HATTER EMERGED) Why is a lemon like a Summer dress?
Dr. Rose: Because they both contain zest?
Mad Hatter: Incorrect!
Dr. Rose: Well, what is the correct answer?
Mad Hatter: I have not the slightest idea.
March Hare: Neither do I!
Alice: I KNOW THE CORRECT ANSWER! There is not a correct answer because the Hatter just likes to act like he his smarter than everyone else. Therefore, he comes up with these dumb little riddles in order to get a rise at out people, very annoying if you ask me.
Dormouse: (in his sleep) very VERY annoying!
***Doctor's Note: At this point in time you can see three additional personalities having a conversation between each other. These personalities emerged because of the "trigger" I induced by asking Alice a question. Alice has had to suffer the question "Why is lemon like a Summer dress?" for years. She has come up with her own response in order to shut up the Mad Hatter.
Dr. Rose: Alright, alright, I understand now why a lemon is like a Summer dress.
Mad Hatter: Of course, Alice always works to ruin our fun.
March Hare: Ruin our fun (He whispered to himself.)
Dr. Rose: How exactly is Alice in charge of ruining your fun, Hatter?
Tweedledee: I KNOW HOW! She never stays around for more than one poem. She will only listen to one but then after that disappears into Wonderland. Quite rude if you ask me.
Tweedledum: Quite rude indeed! We can only recite The Hot Winter so many times.
Tweedledee: THE HEAT WAS BLAZING ---
March Hare: Not this old thing again..
Tweedledum:
The heat was blazing on the trees,
Blazing with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows steam and ignite —
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the Winter night.
Tweedledee:
The chill was freezing sulkily,
Because she thought the heat
Had got no business to be there
After the summer day was beat —
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"
Alice: THAT is quite enough! Thank you very much, Tweedledee and Tweedledum but we have all heard that poem enough for one lifetime.
Tweedledum: See, I told you, Doc, no fun at all.
Dormouse: no fun no fun at all (followed by a snore)
Dr. Rose: I see now, thank you for enlightening me on the relationship between you all and Alice.
Alice: Dr. Rose, will I ever be free from these troubled personalities that reside inside my head?
Dr. Rose: I am not sure, sweet Alice.
*****End Partial Transcript*****
I have ended the transcript here because Alice became too emotional to continue on our conversations. As you can see Alice can grow weary from all the dialogue created between the personalities residing in her head. Sometimes things can become too chaotic and the best thing to do is deescalate the situation.
Be on the look-out for Visit #3, soon!