This is a picture I drew for a story I'm writing...the girl has MPD, or Multiple Personality Disorder. She is hanging on strings because she is manipulated like a doll when her other personalities take over. It symbolizes that she isn't in control, that there are others pulling the strings. Her name is May, and her main 'other personality' is a 19-year-old, over-protective boy named 'Darren'. He 'takes over' when she is panicking, or in a threatening environment or situation, or when she is feeling intense emotional or physical pain, or when she is feeling an emotion strongly. He is very protective over her, and is willing to die for her. The only problem is that if he 'dies', so does she.

May was a little girl of about 8 years when she went in to wake up her mother and found her dead. As if that didn't cause enough emotional scarring, her father, a sick, horrible man driven insane with his wife's death, substitutes May and her other sister as his wife, as well as beating them. I think you can draw conclusions as to what that means. This is where her personality disorder was 'born'. She dissociated, going to a 'happy place'. When that wasn't good enough for her, her mind created someone to deal with what was happening with her. Darren. the 'original' other personality went ballistic and killed May's father. By this time she is fifteen. She is convicted of manslaughter, even though it was clearly self defense, and they find out her mental disorder, and she is sent to Beachwood Institution.

May falls in love with another patient, Matt, who is every bit the man Darren wants to be for her. He hates Matt because he can actually touch May, look into her eyes, and protect her without taking her over. Whenever May is with Matt, kissing him or holding his hand, Darren takes over and flips out at Matt, hurting him. May finds out what Darren has done through her and flips out and gets very depressed, distancing herself from everything and everyone, including Matt. She is convinced that she can never be with people and opts to take her own life in the end. Too bad Darren stops her.