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Woman With 25 Different Identities Says Condition Stops Her Getting Job

Woman With 25 Different Identities Says Condition Stops Her Getting Job

Bo Hooper's alter egos include a teen boy, an angry middle-aged woman and a five-year-old girl

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

A 23-year-old has revealed how she shares her body with 25 different personalities which she claims prevents her from getting a job:

Bo Hooper has dissociative identity disorder, a mental disorder characterised of at least two distinct personality states, is usually triggered by trauma and means that Bo can spend days living as a 13-year-old boy or an angry middle-aged woman.

Bo, from Plymouth, Devon, has 25 alter egos altogether including five-year-old Layla, 13-year-old Toast, flirty teen Tracey and a woman named Texas.

She says any of her personalities can emerge at any time and will stick around for as long as they like, meaning that partner Casey, 22, has to wait until Bo remerges.

Bo Hooper.
Caters

Bo, who doesn't work due to her condition says: "They are very different to me and it's taken a long time for me to get to know them all. One is a boy called Toast who's just turned 13 and he's very loud. He likes to play games and he has a very brotherly relationship with Casey.

"Sometimes Casey walks in the room, ask me if I want a cup of tea, calls me darling and a 13-year-old boy replies and calls him dude or bro.

"There's another called Tracey and she's very different to me because I'm very shy and she's really confident. She gets drinks from guys in clubs and she once kissed a man for a cigarette, and I don't even smoke."

Caters
Caters

Bo went on: "Layla is a child and she refuses to be seen as a woman and she's really childish. Then there's Rosie who never lets me get angry, if Bo tries to get angry, Rosie will come and take the anger away.

"They can even come forward just for a few minutes. One might come forward and tell me to have a shower or they can stay around for days and the people around me just have to wait until Bo comes back. Sometimes Casey asks to see Bo and they tell him he has to wait."

Each personality has different taste in food, clothing and even partners. Bo explained: "Toast likes really baggy clothes and Layla is really into pink, girly stuff while I like really earthy tones and comfortable clothes."

Caters

Bo started noticing her personalities when she was in her teens after fiery middle-aged Texas started being hostile towards her friends.

Other symptoms of the disorder including zoning out where Bo will be unresponsive for a long period of time and have no recollection of what she's been doing.

Bo said: "Sometimes my friends would be upset with me and I didn't know why. Then one of my friends confronted Texas and she confessed that she shouldn't be in my body.

"But there is more to the condition, it isn't just the personalities, it's the zoning out. Like when you get in the car and drive somewhere and when you get there, realise you can't remember the journey."

Caters

Rosie Weatherley, spokesperson at mental health charity, Mind, said: "If you have Dissociative Identity Disorder you will experience severe changes in your identity.

"Each of your identity states may have different patterns of thinking and relating to the world, your identity states may come across as different ages and genders, you may feel you have one 'main' part of your identity that feels most like 'you' - some people call this a host identity.

"If you have Dissociative Identity Disorder, looking after yourself can be difficult, but there are some practical things that can help.

"You can keep a journal which can help improve connections and awareness between different parts of your identity, think about practical strategies, for example wearing a watch, keeping a list of friends and family with their contact details, or writing notes to yourself in your house."

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: UK Community, Community, UK