Case Report: Christine Costner-Sizemore
- Identifying Information
Name: Christine “Chris” Costner Sizemore
Born: April 4, 1927
Residence: Ocala, Florida
Age: 89 (Deceased July 24, 2016)
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
Education: Public School
Report Writer: Ericka Benton
Occupation: Student, Military
- Chief Complaint/Presenting Problem
The patient presents with severe headaches as she refers to them as “blinding.” She has experienced blackouts and her husband refers to her as exhibiting erratic behavior. The patient asserts that she hears a voice that frequently teases her about her husband’s responses to these behaviors (Obituary, 2016). The husband states that the erratic behaviors include forgetfulness and absurd statements which would indicate that she has conversations with this voice and often allows the voice to speak for her following an episode of headaches and blacking out.
- Symptoms
- Personal History
Patient was born and raised in Edgefield, SC. She grew up in a large family with strong Southern values. The patient appeared to be a typical child early on until she encountered a number of tragedies. She did not have difficulties with her behavior and recalls many happy times during her childhood. The family is very close to one another. Patient spoke of imaginary friends at school for which she was teased by other children. Her relationship with the other children in her classroom was often overpowered by this ridicule making her isolated among her peers. She recalls having many difficulties when working with others because her focus was on their judgement rather than on the task at hand. The patient states that these difficulties carried over into her adolescence with her isolation becoming more prominent when other students would omit her from events and invitations. She states that she was upset about these omissions but found herself more content to be on her own than with others her own age.
Educators and her parents dismissed the claims of imaginary friends by providing neither positive or negative attention for the behaviors. The associated behaviors, however, gained negative attention as she often forgot important assignments and obligations. She had difficulty in school and often forgot the lessons from the previous day. Patient reports having forgotten entire engagements. The patient recalls having conversations with her parents and teachers claiming to have not been at the location when the assignment or chore was assigned. She states that she often got into trouble for lying because the adults would assert that she had, in fact, acknowledged the assignment or chore and maintained that she had been present for the communication. The patient states that she still struggles recalling many events that her husband presents as memories and that she is unable to force herself to retrieve these supposed memories. The patient is frustrated with discussing this area of her childhood and states that she prefers to focus on the earlier years when her home life and school interactions were simple and positive. (Bernstein, 2016).
Patient has recalls significant traumas during childhood to include witnessing a man severed by a machine at her father’s place of employment. The accident was particularly brutal with the man’s body being severed into three parts. The patient states that she was present that day at the lumber mill to visit her father when the man was killed. She recalls not being able to look away from the body even though her father tried to shield her from the view. She particularly recalls the funeral of a baby cousin. The patient states that she recalls how small the baby was at the time and can even still hear the sounds of weeping at the funeral. The patient states that the reality of death came to her at that time. The patient witnessed a drowned man being removed from a ditch and acknowledges that, at this point, seeing death did not seem to be as dramatic as she had previously seen the moment of death. The body was bloated, and the man no longer looked as if he had once been alive. Finally, the patient speaks of a kitchen accident that resulted in significant blood loss for her mother. The patient states that this incident was a visual of what makes us alive and to see it pouring from her mother was difficult (Bernstein, 2016).
- Family History
The patient is close with her family and has been raised with traditional Southern values (Bernstein, 2016). The family was middle class with the father working at a lumber mill. The patient has two younger sisters who are twins that were born when the patient was six years of age. Given the significant focus on Southern values, the patient states that there were many topics that were off limits even though she maintains that she had a good communication with the members of her family. The patient explains that the family lived in a small community and attended regular community events. The patient adds that there was a great deal of talking at these events but that no one provided any significant information about their personal lives. The patient states that details were given as to what was not to be discussed prior to an event making the actual communication in the family focused on what not to say outside of the home. Religious values were instilled in the family and discussions of mental health issues or personal relationships were not permitted.
The patient has been previously married to George Rogers who manipulated her into the marriage and abused her until the marriage dissolved (Historical Note, 2017). The first husband was a local race car driver who was well liked by members of the community which made the divorce particularly difficult given the family’s status in the community. The patient states that the blackouts and voices were occurring during this marriage and that her ex-husband blamed this condition for much of the abuse as well as the eventual end of the marriage. The patient appears to have some form of regrets relating to the marriage and divorce noting that she felt manipulated but tried to maintain the marriage. The patient is currently remarried to Don Sizemore who is understanding but noticeably frustrated with the patient’s behaviors (Bernstein, 2016). The patient states that she is afraid that her condition will also dissolve the second marriage if she is unable to get successful treatment. The patient’s husband states that a diagnosis would help him to understand and that this condition is greatly affecting her ability to be a mother to their children.
- Therapy History
Early treatment was not possible due to the social stigmatization of mental health and the Southern view of seeking treatment at the time. Cathartic treatments in the form of hypnosis were then attempted following initial presentation of additional personalities. The patient states that the hypnosis made her hear more voices and that the blackouts appeared to increase for several days following the treatments as if she was not truly present but rather functioning through the voices. The patient’s husband requests that these treatments not be continued due to the negative effects that his wife experiences. The patient appears to believe that the voices came from the treatments and is fearful of initiating additional treatments as these treatments were unsuccessful and yielded the presentation of additional personalities (Byrne, 2001).
References
Bernstein, A. Chris Sizemore, whose many personalities were the real ‘Three Faces of Eve,’ dies at 89. The Washington Post.
Byrne, P. (2001). The butler (s) DID it-dissociative identity disorder in cinema. Medical humanities, 27(1), 26-29.
Historical Note. (2017). [Identification of item], Chris Costner Sizemore Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
