[mugwort]

I know of a man in his 30s who says he was diagnosed with MPD. Yet he claims he enjoyed a happy childhood. What I wrote here I swear is true.

My question is is it possible for childhood to be happy when one's diagnosis is MPD/DID? How likely is that to happen? Could he be lying? Is he in denial? I would really be grateful for helpful responses.

[Fox]

Hmm. It's hard to say. Everyone's idea of a happy childhood is different. The DID could block out the unhappy memories from his consciousness so he perceives his childhood as a normal upbringing. But it's hard to say without talking to the individual.

I may or may not have DID. I believe I have had a happy childhood though I do have bits of memory of abuse. I also know what I remember is incomplete and fragmented. I have all the signs of PTSD because of stuff that went on in my childhood to young adulthood. I hope this is helpful to you understanding this man.

[wanttoheal]

We can't tell you anything about your friend as we aren't professionals here, but we can tell you how it is for us.

Many years ago, I would have said I had a relatively happy childhood. I had no memories of anything bad, even though I didn't really have any memory of my life. And while I was denying the existence of anything bad from my past, the people who abused me as a child were still doing stuff. I wasn't aware enough to know anything was going on. That's how far my brain went to survive and protect me.

At the same time, I denied (due to being unaware) that I said or did things that I didn't remember. I just thought people were tricking me.

The thing with DID is that the brain is about the business of protecting self from anything bad. And denial is a pretty normal way of doing that, imo.

Best of luck with your friend. I hope he is able to get some good support and help.

[Elysium]

I can relate to what both Fox and Wanttoheal have said.

For me, before we found out that we were dealing with DID, I was not aware of the alters. My mind knew that the childhood was not happy, but there was this emotional block....a giant wall that kept US from really KNOWING or experiencing the emotional pain. We didn't know about ourselves either...until one day our giant wall started to crack...and then it shattered. Once the wall shattered, the DID became apparent and the emotions were not held at bay anymore. There is still an alter within that knows nothing of the abuse....that only knows of the good times and she is the one we all exist for.

So I think it is possible for someone with DID to actually believe that they did have a happy childhood. It could be the perception of an alter, or it could be him just putting up a front of denial to protect himself from having to validate his pain. This is only my opinion.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by mugwort

I know of a man in his 30s who says he was diagnosed with MPD. Yet he claims he enjoyed a happy childhood. What I wrote here I swear is true.

My question is is it possible for childhood to be happy when one's diagnosis is MPD/DID? How likely is that to happen? Could he be lying? Is he in denial? I would really be grateful for helpful responses.

I cant tell you whether this person you are talking about is lying, only he can tell his story and knows whether he is telling the truth about how this disorder has affected him.

I can say that yes it is possible for people to have a happy childhood and have mental disorders such as DID or in your terms MPD.

if you read books that document this disorder you will find many documentations by psychiatric providers that have treated cases of DID where the client has had a very happy childhood, entered therapy because something in their adult life caused them problems ie a divorce, depression, stress..

Through clearing up those problems they find out they have had a happy childhood because they have DID.

DID is a mental disorder where a person splits off into 2 or more alternate personalities. in some people with this disorder all the bad childhood events happened while the person was dissociated into an alternate personality.

example

(using a mild and hopefully non triggering event to illustrate)

a child is in bed sleeping. they wake up coughing and smelling smoke, their house is on fire they fear for their life, they split off into being the child and an alternate personality. the child no longer registers they are in a burning home and could die. the person in danger is the alternate personality not them.

hours later the child wakes up safe and sound at Aunt Ethels house not remembering the fire, their fear nor their splitting into an alternate personality.

this child goes on to live a happy care free life because any time anything bad happens it happens to the alter not the child.

another example of how this can happen have you ever noticed upon yourself a bruise but have no idea how it happened, just one day you look down and see the bruise. you ask someone what happened and they tell you but you have no memory of it so to you its a situation of "ok if you say so but I dont believe it happened that way"

dissociation in children under extreme circumstances is what enables the extremely abused and traumatized children to continue living a care free life where adults under the same abused and traumatized circumstances would die or at the very least have irreparable problems.

most people around here with this disorder never knew they had a traumatic childhood because due to their dissociation abilities they did not experience a traumatic childhood. most around here enter for problems related to their adult lives and then through therapy discover they have DID and then through working on their DID they discover the traumatized alternate personalities and the traumas that they hold.

some survivors have been accused of being liars and much worse because they say they have happy childhoods but information about this disorder states it happens under extreme abuse and extreme trauma.

what those judging others as liars arent taking into consideration is the diagnostic criteria stating people with this disorder have memory problems and because of having a dissociative disorder they have no memory of the extreme abuse and extreme trauma they underwent as children. people with this disorder cant say they have a traumatic childhood if their memories of the trauma is held within alternate personalities.

btw - not saying you are making judgments in that last paragraph, in my own life I have had people do this to me, and I know other survivors that underwent the same judgement from others. I also have clients who have friends and families that make such judgments that the person must not have DID because they say they have had a good childhood.

my suggestion dont worry about whether this person is lying or not, or in denial or not. instead treat him with the respect and dignity that you would want to be given if you were diagnosed with a mental disorder that seems to conflict with your beliefs and life experience.

[Elysium]

(((((Mugwort)))))

I wanted to say thanks for posting this question. It got me thinking.

I went and saw T today and talked to her about why it is that some people with DID seem to have better memories of unhappy childhoods while others seem to remember having happy childhoods. I asked her if that meant that those who do have recall of some past traumas DON'T have DID and she said "Absolutely NOT!!" She said she's done a lot of research on DID and Dissociative Disorders and that the memory impairment and blocking of memories is different for everyone.

I don't know if there's a certain percentage of people with DID that do or don't recall traumas, but my T says she doesn't believe such a thing has really been documented in research at this time and that some professionals who are just learning themselves about DID can develop skewed ideas from reading into research too heavily and they can forget that DID is a very PERSONAL disorder which is never the same for any one person.

Now, I'm not saying my T is the know it all about DID, but I trust her immensely. She actually has DID herself and has been able to integrate. She has even worked with one of her Associates and authored a book on DID. I haven't read the book yet, but I have heard it's a very good workbook that helps people to learn to LIVE with DID and cope with the symptoms in a healthy way, so that they may have a more fulfilled and happy life. Just in case you want to look it up, the book is called "Amongst Ourselves, A self-help guide to living with DID". I think I will look at picking it up MYSELF one of these days. I think the best suggestion I have for you is to be supportive of your friend/co-worker regardless. He's obviously experiencing some difficult times and I bet he could really use someone in his support corner.

Anyway, take care....and I hope to see you around the forums!!

[Crew]

Hi Mugwort.

That is an interesting ? When I was first diagnosed in Dallas, TX I learned that
a split in the brain usually can't occur after 7 years of age because the abilities to stay in the split brain. I am not saying this is right by any means I am only repeating what a great therapist in this treatment center that no longer is there which was under Dr. Leftcofts treatment center.
He may just not remember it or is in denial and is unable to deal with it. It is weird though that he would have no memory. Yet then that points to the therapist. That is my 2 cents wait it's 2011 that is my 100 bucks worth
Great ? ((Mugwort))) and nice to meet you Crew

I would also say that before I started on my issues or was "triggered" by one event that took place a few years ago I would have called my childhood "relatively happy and fine". But I'm not sure how he knows he has DID if he's still in denial? Maybe someone told him so? I know that for me, well trained doctors pointed it out YEARS before it became obvious for me. There was a time where I could say "Well apparently I have DID, but they're full of it." Even my therapist I've been with a few years now, who isn't trained well in trauma disorders is unaware that they exist. Even denies that they exist. It's only more recently come into view for me.

Originally Posted by Crew

Hi Mugwort.

That is an interesting ? When I was first diagnosed in Dallas, TX I learned that
a split in the brain usually can't occur after 7 years of age because the abilities to stay in the split brain. I am not saying this is right by any means I am only repeating what a great therapist in this treatment center that no longer is there which was under Dr. Leftcofts treatment center.
He may just not remember it or is in denial and is unable to deal with it. It is weird though that he would have no memory. Yet then that points to the therapist. That is my 2 cents wait it's 2011 that is my 100 bucks worth
Great ? ((Mugwort))) and nice to meet you Crew

I've heard 9 years and 4 years. If it's 4 years then I'm out. I don't think they really know?? How can they? Everyone is different in how the develop mentally. But you can form alters past age 4, 7 or 9, you just can't form the original split. Right? I may be weak on this?

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by LydiaB

I'm not sure how he knows he has DID if he's still in denial?

ways to know you are DID and still be in denial -

a therapist without doing an evaluation for dissociative disorders diagnosis someone with DID. the client refuses the diagnosis.

going through a psychiatric evaluation for a problem not affiliated with DID example Schizophrenia. Dr's tell client that DID was one of the results.the client refuses the diagnosis

being co conscious with alters. the client knows the alters exist but denies the label of DID.

reading about the disorder turns the light bulb on that what you are reading about is similar to your own problems and symptoms (self diagnosing though not recommended and has a very high chance of being wrong in some cases can be accurate.

an alter goes through a psychiatric evaluation, the alter is given the results. therefore alter knows the diagnosis but the host does not. happens quite frequently. Alter tries to tell host but host denies the diagnosis.

suffice to say there are a lot of ways a person can be any disorder including DID and be able to deny that diagnosis.

[Irine]

grrr! You reminded me something amandalouise -

When i was young i had a bad knee injury. I was 6 years old. And i remember clearly how my knee began to hurt but i had no real clear memory of hitting it or anything happening to cause it. I assumed quietly to myself that i hit my leg somehow - i told my parents I hit it...I didn`t even say...I remember it was a bad injury and i was taken to the ER in the evening. I couldn`t walk normally for quite a while....

Alter confessed that they liked to hurt the body out of anger of the S.A abuse trauma - but they didn`t feel like taking the pain of self injury as well as the pain of the abuse. So the pain of self injury went to me.

lol!

[Crew]

Great point ((amandalouise)) however, I just know what I was told over and over from various doctors in the field and researching this.
The problem for me is, we do not have a HOST. Whatever the age I can't imagine it being past 7 but I"m not the DID police lol and that is what I have heard over and over throughout all these years. I may be wrong cause it woudn't be my last or first time... just know what I have heard all over the US.

Just something more to add to the puzzle. Best wishes in you feeling better,
Crew