The compartmentalization encompasses their whole early life, and forms the base for the later years. Thus cut into pieces, the sufferer finds they cannot cope with ordinary life. The socially proper persona may be on-line while the individual is standing in the checkout line when someone nearby drops a jar, shattering the jar and splashing tomato sauce everywhere. Invariably, in multiple personality disorders, the individual is not able to cope. This permeates their life, evident in social situations and employment alike.
Ordinary living requires the many sides of an individual to be present at the same time.
A business meeting requires one to be calm and orderly to absorb the subject matter, but also to be aggressive when presenting one's opinion, fearful of being rejected, and angry when rejection occurs. An individual who has rigidly packaged their persona may find at least three different persona called out during such a meeting, ineffectively handling this social situation and startling their co-workers. Thus, they get fired, become reclusive, and often remain in the home where their personalities were warped in the first place - the victim yet again.