Multiple personality disorder

"Dark. Me."

- Vydel Dir'Nul, under the Kardem personality

Multiple personality disorder, also known as a split personality or a dual personality, was a mental illness in which a being would develop one or more separate identities in addition to their original personality. These alternate personalities would normally develop in times of severe stress 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. Sometimes, a particularly active alter could become the more prominent personality, which could relegate the host into a recessive role.

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. Zuckuss, a Gand bounty hunter, also had multiple personalities, which was comorbid with his schizophrenia. One personality adopted the devout role of a findsman, while the other was a violent Corellian braggart, the latter of which was dominant. 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.

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.

Behind the scenes
Multiple personalities first appeared in the novel X-wing: Wraith Squadron as a normal trait of the equine Thakwaash species. The disorder itself, however, was noted in The Essential Guide to Alien Species, in a journal entry written by 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 Star Wars Tales comic Dark Journey, 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 schizophrenia. However, these conditions have different diagnostic criteria and are not the same disorder.

Appearances

 * X-wing: Wraith Squadron
 * X-wing: Iron Fist
 * X-wing: Iron Fist