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,...
I'm getting nervous about an upcoming family function. We are going to spend a week with my sis and her family. Mysis I live with, we used to visit them all the time when they lived closer but usually just a weekend. This will be longer, and in a new home, city, and area I'm not familiar with. Plus there has been a falling out between me and our mom. I'm very worried about the week. The other sister knows I'm DID but they never really see it or experience it.
I'm worried about trying to maintain the fake group me, the robot me that pretends. I don't want to be that, but I don't want to freak everyone out either. Grrrrr
My counselor insist that I plan a place to get centered; a place you feel safe. Like go outside, a room, the bathroom. Just get away; a place to let the others out without anyone knowing. The most important thing to remember is to take care of you when you feel overwhelmed. Breathe!
I used to have a community meeting (all my personalities) and ask them to help me get through these events without a noticeable switch and on good behavior.
I wish you the best!
by "think limp / keep breathing" I meant let your shoulders slump and your chest collapse - forget about good posture and just surrender to gravity. You can worry about 'correct' posture again when you're feeling less stressed. The keep breathing part is just normal shallow breathing - a slow relaxed breathing rather than a forced deep breathing.
With Stephen Porges' technique, I forgot to mention that for many of us, when we're stressed or anxious we tend not to fully exhale even when talking. He has us continue slowish conversational talking longer than usual before we draw a breath in, in effect having us breath out more than we might usually do.
finally, a link that talks about recent research that appears to have discovered a mechanism as ti how breathing can impact upon our mental / emotional states. I found it interesting
http://neurosciencenews.com/tranquility-slow-breathing-6317/
.... sadly it's based on research involving lab animals, something I am really not happy about. And when they talk about "arousal" they mean alertness and wakefulness etc, not sexual arousal. You all probably know this, but it's something that catches me by surprise every now and then
The trip was actually really great! I had fun with my family and was really supported by them when I shared my situation about my mom. My older sister didn't know some things and it was good to talk about it.
Also i DID get shifty one day, and switched in the car like 4 times, but it didn't hurt anything and no one seemed to be too phased or discombobulated by me.
Thanks Cassi and K2 for your very niceness
I bring up too much guilt for her, I think. She can't deal with the fact that she was a horrible mom and allowed horrible things to happen to her kids while she is seeing herself as a good and kind christian woman.
And that raises a good question in my mind I've been debating, so I'm going to make a new post on it.....