--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The word is dissociate. There is no 'a'…" description: "\"“The word is dissociate. There is no 'a' before the 'ss'. People invariably say dis-a-ssociate, which, if you're suffering Disso-ciative Identity Disor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/alice-jamieson-21585_dissociation_the-word-is-dissociate-there-is-no-a-bef_28300.jpg" --- # The word is dissociate. There is no 'a' before the 'ss'… ![“The word is dissociate. There is no 'a' before the 'ss'. People invariably say dis-a-ssociate, which, if you're suffering Disso-ciative Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder, can be irritating. People then want to know how many personalities I have and the answer is: I don't know. The…” quote by Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/alice-jamieson-21585_dissociation_the-word-is-dissociate-there-is-no-a-bef_28300.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/alice-jamieson-21585_dissociation_the-word-is-dissociate-there-is-no-a-bef_28300.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/alice-jamieson-21585_dissociation_the-word-is-dissociate-there-is-no-a-bef_28300.jpg) > ““The word is dissociate. There is no 'a' before the 'ss'. People invariably say dis-a-ssociate, which, if you're suffering Disso-ciative Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder, can be irritating. People then want to know how many personalities I have and the answer is: I don't know. The first book about Multiple Personality Disorder to make an impact was Flora Rheta Schreiber's Sybil, published in 1973, which carries the subtitle: The True and Extraordinary Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Separate Personalities. Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley published the controversial The Three Faces of Eve much earlier in 1957, and Pete Townshend from The Who wrote the song 'Four Faces'. People seem to feel safe with numbers. The truth is more complicated. The kids emerged over time. Billy, the boisterous five-year-old, was at first the most dominant. But he slowly stood aside for JJ, the self-confident ten-year-old who appears when Alice is under stress and handles complicated situations like travelling on the Underground and meeting new people. The first entity to visit was the external voice of the Professor. But he had a choir of accomplices without names. So, how many actual alter personalities are there? I would say more than fifteen and less than thirty, a combination of protectors, persecutors and friends - my own family tree.”” [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques the common mispronunciation of 'dissociate' and uses personal experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder to illustrate the complexity of identity beyond simple numeric labels, highlighting how multiple alters develop and interact over time. **In simple terms:** Mispronunciation reveals deeper misunderstandings of identity. Key Takeaway Identity is fluid and multifaceted. Themes Identity Mental Health Language Stigma Complexity Mood Reflective Empathetic Informative Type Personal anecdote Educational commentary When to use this quote - Therapeutic discussions - Public education - Media representation - Self-reflection - Support groups Key Concepts Dissociative Identity Disorder Alter personalities Self-perception Social interaction Practical Applications - Clinical assessment of DID - Educational content on mental health Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our perception of mental health? - What are the implications of reducing complex identities to numbers? A Different Perspective Some argue that labeling alters simplifies diagnosis, but this can erase individual experiences and reduce nuanced understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissociation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociation/) [Dissociative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociative/) [Dissociative-identity-disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociative-identity-disorder/) [Family Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-tree/) [Meeting new people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meeting-new-people/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Multiple personalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-personalities/) [Multiple personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-personality/) [Multiple personality disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-personality-disorder/) [Personality disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality-disorder/) [Split personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/split-personality/) ## Related quotes > [“Some alters are what Dr Ross describes in Multiple Personality Disorder as 'fragments', which are 'relatively limited psychic states that express only one feeling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/some-alters-are-what-dr-ross-describes-in-multiple-personality/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [“Some alters are what Dr Ross describes in Multiple Personality Disorder as 'fragments'. which are 'relatively limited psychic states that express only one feeling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/some-alters-are-what-dr-ross-describes-in-multiple-personality-2/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [“The implication that the change in nomenclature from “Multiple Personality Disorder” to “Dissociative Identity Disorder” means the condition has been repudiated and “dropped” from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-kluft/the-implication-that-the-change-in-nomenclature-from-multiple/) [Richard P. 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People invariably say dis-a-ssociate, which, if you're suffering Disso-ciative Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder, can be irritating. People then want to know how many personalities I have and the answer is: I don't know. The first book about Multiple Personality Disorder to make an impact was Flora Rheta Schreiber's Sybil, published in 1973, which carries the subtitle: The True and Extraordinary Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Separate Personalities. Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley published the controversial The Three Faces of Eve much earlier in 1957, and Pete Townshend from The Who wrote the song 'Four Faces'. People seem to feel safe with numbers. The truth is more complicated. The kids emerged over time. Billy, the boisterous five-year-old, was at first the most dominant. But he slowly stood aside for JJ, the self-confident ten-year-old who appears when Alice is under stress and handles complicated situations like travelling on the Underground and meeting new people. The first entity to visit was the external voice of the Professor. But he had a choir of accomplices without names. So, how many actual alter personalities are there? 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