Quote:
Originally Posted by confusedbyself
amandalouise, I didn't realize that everyone with DID has experienced 'switching' since childhood. I knew it is thought to be caused by early abuse, but I thought I had read that in many people the alters didn't show themselves until adulthood or based on feelings of 'safety'.
If everyone does feel/notice it since childhood, why is there such confusion among adults about what is going on?
Just trying to figure some of my own world out.
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heres a tip to the answer to your question...... if you read in my link what the present diagnostics here in america are you will see a special diagnostic that pertains to children.
that diagnostic would not be there if children did not know what their dissociative symptoms were in order to tell their treatment providers, parents, teachers, doctors about their alters, what happens with their alters.
that diagnostic pertaining to children would also not be there if alters did not show them selves in childhood.
here in america it is recognized that alters do show their self in childhood too, not just adulthood.
children dont use terms like switching, depersonalization, DID and such grown up wording. but they do notice what is going on in their bodies and can tell those around them, how they are feeling.
heres an example i have a friend from childhood, one time when we hadnt seen each other in a very long time, we met for lunch she asked me if Rainy still likes rainbow colored candy (she did not know I had DID and neither did I when we were kids so she thought Rainy was my invisible friend that tagged around with us) and do I still feel slish shoshed sometimes. I laughed because slish sloshed is how I described my depersonalization symptoms (spaced out like when I was under water moving my head back and forth in the water and come up too fast.) I explained to her that rainy and I were now one whole person and yes I still loved Rainbowed candy and yes sometimes I still get to feeling slish sloshed and that being Im an adult now I dont call it slish sloshed any more.
if you go to a public place and happen to see children have a listen to what they are saying. children are amazingly in tune to their bodies and know whats going on with in their bodies. they dont have the medical\psychological terms for whats going on but they know and can tell people whats what.
on alters coming out during times of safety....some do some dont, everyones internal system of alters is comprised for how ever they needed it to be in order to ensure their survival. if the trigger is safety then thats when they take control if its abuse thats when they take control, if its stress thats when they take control....the list of possible triggers is endless and individualized on the hows and whys alters take control.