Geisterfahrer
PhaedraMcSpiffy
y"]Also, you mentioned PTSD earlier and I have a question about that. Why is it that these people don't just develop PTSD? Why do people who survive war and rape and disasters generally get PTSD and not DID? If it's because they're adults, why doesn't it happein small children? Is it because the trauma isn't repeated?
There are a few possible factors that would differentiate whether someone developed PTSD or DID.
The first is age. DID develops before the age of five when a child's identity is still in development. Sometimes people with DID will pinpoint an abuse or trauma that occurred at a later age and mistakenly believe that this event caused their DID, but later it is discovered that there is actually an even earlier event. Once a person has DID, further trauma and abuse can cause further fragmentation of their identity.
Another factor is genetic predisposition. Studies on dissociation have shown that there is likely a genetic predisposition to dissociate. Children with dissociative parents are more likely to be dissociative themselves. Hypothetically, two children could suffer the same trauma and one could develop PTSD while the other develops DID depending on their genetics.
The severity of the trauma and the frequency of the trauma is another factor. Although it's really had to measure trauma and pain and definitively say that a certain type of abuse isn't severe enough, usually it is more severe types of child abuse and trauma that lead to DID and generally it's abuse that is repeated that leads to DID.
PhaedraMcSpiffy
Quote:
Other terms often used by therapists and survivors to describe these entities are: "alternate personalities," "alters," "parts," "states of consciousness," "ego states," and "identities." It is important to keep in mind that although these alternate states may feel or appear to be very different, they are all manifestations of a single, whole person.
The whole idea that people could have other people living inside of them and occassionally taking control sounded a lot like belief in demonic possession to me. It seemed like people were just trying to modernize possession and dress it up as science. But this shows that it's really not like that at all! I always thought that if it's a real disorder, then these identities aren't really other people, but aspects of the actual person. Like... a role that they're playing without doing it intentionally. This, like the fact that a lot of cases couldn't have been caused by hypnosis, is a great relief to me!
So this is why they changed the name, too! Because it's not really multiple personalities, it's different aspects of a single personality that aren't attached like they are in a typical person.
I tried to explain this earlier but failed miserably. This is what I meant when I said people with DID probably wouldn't like what I said. It's not like Alters are whole other people all squished into one body. They're just fragmented aspects of one whole identity. In fact, a lot of times you'll find people with DID who have serious emotional problems like an inability to feel anger because they have an alter who handles anger. It's not always as clear cut as that, but that's just a good example of how alters represent a fragment of a whole.
Just a note to anyone who may encounter people with DID, it's really rude to tell alters that they aren't real people and that they're only fragments. While we might consider that true in the psychological realm, even counselors believe in treating each alter with respect. It's best to interact with each alter as if he or she is an individual person.
I do have PTSD and DID. I thought that PTSD was a common co-morbid condition with DID...
My others really don't like being considered as only "parts", but I reckon they are. I am too- which is weird. Even though I'm The Front, and am in front most of the time when we aren't stressed,
I was made to be the front- y'know, created for that purpose...
