Multiple personality disorder

Multiple personality disorder was a mental condition that was characterized by two or more distinct personality states. These alternate personalities would normally develop in times of severe stress or emotional trauma, and would often differ drastically from the host personality, and sometimes may even be of a different gender. The affected individual would not be aware of their alternate personalities, likewise for the alters to be unaware of the host. The personalities could also be in open conflict with each other. Sometimes, a particularly active alter could become the more prominent personality, which could relegate the host into a recessive role. Alternate personality states could also be modeled after an existing individual's personality traits. The affected individual may even dress like and use the name of the person after whom the traits were modeled.

Multiple personalities also existed within the Thakwaash species, however this was a normal trait, rather than a disorder. Each personality had different beliefs, behaviors, and abilities and could be switched at will. As the Thakwaash developed, more alters would be discovered and they would improve their skill in alternating between each one. The personalities could include mentally-unstable alters, though this was not a detriment to the Thakwaash, as the problematic alters could be replaced with a more peaceable personality. This aided the Thakwaash in the insight into how others would think, which allowed for the imitation of writing and thought processes.

Vydel Dir'Nul, a Jedi Knight, developed the alternate personality of "Kardem" after she killed her lover, Ash B'risko. This alternate personality was that of a Dark Jedi male and Dir'Nul believed this person to be a separate individual. Likewise, while under the "Kardem" personality, "he" was unaware of the existence of Dir'Nul.

Graf Yonna, an operative for the Rebel Alliance, had multiple personalities as a result of the emotional trauma that he suffered when the Empire destroyed his homeworld of Bront, which killed his family in the process. His alternate personality was modeled after the traits of Parsol d'Ahndole, an adventurer from the early days of the Old Republic, whose exploits had been dramatized in a number of holofilms. Yonna would even use d'Ahndole's name. This alter was described as melodramatic, with an intense hatred toward the Empire. It also drove Yonna to perform various feats of heroism.

Zuckuss, a Gand bounty hunter, also had multiple personalities, which was co-morbid with his schizophrenia. One personality adopted the devout role of a findsman and obeyed Gand language protocol to a fault. The other was a violent Corellian braggart who referred to himself in the first person and indicated that he was no longer a member of Gand society. This personality was the dominant of the two and displayed signs of insecurity. The findsman persona would surface when Zuckuss felt guilty about breaking away from Gand culture. These two personalities were in conflict with each other. It was speculated by Gawynn Karastee, the forensic psychiatrist who diagnosed Zuckuss, that the alters developed as a result of Zuckuss leaving his homeworld and may have stemmed from his role as a findsman.

Blitzer Harrsk suffered from the disorder following an attack on his Star Destroyer at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. A piece of durasteel stabbed through his left eye and his left frontal lobe, causing two personalities to develop; one of an irrational and megalomaniacal version of his former self, the other of his second-in-command, Bolla Thoath, who perished in the same accident. It would not be until 8 years later, having barely survived the assassination attempt at the Tsoss Beacon, that Harrsk discovered the truth. He was, however, too late to stop the Thoath persona from crashing their TIE shuttle into an asteroid to end Harrsk's mad campaign.

Multiple personalities first appeared in sources with the June 1994 publication of West End Games' Cracken's Rebel Operatives roleplaying supplement, most notably the entry describing the character of Graf Yonna. At this time, however, the disorder was not named, but rather described as separate personalities and delusions. Multiple personalities later appeared in February 2, 1998, with the publication of Aaron Allston's novel X-Wing: Wraith Squadron as a normal trait of the equine Thakwaash species.

It was not until April 3, 2001 when the disorder itself was again noted and explicitly named in The Essential Guide to Alien Species, in a journal entry attributed to Gawynn Karastee. This disorder was a retcon that was used to explain the drastic personality changes exhibited by Zuckuss in several sources, most notably between the previously-established canon from Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM, and his later appearance in The Bounty Hunter Wars series. The mental illness then appeared in the seventeenth issue of the Star Wars Tales comic "Dark Journey" in October 1, 2003, with the appearance of Vydel Dir'Nul.

Since then, several sources, notably The Official Star Wars Fact File 61 and Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 8, have erroneously listed dissociative identity disorder as being the same as the real-world diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, multiple personality disorder is characterized by two or more distinct personality states, experiences of possession, and discontinuities in behavior, perception, and memories. The disorder does not include any of the hallmarks of schizophrenia, which include delusional symptoms and hallucinations.

• Cracken's Rebel Operatives
• The Essential Guide to Alien Species
• The Official Star Wars Fact File61
• Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 8
• The Essential Reader's Companion
• Strongholds of Resistance