your first post......

no I didnt have much of a problem with my diagnosis of DID remaining in the forefront of my thoughts, or problems with mirrors and so on that you have posted.... maybe its the way my treatment providers and I handled my getting the diagnosis... they told me that nothing changes after getting the diagnosis that didnt happen before getting the diagnosis. since I didnt know before getting a diagnosis that I had DID, I just thought everyone was like me. even though I didnt get the diagnosis as an adult I grew up since before age 5 with everything that was DID in me. as a result of this being DID was normal for me just like someone who grows up with a dog its normal and comfortable to have a dog, just like its normal for someone with blonde or black or brown hair to have their hair color, or someone who grew up drinking lemonaid and running around in bare feet or wearing a jacket when its cold was normal. being DID was my normal so it wasnt something I had obsessive thoughts about...

as for the mirrors my therapist and I had a fantastic discussion about that...what is a mirror a piece of glass with reflective paint on the back..if I tried to avoid mirrors what other items would I have needed to avoid in order to avoid my image being reflected in it.... anything with a shiny reflective coating.... spoons, forks, dishes, drinking classes, cars, trucks, driving vanity sets, malls, churches, school bathrooms, casinos, ..... there are so many things and places that come equipped with shiny, reflective surfaces, and mirrors attached, even my cell phone and computer has reflective surfaces.... even if I wanted to avoid mirrors/ reflective surfaces it was literally impossible for me to do so.... my therapist gave me an assignment for one day write down every single shiny reflective surface that I encountered. in one day there was literally over 1000 shiny reflective surfaces I encountered.

because encountering shiny reflective surfaces was my normal i never had obsessive thoughts about it, related to my having DID, in fact I never understood what the problem was with mirrors for some people before doing this therapy activity. it was so normal for me that I just didnt think about how others could not be encountering all these shiny reflective surfaces in their normal life.

that said after diagnosis the one problem I did have was discovering one of my alters was a drinker of alcohol but when that alter discovered it was causing problems for the system as a whole and causing others outside the body to notice us the drinking stopped. we lived by the abusers code of do not tell, which meant dont do anything that would gather any kind of attention with our behaviors, after the body turned 21, we were considered legal drinking age so drinking became a part of my life for a bit but the first sign of problems or attention from it, the alter involved stopped drinking for fear of accidentally disclosing to others they existed while drunk talking or drunk behaviors. you might say drinking just didnt stick as a part of my system for the safety and survival of all.

maybe your or a treatment provider near you can help you with your drinking if this continues to be a bother for you.