[Michael W. Harris]

When a patient is given a dissociative diagnosis, the mental health professionals should automatically give these diagnoses:

Borderline Personality Disorder. Why? If your family was so dysfunctional that they traumatized a toddler or child, it is obvious that you will probably not develop appropriate life/social skills because of your parents lack of parenting skills. Also once a toddler or small child is traumatized, the mental health issues will always be chronic if there is no one in the family to help the child understand. I was mentally/emotionally ill my whole childhood but because my parents did not communicate in a sane way I never knew. If I had had one sane person in my family who understood that I was being traumatized and talked with me about it, I would not be so mentally ill now!

PTSD. This PTSD will not exhibit like adult PTSD but the mental illness has the same basis. Battered wife syndrome is basically PTSD, shock, and denial. The battered person is programmed to believe that they are the problem and that they cause the abuse. In my case the abuse came from my two year older brother. My mother started telling me when I was about two and one-half to three years old that it was normal for older brothers to pick on their younger brothers. So I was programmed to accept the abuse and blamed myself for it.

Also dissociative patients will always have these emotions: anxiety, depression, paranoia, fear, anger, loneliness... so maybe a bipolar diagnosis should also be given.

[Luce]

I don't know that it works to use absolutes. I have DID and PTSD but not BPD or bipolar disorder. So, I'd kinda be upset if someone wanted to give me extra diagnoses 'just because'!

[OliverB]

Weh, I have found that being IP+telling the IP psychiatrist about the abuse+telling about the dissociation=BPD... until the saw I don't SH, don't act suicidal, don't have unstable relationship, don't change my mind easily when it's about important things (college, religion, etc.), I over-regulate emotions (inhibition), I am kinda weird (I tend to isolate, talk weird and little, don't show emotioons...).

...so they end up writing something like PDNOS (schizoid vs BPD) or mixed personality disorder (schizotypal and BPD traits).

Anyway, my psychiatrist, who sees me outside and knows me better has told me I don't have a personality disorder but a psychotic one, he also told me I dissociate a lot and my past still affect my present.

Of course, abuse means a lot of things... not only dissociation, I guess it should be assumed or it actually is if one person has a traumatic past he or she would have anxiety, depressive and other emotional symptoms without necessary having an anxiety/mood disorder. I have told I had a depressive episode but I don't have mood disorder diagnosed anywhere.

Even PTSD doesn't describe "consequences of trauma", it's an specific way to react to trauma. Some people react only with depression, dissociation and somatization.

Diagnosis are a bit 'empty', they are made to describe few symptoms without caring about the cause. Disorders are "made" depending on what it's more convenient, I think symptoms should be described and if there is a cause, point it out, like, as an example, Traumatic Syndrome (Depression and somatization), or Depression and somatization (traumatic origin).

About what you said about not having any healhty family member, I was in the same situation and ran away when I became 18. Never talked with any of them again, but i develop to be inhibited, over regulate emotions, ... I have emotional issues more similar to those with obssesive compulsive personality disorder; I feel safe trying to control everything, and that includes emotions. My attachment it's more dissmisive than fearful, even if I feel lonely; I can't seem to attach to people enough instead of feeling attached/dettached and love/hate.

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When a patient is given a dissociative diagnosis, the mental health professionals should automatically give these diagnoses

I disagree.Not all dissociative disorders are due to childhood.

Many illnesses cause dissociation.

Not everyone reacts to childhood abuse the same anyway.

Not all people who dissociate experience the same symptoms.

Maybe you need to research dissociation and the different dissociative disorders a little more?

It feels insulting for you to apply all those other illnesses and symptoms to anyone who dissociates.

[elevatedsoul]

this is where crossover symptoms happen... just because one has symptoms doesn't mean they have schizophrenia... but it can be a mixture of comorbid illness...

[L.P.]

Nature nurture. I am the first to admit that living through childhood trauma will obviously do things to a person. But what it will do will vary from person to person. No two people will react to even the exact same thing in the exact same way. Further, no two people will have the exact same trauma experiences. There might be similarities, but the exact same thing? Nah. Even siblings in the same house will experience childhood the same way, for better or worse.

-Tay

[elevatedsoul]

my dad just said "you're supposed to grow out of that stuff"
because i was talking about my disability case...

my brothers/sister are ok, they went through similar things as i... yet i suffer from mental illness and they are able to have somewhat stable lives

[finding_my_way]

they diagnose things only based on symptoms, what they are familiar with, and what they see on the outside which doesn't necessarily reflect what is going on inside, especially if you lack the words to describe it.

in my case, i was diagnosed first with dysthymia at 13 and then around 16 possible borderline personality disorder (not official until i was 18) based on self harm, suicidality, mood issues, etc. i disclosed some trauma, but i'm not sure i ever mentioned the dissociation or the others (parts/alters) as my awareness of them seemed to come and go, and i was scared to mention i heard voices for fear of being medicated and/or locked up...though i ended up not getting the right level of care through my teen years anyway due to living in a rural area.

once i moved to a larger town and went into the adult system, i still carried the borderline diagnosis which was what some professionals only saw while others were aware of the dissociative aspect, so then i also got the diagnosis of a dissociative disorder around 21, but nothing specific until maybe last year because i shared more. now, i don't fit the borderline diagnosis, though i might have a part that does.

also within all of that, i have fluctuating issues with social anxiety, PTSD symptoms (nightmares, hypervigilance, paranoia of being hurt by random people), OCD (counting things, cleaning, thought stuff), and other things that have not been separated out as diagnoses, maybe because they aren't ongoing, 24/7, etc. except for sometimes lasting for a few days or a week or so and can become really distressing.

i'm not sure if having more labels would do me any good though. it's better to focus on the current symptoms that are causing issues and dealing with them accordingly, though i do know that having the appropriate diagnosis can also help (like in my case with the dissociative disorder).

[kecanoe]

I have DID and do not have BPD or PTSD. Nor bipolar. I don't identify with BPD because I am in a stable marriage (30 years), don't self harm, don't have the extremes of emotion. I don't have flashbacks, nor am I easily startled, nor do I avoid certain places nor have angry outbursts like people with PTSD. Did is quite enough to deal with!