Don't get angry, just really curious

Don't mean to sound ignorant , but could some one explain to me what DID is and what doe's little's mean.... i'am really interested, i've googled it but it comes in such gobbledly gook, i would like it explained in simple terms please, i sort of get that you block out stuff, but that is as far as i got ....sorry
you see i think i might of been suffering with some thing that i could never explain, for years,kinda of being and doing but not actually belonging, sort of like a robot.
the only time i think i have ever felt that i was real was when i was being abused as a child, emotionly,and physically, of which my parents knew,.
love gismo

DID is a mental disorder.. here in the USA according to the present standards of diagnostic criteria DID is....

having two or more special kinds of alternate personalities/identities. my treatment providers call this kind of alters categorical, the diagnostics here in america call it distinct. these alters take control many times, they have their own way of being/their own job, purpose and reason for being.

the person with DID must also have a special type of memory problem that goes beyond the normal realm of forgetfulness. not the typical kind of forgetfulness that any normal or other mental disordered/physically challenged person can have.

and the dissociative symptoms with DID can not be from other mental/physical problems such as epilepsy and other seizure disorders nor drugs and alcohol,

the alters also can not be contributed to imaginary friends /fantasy play type alters.

these diagnostics/definition of DID will be changing in may 2013. when the DSM 5 is released.

in simple terms it means you have to have at least two alters that take control over the body and live a life that is separate from you..they think differently than you, have different views of the world /world/environment, ...

example

as amanda (the one diagnosed with DID, the one in which the alters lived in) I was quiet, not able to feel emotions, pretty much a neutral on all things kind of person.

I would switch into Red and every thought /action/behavior/ way of perceiving the world and those I was in contact with, my clothing style, posture, language...everything that makes up a persons personality was rage/anger. F...the world kind of attitude, mannerisms...the works. her job, purpose/reason for being was to take care of those situations that required a strong, get things done at all costs, and strike out at people before they could harm me, confrontations, and such.

I would switch into Rainy and her way of being, perceiving the world and people around me, job, purpose, reason for being was all about sadness and depression , her attitude, demeanor the works was depressed, cry at the drop of a hat or side wards look from any one, depressed/forlorn/ posture, language, clothing style.....I would switch into her when depressing things happened like failing grades/deaths in the family or someone I knew/... anything that had anything to do with sadness.

these two alters and I shared nothing in common, and shared nothing between us they were completely separate from me functioning completely on their own. I had no control over when, how and why they took over control, what they did and how they lived their lives.

here in new york DID is different then functioning like a robot, and not knowing where a person fits in with people and things..

there are many different mental disorders and normal things too that can cause a person to feel like that...

Im not saying you dont have DID or that you do because doing that is called making a diagnosis...

one thing I can tell you is to contact your treatment providers they can help you discover whether or not whats going on with you is a dissociative disorder , DID or other wise, or any other mental /physical health issue that may be causing this for you.

Hi!
I really admire and prefer people to ask questions. So I am not going to get mad at you. There are four main types of dissociative disorders that people can have and DID is one. Dissociation in itself is easy enough to understand. Have you ever gone to a movie and been so into it that you kind of forget your in the movie theatre and you feel like your in the movie? Or your driving to work and you kind of space out? And don't rememberthe actual route you took to work? Or when you are talking on the phone but thinking your own thoughts and then realise you've missed half the conversatipn? Those are all very typical and normal ways of dissociation.

When it becomes a concern is when a person doesn't remember large ammounts of time. Like me I don't remember a majority of my cjildhood. Now i know some people have trouble remembering parts of it. For me there is just a big blank spot! I don't remember things about my childhood I should! Like school years kindergarten through part of fourth grade. I do remember the rest of fourth grade because the abuse had stopped.

The loss of memory comes bevause people with DID have coped with severe trauma or abuse usually as very young child. I was three. They cope by leaving mentally. Some children end up spliting off parts of their own personality completly off from the original child. That is how you get an alter. To be diagnosed with DID you have to have at least 2 alters. I read somewhere they can be as high as 100. Evrryones internal system of alters is different.

Since DID begins in childhood (although in rare cases it can happen in adults) a lot of people jave altrrs that are young children or even babies. A child alter younger then 13 is also known as a little.
For example I have 2 littles one is 4 and one is 7. Not evetyone uses the word little but most do I think. Feel free to ask any other questions!