7 Quotes by David Spiegel

The term 'multiple personality disorder' has historical precedent but it perpetuates the mistaken idea that the proliferation of personality is its key feature. The problem is actually not more but less than one personality: a difficulty in integrating fragments.

The personalities may have quite a complex and subjectively compelling inner world, in which they have alliances, relationships and civil wars among themselves.

My patients joke with me. They ask me, 'Doctor, am I living longer yet?' I say, 'I don't know, but you're living better.' The goal in our groups is not to pretend you're going to make your cancer go away but to live well in the face of cancer.

My patients call that the prison of positive thinking. There is no truth at all to the idea that if you get sad, angry or frightened about cancer that you're giving in to it and allowing the cancer to grow.

Thinking happy thoughts is not the way to cope with the stress of having cancer.

If no one wants to talk to you about the fact that you're dying, you feel very isolated, ... That's one of the powers of a group.

If you get breast cancer it is because you're biologically vulnerable.