[monarch5061]

Hi all,

Although I have viewed this site in the past, this is the first time for me posting and joining a group. I have had PTSD most of my life due to childhood trauma by my brother: Verbal. emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse. My T. referred me to this site since I live alone and she thought it would be good for me to talk with other people about issues. I was just diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder PTSD has been difficult to deal with because i have problems staying in the present moment. My dissociation is directly related to my PTSD so I think this group can help me stay focused and in the present. As far as this new diagnosis I feel lost, confused and scared. I am
hoping there is someone that can give me advice and help me to understand
DID a bit better. I told my friends about it and they are supportive but it is
hard to talk with them because I don't understand it myself. Anybody out there who is dealing with alters?? Thanks for reading.

[IowaFarmGal]

Hi Monarch! Welcome to Psych Central! There is a Dissociative Disorders Forum and there are many people there who will understand and who deal with alters of their own. I think it will help you feel less alone. I hope you will soon feel at home here.

[shezbut]

Have you gone into the forums for DID and PTSD? I would recommend doing that in order to get the support, understanding, and hope that you are searching for.

I have PTSD and DID-nos, as well as a few other illnesses, and I can relate to feeling lost & alone. It is scary and frustrating too! The good thing is that there are a lot of people out there who care and they want to help. Gentle hugs to you!

Originally Posted by monarch5061

Hi all,

Although I have viewed this site in the past, this is the first time for me posting and joining a group. I have had PTSD most of my life due to childhood trauma by my brother: Verbal. emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse. My T. referred me to this site since I live alone and she thought it would be good for me to talk with other people about issues. I was just diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder PTSD has been difficult to deal with because i have problems staying in the present moment. My dissociation is directly related to my PTSD so I think this group can help me stay focused and in the present. As far as this new diagnosis I feel lost, confused and scared. I am
hoping there is someone that can give me advice and help me to understand
DID a bit better. I told my friends about it and they are supportive but it is
hard to talk with them because I don't understand it myself. Anybody out there who is dealing with alters?? Thanks for reading.

Hi Monarch
I also have DID with PTSD. When I first found out, I felt very lost and scared. It felt very out of control to me. I have a very good psychologist and he helps with memoooories, flashbacks and generally helping me stay safe.
Since this is new to you, have you ever tried to diagram those inside? I wasn't able to for a long time, but wheh I finally did, it helped make me feel more in control and understand the ones inside. Remember, your alters were there to spare you unbearable pain. Try to speak to them, get to understand them. It will be somuch easier for you if you don't block them out. Good luck to you. Feel free to PM me anytime.

[lizardlady]

Hi Monarch! Welcome to Psych Central. I'm going to repeat what some others suggested - check out the DID and PTSD forums. Folks in both forums are very supportive.

[Kendyll]

Hello! I have a different dissociative disorder, but my husband has DID. His alters are a part of my life. Check out the DID forum. The people there are very kind and understanding and they've help me understand a lot about what's going on with my husband (and me).
You don't have to be alone with all this. There are people here dealing with similar issues who will understand and support you.

[turquoisesea]

to PC monarch. I personally do not have DID but I know there are some here that do. There's a decent amount of information posted here on the site too - both in the forums and on the main webpage.


I hope you find PC as helpful as I have found it; it's a great place to share, learn and grow.
Feel free to PM me anytime with questions about the site

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by monarch5061

Hi all,

Although I have viewed this site in the past, this is the first time for me posting and joining a group. I have had PTSD most of my life due to childhood trauma by my brother: Verbal. emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse. My T. referred me to this site since I live alone and she thought it would be good for me to talk with other people about issues. I was just diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder PTSD has been difficult to deal with because i have problems staying in the present moment. My dissociation is directly related to my PTSD so I think this group can help me stay focused and in the present. As far as this new diagnosis I feel lost, confused and scared. I am
hoping there is someone that can give me advice and help me to understand
DID a bit better. I told my friends about it and they are supportive but it is
hard to talk with them because I don't understand it myself. Anybody out there who is dealing with alters?? Thanks for reading.

welcome...the first thing you need to know is that we cannot help you stay focused and in the present..we are not in your location sitting beside you while you are typing on the computer and performing therapy on you by telling you to stay focused, ground your self, use your therapy tools and the likes of what it takes for a person to stay focused and in the present...only you can help your self stay focused and in the present moment. as you can see by the notation at the bottom of the page psych central is not supposed to take the place of therapy / your therapist... though some of us members are treatment providers we are not allowed to perform our jobs here.

if you would like help with staying focused and in the present moment you will need to discuss that with your treatment providers. they can help you learn how to keep yourself more focused and in the present moment and then you will be able to use what your treatment providers are teaching you to keep your self more focused and in the present moment while being online here at psych central.

what we do here is just share with each other ---
we tell each other what our days are like, what our diagnosis's are, problems we are having, tell jokes, play games, share mental health information, those that feel like they can do so give each other the cyber equivalent of a hug, thank each other.. and when one of us shares a problem others let them know if we have had the same problem, what our own treatment providers called it in ourselves and how we handled that problem..

Example I see in your post you are feeling scare, confused and lost after being diagnosed with DID...I felt the same way until my therapist explained to me that getting the diagnosis doesnt change anything, everything thats happening after I was diagnosed are the same things that have been happening since I was younger than 5 yrs old. the only thing getting the diagnosis does is put a name to whats been there for years and years. the only thing that changes after getting diagnosed is that I would get better, start feeling better because now that we know whats been happening since I was younger than 5, we (my therapist and I) could work on those problems.

my therapist was right, after being diagnosed things got easier and easier because my therapist and I worked on all my problems, then as we fixed my problems my alters all integrated with me and not Im one whole person again.

How do you deal with your alters...well that depends upon what your treatment plans are. everyone here has their own way of dealing with their alters based on what they and their own treatment providers have set up for their own treatment plans.

example with me my treatment plans for me and my alters was learning grounding, self nurturing (thats learning how to take care of yourself) medication for things like my depression/anxiety. talking problems over with my therapist and working with her to solve those problems, trauma therapy (which is learning how to handle things like flashbacks/ nightmares intrusive thoughts from my trauma's, and how to move forwards by learning how to not re-traumatize myself with recalling those few traumatic events I did have memory of, over and over again). Inpatient programs.

the way for you to deal with your alters is to continue working with your treatment providers. they will know whats the best way for you to deal with your alters.

[Kendyll]

I know some exercises for grounding. They help me a lot when I start dissociating. Most of it, for me, involves getting back in touch with my body. One of my favorite little grounding things is Altoids. You know - the really strong candies? I can get one of those, and it gives me a sensation in the here and now that I can concentrate on. Hard to ignore an Altoid...Another is to count blue things. It makes me focus on my surroundings more and gives my brain something constructive to do.
You could also look up "mindfulness". It's the practice of being exactly where you are at every given moment.

My husband describes his alters as...parts of him that he can't be himself. He's working towards integration, where everybody can just be Jon. Right now they're all working together inside and he's in charge and it works really well. Before they would take turns being in charge, and sometimes they fought about it. Usually, when something came up he didn't know how to deal with, someone else would come to the front and handle it. It's gotten better as he's learned how to cope with stress and he's worked through some of his issues. As he learns how to handle daily life, they can all work together and nobody needs to take control anymore.

[monarch5061]

Thanks everybody for the responses. I am working with my T. who I love immensely, on being safe and using grounding tools. I understand that this site is not a replacement for therapy. I was just feeling confused and hoping for some advice and support around that. I really do appreciate all of you responding with good advice and support.
This DID dx is just a lot to take in right now. I mostly am looking to chat with people who are going through the same things. I think this site will help me to know that I am not alone.