CHROI\lC CG\IMS OF ALIEN ABDCCTION A~1) SOME OTHER TRAU\,gS AS SELF­ VICTnnZATIO:\ SY~DROMES

Jim Schnahel

Jim Schnabel is a science writer with an interest in dissocia­ However, otherobservers (Evans, 1984; Ganaway, 1989~ tive phenomena. Noll, 1989; Powers, 1991) have noted thatthe phenomenology ofthe syndrome bears a strong similarity to the experiences For reprints writeJim Schnabel, 6000 Kennedy Drive, Chevy claimed by individuals who are prone to dissociation. Even Chase, MD 20815, (301) 907-2662. Ring (1992) ,who doesnotcontendthatthe etiologyofabduc­ tions is necessarily mundane, has noted from his own sur­ ABSTRACT veys that abductees tend to report a history of (mundane) childhood or trauma, and tend to score highly on This paper discusses the case ofan alleged victim measures of dissociative experiences. who claimed a wide range of dissociation-related and traumatic The following is a report ofa woman who has claimed experiences, with a heavy thematic emphasis upon , frequent abductions and manipulations by aliens; frequent extending back to a traumatic non-abuse incident in childhood, for rapes, abuse, and harassmentbygovernmentagentsandother which she apparently was never amnesic. Certain aspects ofher his­ men; and frequent mysterious ailments which have result­ tory seem consistent with dissociative disorders, organic mental dis­ edin inconclusive butexpensive and intrusive hospital tests. orders, andMunchausen 's syndrome. This case andthe alien abduc­ Her experiences are discussed in the context of a number tion syndrome as well as some orallnarratives associated with multiple ofdissociative andothersyndromes, includingMiinchausen's personality disorder and "Satanic abuse, "do not derive exclu­ syndrome,anda frameworkforunderstanding the connections sively from severe exogenous trauma and may be viewed more use­ between these syndromes is proposed. ful~ as manifestations of manipulative self-victimization syn­ dromes. CASE REPORT

INTRODUCTION "Annette" (a pseudonym) is a woman in her late twen­ ties, intelligent, with a university degree, and quite person­ Inrecentyears, numerousindividuals have claimedthat able, although apparently prone to depression and despair theyhave been,andperiodicallyare, abductedandsubjected as a result of her experiences. Her story was told to this to medical examination and manipulation by extraterres­ researcherwith the understanding thatitmightbe discussed trials. The phenomenologyofthe syndromeis complex, and in a book beingwritten about the history ofUFO-abduction has appeared to evolve continuouslysinceabduction accounts research (Schnabel, 1994). This story - which I must first began to appear widely in print in the mid 1960s. It cur­ emphasize is largely unverified - is as follows: rentlyinvolves claims offrequentamnesicfugues; unexplained Annette's mother developed measles when pregnant scars; suddenmemories (in adulthood) ofchildhoodabduc­ with her, and Annette was born with severe ear problems, a tion; mysteriously-originatingandmysteriously-disappearing heart murmur, and a cleft palate which subsequently was pregnancies; mysteriously-originating and mysteriously-dis­ reconstructed surgically. During her first year, she experi­ appearingneurologicalandreproductive monitoringdevices enced two minor convulsive , but none thereafter. or "implants"; sudden awakening, , and a sense of When Annette was eight years old, a man in the neighbor­ presence in the early morning hours; poltergeist phenom­ hoodbegantoharass herfamily, andAnnette'sfatherbought enaand other mysterious electrical disturbances; eating dis-. and loaded a gun for protection. Annette'sfatherwas killed, orders and food allei:gies; and an syndrome which in Annette's presence, when he attempted to unload the hasbeen termed "post-abduction syndrome"by some abduc­ gun and it discharged accidentally. Annette's mother then tion researchers (Fuller, 1966; Keel, 1975; Hopkins, 1981; hastened her from the room, and Annette was not allowed Evans, 1984; Hopkins, 1987; Strieber, 1987; Bullard, 1987; to attend the funeral. Jacobs, 1992; Schnabel, 1994). Within a few monthsofthe incident,Annettewas abrupt­ The view of prominent abduction researchers in the lytoldby hermotherthatitwas time to attendsummercamp. U.S. is that this phenomenologyindicates a covert alien pro­ Shewas taken into thebackyardofthe house,where a coarse­ gram in which, among other things, sperm and ova featured young man of about 16 took her hand and some­ are collected for the creation of human-alien hybrids how conveyed her to a remote cabin where he repeatedly (Hopkins, 1987;Jacobs, 1992). raped her over a period ofthree days. The man's name was

51

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"Luke n (a pseudonym). He told Annette thal in fact she had ferring to molest her psychologically instead. For example, killed herfather and thatfrom now on, no one buthe would he would arrive on her doorstep in the middle of the night truly befriend her or fully undersland her. When Annette and poundonherdoor,apparent1y to makeherpanic. Annette returned from "camp," her mother said, "Oh, look at you, also occasionally was visited by her dead father, although you've been sitting on some poison ivy! vVhat were you doing these visits seemed entirely benign. On at least one occa­ sitting on poison ivy without your underpants on?" sion, Annette noted that a pillow thrown at her dead father Annette had had imaginary playmates and a vivid imag­ went tluough him, indicating that he was only a ghost; her ination, but she knew the difference between such fantasies other visitors were unfortunately more substantial. and the reality ofLuke, who continued periodically to visit Annette's strange experiences, and in particular her her. Usually he lOok on a malevolent aspect, taunting her tendency to disappear suddenly, made relationships with ("You're going to like this") andsexuallyand physically abus­ men difficult; in one case, she disappeared from a house ing her, although on occasion, he seemed reasonablyplacid. onenight during a datewi th a potential boyfriend. Sheawoke He once allowed Annette to pull hair from his chest to ver­ in a remote part of the house in the morning, amnesic for ify that he was reaL Luke also claimed to be a member of the period ofher disappearance, and attempted to explain Annette's family, and although he was never specific about that she didn't know what had happened. The young man., this claim, Annette's mother appeared to recognize him. who had sleptalone for the night, called hera liarand angri­ 'When at age nine Annette drew his picture in school and ly departed. afterwards presented it to her mother, her mother burned One day in the late 1980s, at a bookstore on her uni­ the picture and told her never again to draw or to discuss versity campus,Annette saw a copy of''s best­ the person whom Annette had depicted. selling book Communion, with the face ofa gray alien on its As a teenager, one ofAnnette's brothers once under­ cover. The shock of recognition was so great that she sank went a strange experience, changing his voice and person­ to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably. Later, she ality briefly when confronted at home with the news of a read Communion and other books about aliens and abduc­ grandparent's dealh. He reported afterwards that he had tions, andcontacted a prominent abduction researcher, ''Frank seemed to float out ofhis bodyacross the room, from which Taylor" (a pseudonym), who interviewed heraboutherexpe­ vanlage point he had observed his altered self. Annette also riences and began a series of regression sessions had an uncle who was widely known to be a . thatcontinues to this day. In each such session, Taylorwould Annette'soddexperiencesseemed to be far more numer­ elicitmemoriesofoneormoreofAnnette's numerousabduc­ ous than those ofanyofherrelatives. Shehadfrequentepisodes tion episodes, which apparently stretched back to her child­ of somnambulism. She had out-of-body experiences while hood, and continued with remarkable frequency in the pre­ in bed atnight, andexperienced occasional periodsofamne­ sent, occurring every few days. At first, Annette withheld sia, even in daytime, often awakening in a strange place, cov­ from Taylor the information about Luke andJuan, fearing eredwith scars and bruises. In one incident, which alarmed that he would not believe her story ifnon-alien beings were her family, she disappeared while snowmobiling in freezing involved. Taylor therefore interpreted Annette's odd expe­ weather and was discovered hours later, lying in the snow riences, fugues, and as relatively uncomplicated beside her snowmobile, with her scarffolded neatly next to alien-abduction experiences. The fact that Annette often her. Oddly, she was neither hypothermic nor injured in any awoke from heramnesic episodeswith bruises, scars, orother other way. On other occasions when she suffered minor, signs ofalien manipulation helped to convince him that her prosaic injuries, she noted that she had a remarkable insen­ experiences were real. sitivity to pain. In the early 1990s,Annette told Taylor about Luke and Annette also noted that machinery would sometimes Juan, but because they now often appeared in conjunction malfunction around her. Electric wristwatches - even with with the aliens, it began to seem to her, and lO Taylor, that new batteries - frequently ran slow or Slopped altogether. they might be "screen-memo:ry~aliens, or perhaps hybrids Occasionally the telephone would ring butwhen she would orhumansworkingwith the aliens. Underhypnosis,Annette pick it up, she would hear an ordinary dial tone, as ifno one now decided that Luke's firsl appearance in her backyard had called. had been in association with a luminous object, and that 'When Annette became sexually active, she noticed that J nanseemedanatomicallynon-human,with fingers thatended her "first time" hadn't been at all painful. She mentioned it abruptly at his wrists. casuaJly to hermotherand her motherresponded thatAnnette, Luke and Juan and the aliens seemed to appear most when only a year old, had broken her hymen by sitting on frequentlyatnight, duringsleeping hours, andwhen Annette a funnel; she had bled for a day or two and then she had was abducted, she frequently found herselfin the company been brought to the hospital. of other abductees, either in spaceships or in apparently Annette's mother eventually remarried, and Annette earth-bound locations such as furnished offices and caves. grew up amidst relative prosperity, although her relation­ Duringwaking hours, beginningapproximatelyinearly1992, shipwith hermother,who had always seemed tofavor Annette's Annette began lO experience frequentseveral-hollr amnesic youngersister, at times seemed strained. Annette continued episodes from which she would awaken, dishevelled, par­ to be visited by Luke, and now also by a Hispanic-looking tially undressed, and occasionally with cuts and bruises. On man narned 'Juan. ~Juan seldom molested hersexually, pre- at least one occasion, the experience was followed (a) by a

52 D1SS0CIATlO\. \'01. \'11. \0. 1. ~Ial eh 199~ feeling ofextreme thirst which was only quenched by a gal­ doing this all her life, which was why she slipped into trances lon or so ofwater, and (b) by inappropriate sensations, over so easily. Thesame, she toldhim,was true ofotherabductees. about 24 hours, ofambientwarmth orchill. Hypnotic regres­ The therapist, however, continued to disbelieve her abduc­ sionwithTayloroftenrevealed thatonthese occasionsAnnette tionaccounts, andwouldprescribeheronlyValium (diazepan) had been abducted by men in dark suits and driven in a for her sleeplessness. Annette flushed the medication down black limousine to a secluded place where she had been the toiletand terminatedhervisits to the therapist. She began gang-raped. This began to suggest to her and to Taylor a to see another therapistwho believedin the reality ofabduc­ government related to the aliens' abduction pro­ tions. gram. At about this time, Annette missed her period and it Occasionally, Annette's disappearances or abductions seemedas thoughshewere pregnant. Shebelievedthefather would occur during her visits to Frank Taylor's house. On to be an alien or a government rapist. Then one day she atleast one occasion, Taylor prevented herfrom leaving the began to bleed heavily, and eventually lost consciousness. house in the middle ofthe night, and told her later thatshe When she awoke, covered in blood on the floor ofher bath­ had been in a trance-like state, insisting that she had to go room, she noticed that she had passed what may have been outside to meetsomeone. On another occasion, shewas met a large blood clot or a dead fetus. She flushed it down the by several men outside Taylor's house who gave her a bot­ toilet and afterwards her periods resumed. tle ofwine to give to Taylor. On yet another occasion, after In the autumn of1992, Annette began to have the feel­ an abduction experience at her home, she noticed alien ing that she could eat only certain foods. Under hypnosis residue of some kind on her sheets. She sent the sheets to with Frank Taylor, she learned that the aliens had forbid­ Taylor, buttheydisappearedin the mail. Once,when attend­ den her to eatanythingbesides eggs and vegetables. Annette ing an abduction conference with Taylor, she rose in the begantoexperienceabdominalpains. Wheneversheattempt­ middle of the night and Taylor, who was sleeping nearby, ed to eat a proscribed food, she would break out in hives attempted to prevent her from leaving the house. She and become nauseous. <,;xplained that she was only going to the bathroom. Taylor One night in early 1993, Annette experienced a returned to bed and in the morning Annette, who herself abduction with another abductee, "Beth," who had been awoke fully clothed, reported that she had been abducted staying in her room at the time. Afterwards, Beth described again. She wasn't sure why she had deceived Taylor during ahuman-lookingentitywho hadabusedherduringthe abduc­ the night. tion;Annette recognizedhim as Luke. Beth, anaccomplished Annette usually could "feel" when an abduction was artist, drew Luke and gave the drawing to FrankTaylor, who about to occur, sensing a certain pain above her right ear, displayed it at several abduction conferences where, to his but even so, both the daytime and nighttime experiences surprise, a number of abductees came forward with claims interfered with Annette's sleep patterns and with her work that they too had seen Luke during their abduction expe­ as a secretary in a large office. She seldom had a full night's riences. sleep, and often went to bed only in the early hours of the Annette had a history of numerous hospital visits, for morning. She frequently took sick leave, and her occasion­ various ailments including heart problems, ear problems, al disappearances during work hours brought her into con­ and wrist problems, and in the late winter of 1993, having flict with her employers. quit herjob and having moved several hundred miles to a Annette was seeing a professional therapistduring this town nearher parentswhere she lived in a single apartment, time, andin thesummerofl992, aftersheexperiencedanoth­ Annette consulted a gastroenterologist about her abdomi­ erabduction duringa UFO abduction conferencein the cen­ nal pains. The gastroenterologist asked for a stool sample, ter ofa large east coast city, she complained to the therapist whichAnnette promptlydelivered andwhich containedblood. that her repeated abduction experiences were making her Additional stool samples also contained blood. A number suicidal. The therapist referred her to a neurologist, who ofinvasive examinations,includingcolonoscopy, gastroscopy, arranged for a temporal lobe epilepsy test with nasal EEG and upper and lower barium radiography, were carried out probes and a strobe lightin her eyes. The strobe lightquick­ without finding a lesion which might be the source of the ly put her into a pleasant trance within which she experi­ blood. After further tests itwas revealed that Annette had a enced floating sensations, and from which the neurologist malfunctioninggall bladder.However, a residual uncertainty and his staffhad difficulty in retrieving her. There were no on the part of the consulted physicians led to further tests EEG abnormalities and the neurologist subsequently diag­ and an indefinite postponementofany operation to remove nosed heras having a susceptibility to "reflexive trance." Her her gall bladder. One series of tests suggested thatAnnette therapist, after reading the neurologist's report, told her mighthave .Afterfurthertestswere con­ that the aliens and her other abductors were most likely the ducted by an endocrinologist, this conditionwas confirmed, hallucinatory product ofher trances, which her mind used the endocrinologist expressing surprise because the condi­ to avoid or to distract her from stressful situations. Annette tionwas unusualinindividualswho had notpreviouslyunder­ disagreed, explaining to the therapist that the aliens, when gone thyroid surgery. Annette was given a course of calci­ they abducted her, often did the same thing that the neu­ uminjections andwas laterprescribedcalciumpillsandvitamin rologist had done, putting her on a table and flashing lights D. Within a month herserum level, which had been in her eyes and forcing her into a trance, and they had been low at 6.9 [mg/dl], rose to about 7.2 [mg/dl]. The lower

53 D1SS0CIHIO\. Yol. \11. \0. 1. \laldllq9~ C] IRONIC CL-\lht'i OF ALIEN ABDUCTiON

limit of the normal range is 8.5 mg/dl (Alfrey et al., 1992). CASE DISCUSSION However,she continuedto experiencegastrointestinal prob­ lems, and presentedherselfto th e local hospital's emergency Dissociathm room at least once in the month following the initiation of Itisdifficult to knowprecisely howto interpretAnnette's her calcium treatment. She began a course of"sulfa" for sus­ story, since so little ofithas been confirmed by othersources. pectedcolitis. She also experiencedfurther dramaticabduc­ .Also, this author is not a trained mental healtll profession­ tions and abuse. In one such episode, she was driving back al, and his observation ofAnnette was made in a non-clini­ from a visit to Frank Taylor when she felt ill and pulled her cal setting in which tilere was tolerant listening, but no ther­ car over to the side ofthe highway. She went into the woods apy was attempted. to vomit, but was there accosted by Juan, who abused her It can be said, however, that although Annette's expe­ physically and sexually over a period ofseveral hours, leav­ riences are generally more complex and much more fre­ ing bruises and abrasions on her back, and rope-burns on quen t than tllOse ofother abductees, they encompass most her wrists, and smearing the blood ofa mutilated cat upon ofthestandard abduction phenomenology. Itshouldbenoted her face and breasts. She lost consciousness intermittently thatabductions involving humanorsemi-human enIities occur throughout this experience, butremembered the abuse and infrequentlyin the abduction literature butatpresentwould thatJuan told her that this was in retaliation for her having appear to be rapidly on the increase, following the sensa­ told Tayloraboutaprevious abductionshe had experienced, tional case ofanotherfemale abductee in FrankTaylor's cir­ involving drugged wine in a Manhattan restaurant, and a ele, Linda, who has claimed, with sometimes elaborate phys­ hazily-remembered cross-tOwn journey to a secret meeting ical "evidence," that she is the target of harassment by with several military officials in a Hasidic Jewish neighbor­ governmentagents with whom she, and a major political fig­ hood in Brooklyn. Juan .,.,earned her that he and the others ure whom theywere guarding, were once abducted by aliens couldconfrontandabuse heran}'\vhere,whenever theyliked. (Schnabel, 1994).1 Annette believed him, later telling this author, "My life is Annette's history as reported, and to some extent as over." Even so, Annette afterwards took a gun secretly from confirmed, seems to reflect a dissociative disorder. Some of her parents' house, loaded it, and placed it beside her bed the more prominent features in this regard are her report,; - to protect herselffromJuan and the others. She wrote a of (a) chronic sexual abuse from childhood, (b) childhood longletter, addressed to herpersecutors, pleadingwith them imaginary plaYJnates, (c) frequent somnambulism orfugue­ LO leave her alone. She also secretly took Valium from her like states with bruising or other injuries, and (d) an abnor­ parents' house, to help her sleep, although she discarded it mally high susceptibility to trance states (Coons, 1984; Bliss, when the Valium seemed to produce vivid nightmares from 1986; PulOam, Guroff, Silberman,Barban,& Post, 1986; Ross, which shefound it difficult to escapeintowaking consciousness. 1989). This was Annette's story. Most ofit is obviously uncon­ It could be argued that Annette's behavior during her firmable, but in conversations with Frank Taylor, other amnesic fugues represents the behavior ofan alter or semi­ abductees, oneofAnnette'sformer roommates, andAnnette's alter who is not sufficiently distinct to meet the criteria for parents, it was possible to obl..:-Un corroboration for the fol­ MPD. Alternatively, it could be that Luke andJuan are for­ lowing: Annette had 'witnessed her father's death in a gun mer imaginary playmates who, like t.he more recently cre­ accidentwhen she was eight years old. She claimed freg uent ated aliens, confront Annette within "internal landscapes" abductions, andwas a frequentvisitor to FrankTaylor'shouse (Ross, 1989, p. 115) but do not take full executive control, for hypnotic regression. Beth claimed that she had been and perhaps only manifest behaviorally as self-wounding involved in a traumatic double-abduction involvingAnnette impulses. Both interpretations would seem consistent with and Luke. Beth's drawing ofLuke was recognized by other a diagnosis, according to DSM-JIJ-R criteria, of Dissociative abductees at an abduction conference. Annette had been Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (American Psychiatric seeinga therapist in the citywhere she hadlived before mov­ Association, 1987), although Coons (1992) notes thatincases ing closer to her parents. Annette had been seen on sever­ of non-executive influence the other characters are usually al occasions with inexplicable bruises or scars. Annette did not experienced as completely separate entities. It is possi­ presentwith a gastrointestinal problem the nature ofwhich ble that Annette's fugues, bruises, and horror stories reflect was elusive, and did undergo a battery ofmedical tests con­ the fully executive actions ofalters who woule emerge with cerning a possible gastrointestinal and gall bladder prob­ clinical investigation and wouldjustify a diagnosiS of MPD. lem. Anneue was diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism ­ Other features of Annette's history which are consis­ although a CT scan of her brain was negative for the calci­ tent with a diai,,'TIosis of dissociative disorder or at least of fication thatsometimesaccompanies parathyroid disorders. dissociation-pronenessincludeeatingdisorders, unexplained This author is not aware of any direct disconfirmations or somatic symptoms, suicidal ideation, complex and chronic contradictionsby otherindividualsofanyaspeclsofAnnette's (presumed) visual , an occasional abnormal story, although relatively few of her claims were checked. insensitivity to pain, insomnia and abnormal sleep patterns, This author also had the impression that relations between -type experiences, an apparent history of disso­ Annette and her family were quite good, considering her ciative or paranormal-type experiences in near relatives, and claims. a childhood experience ofsevere llon-abuse-related trauma (the death ofherfather) (Coons, 1984; Pettinati, Horne, &

54 lllSSOCI.mO:\. \'01. \'II. :\0. 1. ~[~Ich 1991 Staats, 1985; Putnam et al., 1986; Bernstein and Putnam, letterto herpersecutors), dependence andpassivity, depres­ 1986; Bliss, 1986; American Psychiatric Association, 1987; sion, and unusual somnambulatory-type behavior followed Ross, 1989; Ross, Heber,Norton&Anderson, 1989; Demitrack, by full or partial amnesia (Dewhurst & Beard, 1970; Bear & putnam, Brewerton, Brandt & Gold, 1990). Annette's mys­ Fedio, 1977; Bear, 1979; Remillard et al., 1983; Persinger, terious "pregnancy" is difficult to evaluate since it is unclear 1989; Trimble, 1991; Mikati & Holmes, 1993). whetheritever occurred, butitmayhave representeda men­ A number ofauthors have described patientswith con­ strual problem or pseudocyesis-type episode which was then current MPD-type symptoms and temporal lobe epilepsy or interpreted by Annette in accord with the standard abduc­ otherEEG abnormalities (Coons, Bowman, & Milstein, 1988; tion motifofmissingalien-inducedpregnancies. Pseudocyesis Benson, Miller, & Signer, 1986; Schenk & Bear, 1981; does appear to have a relationship to dissociative potential Mesulam, 1981; Brende & Rinsley, 1981).Jacobs (1992), a (Wilson & Barber, 1983). UFO abduction investigator, has noted that one of the abductees he has worked with has temporal lobe epilepsy, Organic Psychosis although hehas argued that this was a coincidence. Persinger Some ofAnnette's reported symptoms, of course, are (1989) hasreported the terminationofUFO abduction expe­ consistent with other disorders. The most obvious of these riences in one abductee with the anti-convulsant drug car­ disorders would seem to be the psychoses, and the corrob­ bamazepine, and has argued that UFO abduction experi­ orated reportthatAnnette had hypoparathyroidismsuggests ences and other "visitor" experiences are mediated by an organic psychosis. Hypoparathyroidism is one ofseveral temporal lobe microseizures or electrical abnormalities endocrine abnormalities which apparently result in the cal­ which may not be detectable by ordinary EEG surveillance. cification of brain areas, especially the basal ganglia; these Most MPD patients, however, not only appear to have calcifications have been associated with a variety of neuro­ normal EEGs, and are unresponsive to anti-convulsant med­ logical or psychiatric conditions including seizures, hallu­ ication, but are otherwise clinically distinguishable from cinations, and persecutorydelusions (Tambyah, Ong, &Lee, patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (Devinsky, Putnam, 1993; Bilous et al., 1992; Fulop & Zeifer, 1991; Friedman, Grafman, Bromfield, & Theodore, 1989; Loewenstein & Chiucchini,&Tucci, 1987; Cummings, Gosenfeld, Houlihan, Putnam, 1988; Ross et at, 1989; Ross, 1989). Annette, for & McCaffrey, 1983; Francis & Freeman, 1984; Dimich, example, displays none ofthe religiosity, expansion ofaffect, Bedrossian, & Wallach, 1967). In Annette's case, however, hypermoralism, orhumorlessness thatare commonlyreport­ there apparently was no finding of brain calcification, and edin temporallobe epileptics (Bear&Fedio, 1977). Ofcourse, her pre-treatment serum calcium level was only moderate­ the fact thatshe does notseem to display these factors could ly low compared to the levels ofotherreported hypoparathy­ be due in part to the constraints posed by Frank Taylor's roid patients (Dimich, et al., 1967). There was no unequiv­ "nuts-and-bolts," anti-metaphysical view of the alien abduc­ ocal evidence in her self-reported history of the epileptoid tion phenomenon (Klass, 1989; Schnabel, 1994) .Moreover, seizures, tetany, parkinsonism, dementia, orskeletal defects even Devinsky et al. (1989), who discount a primary role for which are oftenfound in adultswith idiopathichypoparathy­ epilepsy in the etiology of MPD, argue that: "the high inci­ roidism (Tambyah et al., 1993; Fulop & Zeifer, 1991; dence of non-epileptiform abnormalities in our [MPD] Friedman et al., 1987; Cummings et al., 1983, Dimich et al., patients suggests that a neurophysiologic abnormality may 1967). Italso should be noted thatin a review of267 patients contribute to thepathogenesisofMPD."Alternatively, itcould with hypoparathyroidism, only 1.9% manifested clinicalpsy­ be speculated that whatever causes MPD also contributes to chosis (Denko & Kaelbling, 1962). the development of neurophysiological abnormalities Eyen if hypoparathyroidism were not directly respon­ (Putnam, 1984). Theliterature onshamanism (Eliade, 1989; sible forAnnette's hallucinatoryexperiences and , Lewis, 1989; Kalweit, 1992) also indicates that epilepsy, or a however, it may have represented a background source of disorder like it, is regarded in some cultures as a precursor neurological or psychological stress. Lawlor (1988) has to chronic encounters. One of the abductees described a patientwithacute organicanxietysyndromewhich this author met through his research reported that she had apparentlyresultedfrom surgery-relatedhypoparathyroidism a history ofconvulsions as a child, usually following illness, and resolved with the return ofthe patient's serum calcium andusuallysignallinga suddenrecoveryofherhealth,although levels to normal. Lawlor has argued from a review of the lit­ she no longer seemed to have these convulsions as an adult erature that there is a frequent association between (Schnabel, 1994). This would be consistentwith the hypoth­ hypoparathyroidism and anxiety states. esis, somewhat after the argument ofDevinsky et al. (1989), that neurological abnormalities may underlie or promote Temporal Lobe Lability anoverallpsychological abilitywhich the individual canuncon­ Annette's history, despite the apparent negative TLE sciously or consciously learn to suppress or control. In this test, also includes a number of features which one could regard it should be noted that reflexive epileptic seizures, argue are indicative oftemporal lobe liability. These include like dissociative states, are often manifested during episodes premonitory -type sensations, apparent hallucinations, of psychological stress (Zifkin & Andermann, 1993). floating sensations, paranormal-type experiences, apparent paranoid delusions, apparent "ictal" sexualsensations, ther­ moregulatoryabnormalities, possible mild hypergraphia (the

55 ~~~ b-- ---'-__-J__ __ CHRONIC CLAI~'{S OF AJ~.Ir~\T .ABDUCTION

MiincJuwsen's Syndrome rate pseudohistories, the use ofdifferent names, and claims 'Whether the causes ofAnnette's experiences are neu­ of childhood abuse, neglect, or trauma. Good,vin has pro­ rological or psychosocial, or both, there are specific aspects posed on this basis that Mi:i.nchausen's syndrome be reclas­ ofher reponed history which, although they cannot be con­ sified as a dissociative disorder. clusive, do suggest deliberate rather than unconscious deceit; Mi:i.nchausen's-type behavior has been reported in a for example, the disappearing alien-stained sheets, the wine woman who claimed (Coons & Grier, proffered by strange men, and the nocturnal of 1990). SaL:'U1ic abuse claims are similar to alien abduction Frank Taylor - none ofwhich was associated by Annette claims not only in their themes of "sudden remembering" with amnesia. Indeed,Annette'sstory,with its central theme of childhood abuse or trauma, and in the dissociative his­ of frequent fantastic injury or mysterious illness requiring tories oftheir claimants, but also in their reported imagery hospital investigation bears a strong resemblance to stories which typically features theclaimantproneand naked, under­ told by individuals with Miinchausen's syndrome (Asher, going sexual or gynecological manipulation and later giv­ 1951). In particular, Annette's presentation with abdomi­ ing birth to babies which are harvested by the ritualists or nal trouble requiring extensive and invasive but inconclu­ aliens (Ganaway, 1989; Schnabel, 1994). Post-traumatic sive diagnostic techniquesfits well wi thin theMiinchauseniall stressdisorder, which is occasionallydiagnosed inIvlPD patien l~ pattern. Of course, it is true that in routine medical prac­ (Ross, 1989) and, less formally, in UFO abductees Uacobs, tice stool blood occasionally has no obvious internal source, 1992), also has attracted Munchausenialls (Lynn & Belza, but it is also true that the addition of blood to laboratory 1990). samples is a classic Miinchausenian technique (Spiro, 1968; As for UFO abductions, some authors (Bullard, 1987; Atkinson &Earll, 1974; Ifudu, Kolasinski, &Friedman, 1992). Klass, 1989; Jacobs, 1992) have noted cases in which alien Miinchausen'ssyndrome occasionallyhas beensuspected abduction claimsappeared to have beenpresentedwith delib­ to have an organic etiology: there are repons of erate deception. Klass (1989, p. 174) reports the case of a Mi:i.nchausenians with severe hypothyroidism (Brecker & young woman who, following her confession, argued that Trepte, 1990), brain MRl abnormalities (Fenelon etal., 1991); the kind ofdeception thatshe had perpetratedwas,videspread histories of meningitis, neurosurgery, and head injury among other abductees: "the only way they can getany kind (Barker, 1962); abnonnal EEGs (Barker, 1962; Ireland, of satisfaction is to fabricate some sort of story to get the Sapira, & Templeton, 1967); and serious brain dysfunction focus ofattention that they need." based on otherneuropsychological testing (Pankrantz, 1981; Pankrantz & Lezak, 1987). Lawrie. Goodwin, & Masterson THE ISSUE OF ABUSE (1993) describe a patientwho exhibited a personality change following a cholecystectomy, and within several years began Goodwin (1988) has attempted to forge an etiological overdosing on co-proxamol, dramatizing her medical con­ link between MPD-type disorders and Miinchausen's by sug­ dition and using a variety ofaliases and addresses to obtain gesting thatin some cases the self-mutilating behaviorofthe the drug. Co-proxamol abuse in this patient was associated Miinchausen's patient may be explained as: (a) an attempt with fugues and tonic-clonic seizures. Three months after to overcome the sense ofvictimization from childhood trau­ heruse ofthe drugwas terminated by clinicians, SPECTimag­ ma by re-assuming the victim's role butcontrolling it secret­ ingand neuropsychological testing revealed evidence ofseri­ ly; (b) an attempt to deny traumatic memories by weaken­ ous brain dysfunction, including fronto-temporal lobe ing the cognilive-mnemonic divide between fan tasy andreality; deficits, poor concentration and short-term memory, con­ (c) an enactment ofa conflict between wan ti lJ g childhood structional apraxia, and an accountingofevents whose "bla­ abuse to be diagnosed and "wanting to maintain the lies and tant" inconsistency seemed lost on the patient. Lawrie, the "; and/or (d) a straightforward compulsive re­ Goodwin, & Masterson suggest that during cholecystectomy enactment of childhood abuse. Toth and BaggaJey (1991) the patient incurred a brain injury which led to an organic discuss t.he additional possibilities that Mi:i.nchausenian anxiety syndrome, which in turn led the patient to alleviate behavior may occur in the MPD patient because: (e) it rep­ her anxiety through psychotropic drug abuse. resents a re-enactment ofchildhood abuse in a hospital sel­ Munchausen's also has been linked to the dissociative ting, this setting having been identified by the patient with disorders. Goodwin (1988) and Toth and Baggaley (1991) because of an early hospitalization requiring have notedcases inwhich MultiplePersonalityDisordercoex­ aggressive and painful medical treatment; and/or (f) the isted with Munchausen's-type behavior. In the cases report­ patient has the hope of redeeming her tolerance of child­ ed by these authors, the suspicions of a coexistence of hood abuse through masochistic behavior. Note that in all Miinchausen's and MPD was supported by a reported histo­ ofthe above explanations itis assumed that the unifying fea­ ry ofchildhood abuse, neglect, or trauma plus an early his­ ture of coexistent MPD and Mi:i.nchausen's is an actual his­ tory of receiving attention in a medical setting. Both such tory of childhood abuse or trauma - wi th a strong empha­ conditions appear in Annette's self-reported history. sis on abuse. Goodwin (1988) has noted that in general, there are Annette's narrative appears to include episodesofabuse numerousbehavioral parallels between Munchauseniansand which, as presently described, have fantastic overtones, sug­ patients with dissociative disorders, including compulsive gesting that they should not be taken literally. Indeed, their self-injury, pseudoseizures, active imaginations with elabo- apparent commencement so soon after the sudden loss of

56 D1ssocr ITlO~. 1'01. \'II, \0. I. \larch 1991 her father suggests that they are more related to the latter thatAnnette's "alien-abduction"episodesrepresentinstances than to any actual ongoing exogenous trauma. Annette's ofactual but prosaic sexual and seems espe­ comments about other family members' dissociation-relat­ cially remote considering their frequency, their locales, the ed experiences, and her self-reported history of childhood competitive dynamic which seems to pertain among Frank imaginary playmates, among other things, suggest that the Taylor's abductees, and the overall Miinchausenian pattern traumaofher father's death occurred against a background ofAnnette's claims. of relatively high psychological lability, and, perhaps aided by Annette's perception thatshe was neglected by her moth­ SELF-VICTIMIZATION SYNDROMES er, triggered chronic dissociative episodes in a process sim­ ilar to that suggested in the usual etiological models ofMPD An alternative hypothesis, which puts even less empha­ (KIuft, 1984a) - in the absence, however, of an actual his­ sis on actual trauma, is that the major unifying feature of tory of chronic sexual or physical abuse. some (not necessarily all) cases of MPD, of other dissocia­ This author has interviewed a number ofother chron­ tion-relatedsyndromes, ofMiinchausen'ssyndrome andother ic UFO abductees, none ofwhom reported a history ofchild­ factitious disorders, and of other claims or fabrications of hood abuse or trauma. Linda, the alleged government-har­ trauma orinjury, is the deep-seated need to assume the role rassment victim referred to above, has reported that her ofthe victim. This hypothesis is similar to those which posit childhood included neither abuse nor trauma (Hopkins, MPD as one ofmany socially-defined forms ofmanipulative 1993), but rather a variety of paranormal experiences ­ disease-simulation or role-playing, and also largely parallels which, she says, her parents also endured. "Theywere never sociological/anthropological analyses ofspirit-possessionsyn­ believers in the unnatural,"she has told an interviewer, "but dromes (Lewis, 1989).2 we had our home blessed by a priest on a regular basis. It In such cases, self-victimization would not be restrict­ didn't help" (Amendola, 1993, p. 4). ed to, but might be manifested more easily and with more The role of abuse and trauma in the etiology of MPD equanimity by, those with a facility for dissociation, whether and its variants has long been controversial. It has been sug­ this facility arises from genetic or developmental factors, or gested, for example, that MPD represents merely an acting­ both. Dissociation-related or neurocognitive lability-related out, consciously or unconsciously, of suppressed impulses experiences such as amnesic fugues, non-specific anxiety, or fantasies by attention-seeking individualswhose behavior eating disorders, pseudocyesis or other fantasies concern­ may be explained as much by their emotional lability and ing pregnancy, out-of-body experiences, bedroom paralysis as by exogenous stress (see Ellenberger, 1970; and a sense of "presence," and archetypal or culture-bound McHugh, 1992). hallucinations (Hufford, 1975) would also serve as the basic Modern authors who otherwise support the validity of features ofcertain self-victimization syndromes. In the case MPD and other dissociative disorders as distinct and often of the UFO abduction syndrome,3 such features would be post-traumatic disease entities (e.g., Bliss, 1986; Young, made .meaningful with consciously- or unconsciously-gen­ 1988; Ganaway, 1989; Powers, 1991) also have argued that erated abduction narratives, and might be supplemented, the narratives ofthe dissociative disorderpatientmayinclude for example, with fabricated "alien" artifacts (Keel, 1975). fantasy to an indeterminate degree. The work ofWilson and Once such a syndrome is defined and publicized, it Barber (1983) and Lynn and Rhue (1988) suggests that at mayquickly attractthose prone to self-victimizationwho already least some (although not necessarily all) highly-hypnotiz­ suffer from such background symptoms. This would help to able individuals - of which MPD patients would seem to explain whysensational reports ofdissociation-related expe­ comprise a subset-maybeprone to fantasy. Ganaway (1989) riences or conditions are often followed, as MPD, Satanic rit­ in particular has suggested that the themes of patient nar­ ual abuse claims, and UFO abduction claims have been since ratives may be determined less by straightforward factual the 1970s, by exponential increases in the number ofcases abuse and trauma thanby certain othershapingfactors (Kluft's presentedanddiagnosed (Ross, 1989; Wright, 1993; Schnabel, Factor 3 in the etiology of MPD [KIuft, 1984a]). These fac­ 1994). tors would include books, films, hypnotic trance logic, and At the same time, the mimicry which would facilitate the need to please one's therapist. the adoption of the victim's role also would help to drive Ganaway appears to believe that actual abuse and trau­ the thematic evolution ofthe self-victimizer's chosen genre. ma plays an important role in the etiology of MPD and its The theme of stolen fetuses only became prominent in the variants. He suggests that UFO abduction claims (see also UFO abduction in the late 1980s, following a sensational Powers (1991» and Satanic ritual abuse claims may repre­ bookon thesubject (Hopkins, 1987); abductee themeswhich sentvariants ofanunconscious, dissociation-mediateddefen­ have become prominent since then include the in a sive system against (relatively prosaic) trauma and traumat­ conspiracy between aliens and the U.S. government, claims ic memories. This argument seems similar to Goodwin's that some abductees are themselves part-alien, and claims hypothesis (b) noted above. It should be noted, however, thataliensfrequentlyabductabductees' (actualhuman) chil­ that Annette's apparently dissociative episodes do not obvi­ dren (Jacobs, 1992; Hopkins, 1993; Schnabel, 1994; Mack, ously representan attempt to screen out or to deny the trau­ 1994). The same mechanism might explain recent themat­ matic memory of her father's death, since she has seemed ic changes (Ganaway, 1989) and the ostensible postwar eti­ wiIIing to discuss this memory quite openly. The possibility ological revolution (Ross, 1989; see below) within the MPD

57 DISSOnmO\. rol. \lI. \0. 1. ~Iarch 199~ literature. false diagnosis or even induction of MPD in those who actu­ The hypothesis!.hatsomefoons ofMPD represent mani~ ally have suffered child abuse. ulative self-victimization, more orless in the sense described It may be that child abuse, whose prevalence and range by Lewis (1989), is hinted at by Ross (1989), who approv­ ofseverity today are perhaps not significantlydifferent than ingly recites Lewis's argument thatspirit-possession syndromes they were before 1944, often plays a direct, traumatic role and possession cultscan representsocially-acceptable expres­ in the development of MPD. However, it may also be that a sions of otherwise forbidden, subversive, and often frankly claim of child abuse, whether true or not, serves primarily libidinal impulses: ''women living in cultures in which they not as the traumatic stimulus to defensive dissociation, but are politically powerless canacquire power, influence,auton­ as the medically-acceptable complaintthrough which, in part, omy, and partial satisfaction ofthwarted needs through pos­ the role of MPD victim is adopted by a self-victimizing indi­ session... Demon possession in western Europe made pos­ vidual. 5i milarly, the fact that MPD victims who claim Satanic sible the ritualized expression of Dionysian impulses and ritual abuse may have an actual history of membership in opinions that could not be stated directly..." (Ross, 1989, p. groups does not necessarily mean that occult abuse 21) .Thus, itappears to beaccepted that possession can come has led to defensive dissociation; instead it may be that dis­ aboutvia relatively mild stresses, and can serve merely as an sociation-proneness manifests first and leads to exotic spir­ alternative form of expression or manipulation. As for the itual beliefs and group memberships (Persinger, 1990; connection between possession and MPD, Ross is unequiv­ Persinger & Makarec, 1993). ocal: MPD, he says, is "a secular version of demon posses­ Lewis'sanalysis (1989) depends heavily uponsociological sion" (1989, p. 19). Similarly, Goodwin (1988), after the his­ arguments concerning the status and the resultant strate­ torian Judith Brown (1986), has retrospectively diagnosed gies ofwomen and otherapparently peripheral members of MPD in a 17th century "possessed" Italian nun, who report­ certain societies- arguments which may not apply in mod­ edlyfaked stigmataanda varietyofotherailments andasceti­ ern western cultures where MPD is believed to be epidemic. cisms, and manifested a system of male alters who appar­ However, a feminist analysis (cited inRoss, 1989) argues that ently enabled her to express both her lesbianism and her modern western women suffer under oppressive conditions somewhat grandiose mystical ambitions. which seem effectively the same as those claimed for Lewis's Ross (1989) accounts for the apparent etiological dis­ possession-pronesubculturesofthe ThirdWorld. Moreover, crepancy between these old forms ofMPD and the late twen­ it may be that not only current sociological factors but also tieth century forms with the following hypothesis: "Since evolved neurocognitive and behavioral differences between 1944 MPD has evolved into a syndrome with a post-traumatic men and women help to explain why women seem over-rep­ etiology, whereas before it tended to have less severe exter­ resented among possession victims, spiritual mediums, and nal precipitants; oursociety has gotten sicker, and the abuse "channders," individuals with somatization disorders, UFO ofchildren more bizarre; earlier clinicians missed the abuse abductees, Satanic ritual abuse claimants, and MPD patients. history in many MPD patients, which was not as severe, on In any case, the concept ofa spectrum ofmore or less adap­ average, as that experienced by contemporary patients. The tive, empowering self-victimization syndromes need not be incidence of MPD, then, is an indicator of the amount of gender-specific; in theory, self-victimization in variousforms child abuse occurring in Western society" 0989, p. 42). can be adopted by anyone to whom other roles or behaviors It would seem that such hypotheses are about all that are less attractive, for sociological, psychological, neuro­ separate modern MPD, etiologically, from possession syn­ physiological, and/or circumstantial reasons. dromes like those described by Lewis (1989). There is, of These reasons may combine and evolve in an individ­ course, a body of literature noting corroboration of child ual case to ensure the periodic or chronic manifestation of abuse in some MPD cases (Goodwin, 1982; Kl uft, 1983; KI uft, self-victimization in one ormoreforms, perhapsin anoppor­ 1984a; Kluft, 1984b; Bowman, Blix & Coons, 1985; Coons & tunistic or even a reflexive and relatively uncontrolled man­ Milstein, 1986;Bliss, I986, Hornstein &Putnam, J992); how­ nerinvolving a mixture ofself-victi mization motiEs. The high ever, this body ofliterature accounts for relatively few cases incidence of somatic symptoms reported by MPD patients (Frankel, 1993), and ~corroborations"ofabuse bysocialwork­ would conceivably be one example. As another example, ers are often highly controversial (Schnabel, J993). Social Wright (1993) has noted that the principal complainant in workers are typically empowered to makejudgments about the Ingram ritual-abuse case, who fabri catedlettersfrom her whether abuse is occurring in the absence of evidence suf­ allegedly abusive father, also had a history ofmaking unsub­ ficient for a criminal conviction (SL:'lte ofMaryland, 1993). stantiated and vaguely-directed charges of prosaic sexual Innocent parents may even be induced to "confess" inces­ assault. Keel (1975) has noted more exotic examplesinclud­ tuous abuse if (a) they face pressure to plea-bargain for a ing an alien /abductee who reportedly gave off relatively mild punishmentorface expensive trialsand lengthy sulphurous smells (a relatively common feature ofdemon­ jail terms, and/or (b) they, like their children, have disso­ ic possession cases [Oesterreich, 1974]), and other con­ ciative tendencies and high suggestibility which cause them tactees/abductees who reportedly enjoined Keel to prevent to believe falsely, and perhaps even elaborate upon, what them from contractually assigning !.heir souls to the aliens. they are accused of (Wright, 1993; see also Robbins, 1959; The apparent eat's blood ritual hinted at by Annette in her Douglas, 1970). The beliefthatMPD is a subtledisorderrequir­ narrative also suggests an intrusion of Satanic/ ing intensive questioninf{ by therapists may also lead to a themes.

58 DlSSOWTIOX. ,"01. \'II. ~'(I.l. ~l,ll'ch 1994 Lewis (1989) has argued that in some cases of posses­ ization syndromes. The fact thatself-victimization itselfmay sian, "initiation into the ranks of the chronically possessed be therapeutic for the patient implies thattherapy may often is in the nature ofa cure" (p. 61). In other words, the role be prolonged or interminable. of victim may represent a substantial and therapeutic ele­ This hypothesis may be incorrect; however, it involves vation over other available roles. This might help to explain reasonably specific predictions and implications, explains why MPD is so often complicated by an apparent resistance the rapid expansion ofMPDand its variants in recentyears, to therapy by the patient (Ross, 1989; Ganaway, 1989). and does not require an etiological divide between these Lewis also has noted that what he terms "the ranks of syndromes and their pre-modern and non-western forms. the chronically possessed" often amount to possession , The consequences offailing to recognize such self-vic­ within which the victim may encounter a range ofnew and timization syndromes where they exist could be significant, attractive social opportunitieswhich perhapsfurther reduce since the above hypothesis predicts the elaboration of nar­ the chances of a return to her pre-victim role. Possession ratives and fabricated evidence in some cases as a conse­ cults typically feature a group of chronic possession victims quenceofpatient-patientandpatient-therapistrelationships. and a shaman, the possessees often competing for the lat­ Aside from the possible psychological harmdone to the patient, ter's attention (Lewis, personal communication, 1993). The there may be false narratives and other fabricated evidence same structure seems to existfor many modern medical con­ directed against other, innocent people. Even in alien ditions and traumas, in the form ofvictim "supportgroups" abduction claims, where the accused are beyond the reach which are attended by a therapist or therapists. In the alien ofsocial workers or prosecutors, there is now a trend accord­ abductionsyndrome, supportgroups typically aredominated ing to which the scarred or otherwise marked children of by youngwomen and focus upon a therapistwho is an older alien abductees are presented to abduction researchers as male. In this respect the alien abduction syndrome seems evidence for therealityofabductions (Mack, 1994; Schnabel, similar to many of the European convent possession epi­ 1994); such practiceshave obvioussimilarity to Miinchausen's demics ofthe 16th and 17thcenturies, where confessors and syndrome by proxy (Meadow, 1977), a vicarious self-victim­ exorcists played a role similar to that of modern therapists ization syndrome which is frequently lethal. (Ross, 1989), and often seemed, merely through their pres­ ence as males, to stimulate competitive self-victimization (typ­ icallywith obvious sexual overtones) among possessed nuns. NOTES One notable feature ofpossessee competition, incidentally, was the occasional tendency for a possessee to manifest an 1Another researcher familiar with the Linda case, a prac­ increasingly large and complex system of demonic posses­ ticing psychologist (Donald Johnson, personal communi­ sors (Robbins, 1959), in a manner reminiscent of today's cation, 1993), told this author that Linda had turned in an expansion of alien abductee narratives to include govern­ MMPI profile similar to those ofpsychics and MPD patients. ment agents and alien-human hybrids. A similar dynamic might explain the proliferation of alters which sometimes 2ParapsychologistWilliam Roll's analysis ofsome "poltergeist" occurs in MPD patients, for example as an apparent resis­ cases as an attention-seeking response to stress (1977; per­ tance to therapy (Ross, 1989) orfollowing exposure to other sonal communication, 1993) would seem to fit this general MPD patients (Schnabel, 1993). picture, too.

CONCLUSION 3rt may be that not all UFO abductions are psychogenic in the classic sense; some, especially pre-1980 cases, have been It is hypothesized thatsome cases of "UFO abduction," reported in association with separately-witnessed outdoor of other dissociation-related syndromes including MPD, of UFO encounters and have been interpreted as the result of factitious disorders, and of other self-reported illnesses or seizures or trances induced by exogenous electromagnetic traumas may be more usefully viewed as self-victimization geo-atmospheric phenomena, combined with neurophysi­ syndromes. According to this hypothesis, these syndromes ological andpsychosocialfactors (Persinger, 1989;Devereux, may be triggered by various social, psychological, neuro­ 1989). However, it is noteworthy that such encounters are physiological, and circumstantial factors or stressors which often followed by reports of more or less chronic encoun­ need not always include severe exogenous trauma or abuse. ters which are not necessarily associated with actual exoge­ Thesesyndromes maybeenactedunconsciouslyorconsciously, nous phenomena (Keel, 1975; Eliade, 1989), suggesting that and may involve not only false narratives but also the fabri­ a self-victimization - or even, "shamanic" ~ reflex may be cation ofevidence. The dynamics ofpatient support groups triggered by an initial crisis of this kind. • andofthepatient-therapistrelationship mayencourage com­ petitive self-victimizationwithincreasinglydramaticandbizarre narratives and fabricated evidence. Two or more distinct manifestations of self-victimization may exist in the same individual, and it may be that individuals who present with a recently developed self-victimization syndrome have a his­ tory of presenting with other, more established self-victim-

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