Understanding integration

I found this very informative online article from a DID survivor/therapist on the "I" word.

Understanding Integration | Sidran.org

She sure makes it sound appealing.

It's interesting to read of others reasons for not integrating, much the same that I've spoken, and she said she was very fragged like I is.

11 years it took her to integrate. Thats a long time.

this is exactly what happened to me, as each alters job purpose reason for being was no longer needed they merged/became one with me and we became one whole person again. like I explained in my past posts my location does not believe integration is this big bang at the end, its the whole process of therapy, that for me my alters were those dissociated memories, thoughts and emotions that I was unable to handle. as I healed and became more stable and able to handle those things everything that the alters were became me. in my location and culture integration isnt something to be feared, its just the natural thing that happens even to the non dissociated, everyday whether mental disordered or not the concept of integration is being used. its just that because of how movies and tv shows portray the process it became something to fear. most no longer used the term integration for things like cooking a loaf of bread (the mixing of many ingredients to make one whole item) like they did in the 1800's, now when people hear the term integration they think about three faces of eve where the movie falsified integration to be alters dying, and sybil while under the effects of hypnosis imagined holding hands with her mental thoughts, memories and emotions called alters... now treatment providers and those in therapy are being taught to go back to the basics ...that integration is not something to be feared, its just the whole process of entering therapy, becoming more stable and through the healing process everything that was the alters becomes one with them.

I guess integration is about accepting, accepting all the parts of you.

I know that with my husband's process, it started by everyone coming to understand they were all part of the same team, and that he was part of the team, and they needed to work together. As they worked together better, they didn't need to be separate anymore. He says they are in there still, but that they aren't disconnected from each other so that they don't have to take turns anymore. There's one who still comes out to see me sometimes, and he says kinda the same thing - nobody is gone, but they all work at the same time together. I don't understand it all, but I know that there's a lot more peace inside him, and a lot less conflict.

11 years from the all the reading I've done 7 years average....Is that after diagnoses or after you get a skilled therapist? It can take many years, yet and still I don't think integration is for my system. If it was I wouldn't have had to seek disability for something with a great prognosis. Just my two cents.

That sounds great! It sounds a lot like co-operation, the other option under integration.

But....I truly don't know integration because I'm not, we have some amount of co-op going on in here though.