Multiple Personalities Support Group

Dissociative identity disorder is a diagnosis described as the existence in an individual of two or more distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment. At least two of these personalities are considered to routinely take control of the individual's behavior, and there is also some associated memory loss,...

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Alters aware of each other?

Apple2466
Apple2466
I need some help!! I have been a member here I guess for almost a year. I am a little nervous, which you can't see, so please bear with me. I have said this before, that I am not a multiple but I met a lady who is and we have become very best friends. She has about 20 alters that I have met. I have become friends with all of them.
I had a forensic psychologists tell me that in multiplies there is usually only 2 or 3 and they are not aware of each other. He also said that if an alter knew me that the other alters wouldn't. This is contradictory to everything that I understand each of you saying. It also goes against what my friend tells me. So please give me your thoughts on this. He also said that DID is so rare that he doubts that my friend really is.
Also... is it possible that an alter would pose as her abuser to me over the internet? We IM a lot because I am in a different state. I think that it is her way of being able to talk to me about her abuse without giving away the secrets, because it isn't her doing it, it is the abuser. She doesn't know that I know that it isn't the abuser that is talking to me. While talking to the person, I have been given the name of the last T that they went to see, the names of two additional alters and that the are 100's of alters, not just the 20 that I have met. Some of the abuse that she suffered, that I didn't know about earlier, was revealed to me through IMing with this abuser. I would appreciate any thoughts on that also.
Thank you so much for your time and patience with me.

APPLE
tyzz27
tyzz27
As to one of them acting as the abuser, in my case it is true. He read stories and placed himself in the role of the abuser in the hope that if he was the one with the power well then it meant he wasnt the victim. Yes DID is rare but its not as rare as one may think. I have read that there is at least 1% of the world population who have it, doesnt sound much but still adds up to hundreds of thousands people with it. A lot of my internals have shared very intimate details of our abuse with very close friends. To have a dialogue with over 20 personalities is rpetty good anbd must mean they trust you. Yes more than likely it is only the 20 out of the possible 100's who do know you. But then depending on who you are actually communicating with may depend on whether others you have not met know you. Anyway it sounds like you are a really supportive friend so I encourage you to keep doing that, even with 32 other personalities communciating within my head I can still feel lonely.
starfish
starfish
Apple, please read my comment in the "Family and Friends of DID" topic. What this forensic psychologist is telling you is, what the "old school" information is. I am glad you asked this, because it is exactly what I was saying....and unfortunately, this outdated information is serving to do just what it is doing to you and to others of us who suffer from this...making us more confused and lost, and for us who suffer, driving us deeper into hiding and mistrust.

If you were able, and the forensic psychologist was honest enough to tell you, you would probably find out that the information they gave you is relatively old. A lot of new information has been discovered, that counters what you have been told. NOt all alters are amnesic of one another. ONe of my therapists even observed my face in two different presentations at once: half one, half the other. I did not quite understand what she meant and wondered if she was a little 'off' herself, until I saw it myself in a photo, a few years later.
It is reasonable to guess that an alter could pose as an abuser, as anyone else could do in singular life.
But remember, it is also true, that can be happening right in front of you. More than one alter can be present at once, lingering in the background of the mind. But only one can have physical control at a time. That is, as far as I know.
Apple2466
Apple2466
Thank you for you responses!! Starfish I agree with you. I think that there is a lot of "old school" knowledge out there. I know what i know about my friends and I know what I have seen. I do believe that there are some insiders that I don't know. I would love to hear the thoughts of some of the insiders on here. The more information I have the better I can understand. It is also my understanding that only one can be in control of the body but more are aware of what is happening. One of the best ways that we have found to communicate, and not cause severe headaches from switching, is to use a word processor and have one of the insiders typing what everyone wants to say. Then everyone gets a chance to "speak". I do know that they trust me, well most of them anyway, the one that is posing as one of the abusers is the one I am most worried about. Anyway thanks again for the input and I would love to hear more!!!
deleted_user
deleted_user
i think when you have a really good friend who is DID there is no reason to doubt anything they tell you -- it's true to them, on some level, sometimes. experts may have access to more sample cases but someone with DID has direct experience. and i agree some of that information you received from mental health professions sounds really dated. doubt they specialize in DID.

check out the dissociative identity disorder handbook by deborah haddock. i'm reading it now and it's fantastic.
Apple2466
Apple2466
Tana thank you for your input. I am sure that the person that gave me the information isn't an expert in DID. I also believe in the power of what they believe, real or not, is real to them. I do believe and trust what they tell me. The one pretending to be the abuser hasn't told me that she is doing this I found it out on my own. I am also constantly told that the alters lie. I hate to see them in pain and to see them hurt so much.

APPLE
deleted_user
deleted_user
apple, this is in response to a post from you in june..I read the old ones two... anyway i think I read that someone had been told that two people can not control the body at the same time for us that is not correct.. I have been going down stairs and trying to walk when my tready wants to jump she did and we fell.. also I was sucidal once and driving the car down a very steap grade and I wanted to drive off it and some one had their foot on the brake and someone esle had their left hand on the stearing wheel while I had control of the right one..sounds werid I know but it can happen.. at least it did for us and since I am still alive I guess you could say they saved our lives....I dont know that others do this or not but I have come to the conclusion that with DID'ers anything is posible...sweets