My Support Forums - View Single Post - DID is up for removal from the DSMV! please read

anderson · Jun 01, 2012, 09:33 AM

we are posting the letters and a link to the "Does DID Belong in DSM"
As it is true that it may not be removed just the thought that there is a letter and probally another forum collecting signatures to to remove this section. It does seem prudent to let the very people that are reviewing this informations that it is not a one sided event.

the options are now available and you do not have to go to another site to find the links to them. We hope that others are willing to take the time to respond in either manner that you feel safe with doing.

for me I am a surviver that want the sercurity to heal and grow without the fear of someone that does not live my life deciding my fate. For so long many of us have had no way to finding good help to recover from our pain.

we may not have the physcal proof of abuse that so many FMS are trying to make required but what we do have is a voice that can be heard. We only have to unite and write in !

Information and Instructions

First, I would like to thank you for your interest in reading this page.

Secondly, there is evidently a petition circulating asking that the work group at the APA consider removing Dissociative Identity Disorder from the DSMV - which will be released next year at this time. This would, of course, be devastating for those who live with Dissociative Identity Disorder. I have not 'seen' this petition, but found one answer to it here "Does DID Belong in DSM" ( http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm/DissDisMaster.htm ) From the date on this paper, it looks like the petition has been circulating for some time.

For the next two weeks the APA will be accepting final public comments before making final decisions and revisions to the DSMV. See APA Home Page (http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspxor ) more information. Also, you can learn more about DID by watching the video on the sidebar of this page.

We are providing this opportunity for you all to read this letter and sign it, using the form following the letter. Please also include your comments. Comments do not need to made using any research. Personal experience is great.

If you do not feel comfortable writing here - or giving your real name or email here, you are welcome to send me the information in a private email at felicity4us2@gmail.com, and I will include the information when I forward it all to the APA.

You can also write to the APA yourself - by following the directions at their site - which was provided above.

We have barely 2 weeks to get in our thoughts to them. Please participate. It is very important that they also hear from us on this. We are hoping to gather 500 signatures. Pass the word - and encourage anyone who has/supports DID -

Letter to the APA

Dear Members of the American Psychiatric Association, Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum, Posttraumatic, and Dissociative Disorders Work Group:

We are writing this to you as those who live with and/or support those living with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Firstly, we would like to thank you all for the work that you do to ensure that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders continues to provide for clinicians the definitive criteria that enable each to diagnose based on research, your teamwork, and input from outside folks, like us.

Secondly, we would like to add our voice to the immense amount of input that you must consider in order to make your decisions concerning writing the criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder. Thus far, we find your revisions meeting the needs of this population. We are very impressed. These revisions will create forward movement for those who research trauma and dissociation - which in turn, will provide more information for clinicians to treat and diagnose.

Thirdly, it has been brought to our attention that there is a petition circulating that gives reason why and asks that Dissociative Identity Disorder be 'removed' from the DSMV. As you know, one of the difficulties of living with DID is that we are often invalidated - sometimes, by the very clinicians that are meant to treat and care for us, as well as some public opinion. We are often caught in the middle of controversy over whether the diagnosis of DID is even 'real'. Because our condition includes 'hiding', silenced by the terror of past abuse/trauma - threats of harm if we 'speak out', it can be difficult for many of us to be our own advocates.

We would like to have that chance now and hope that you read and consider our comments related to Dissociative Identity Disorder and the work that you are doing there.

Thank you for your time,

(signatures and comments attached).