thank you for sharing this article :)

Yup. I agree. I had one therapist in particular, that I felt he had DID too...(although I knew better than to tell him that!) and he did say just that; it was not possible that I had it, or he would have "seen" it.
Thank you!!!

thank u for sharing, it's very informative...

This is really awesome! thanks for sharing.
I have even encountered a woman whose other personalities inside her, were mocking my statement of having DID. But because I know how influencing feels, I could clearly see it happening inside them. Imagine the mental mess of alters battling in her office lol.
They hurt our trust in mental helpers really bad and only made my chance for getting help even smaller, because it seems I barely talk at all anymore now.

You are all very welcome.It is something I being Wheezie's husband and not having DID have believed since we first discovered my wife has DID.I look around and see so many other people with the same symptoms. Some being close family members and the moment I confront them with this they push away.It's a sad situation having your family do that to you all the while you know their alters are wanting to talk but afraid of rejection so they deny at the same time.Innerdialogue don't give up hope! You have us here at least to give comfort and relate to.This message board has been a learning tool as well as a source of therapy for my wife. I hope it does the same for you.

interesting article. most of it was on target but there was junk science in it as well. i'd like to know more about martin dak, i see he also wrote about synesthesia implying it is a mental disorder rather than a neurological one. so while i can't take it all at face value but it did have many valid points.

denial is always a strong possibility when you're dealing with any kind of mental/emotional issue, even a physical illness sometimes. the problem w/did/mpd, whatever you want to call it is two fold. first as the article points out people want ridiculous stories based on crazy things they've read a la sybil. and second there is a huge amount of overlap in symptomology with other illnesses. people with borderline personality disorder, depersonalization disorder, and a few other diagnoses will often exhibit similar symptoms. so it's not easy to make a dx, especially if the professional hasn't seen the pt change - and the change can be very subtle, another problem because again people, even those who should know better are looking for eve white/black. arrruuugh.

You are correct The People.The changes in most people including my wife when she switches are subtle.That is in some of her more prominent alters.Marginal changes in voice inflection,mannerisms and handwritings. I think the alters within learn to be that way in order to go undiscovered and imitate normalcy.I also believe that people with DID that are unaware of their DID are unable to see those changes until they discover there own DID.I know this because my wife can also see people switching now that she has discovered she has DID and has healed alot of her alters considerably.It took the emotional growth of herself and those alters for her to do so.As I said I don't have DID and it is easy for me to read the switches in people but I have also seen proof of people that I have a strong feeling have it not be able to tell when my wife is switching.I have to point it out to them. So I know that what it said in this article to be true about that.

So if our switches are subtle, are we really switching? How do we know? I know I doubted the reality of DID in myself until I started recalling things people have said about me for so many years, and events that proved to me the changes must be DID, but I still know so little.

Stephanie I said the switches of SOME of my wifes alters are subtle but some are not.The not so subtle alters act totally childlike and some act completely masculine.Although I didn't see them until my wife discovered she has DID and they felt safe enough to come out to me and act in their normal way.I myself do not have DID so those subtle switches are obvious to me.I am also a singer and musician so I pay total attention to the changes in inflection in peoples voices when they speak and switch. I've fine tuned that through 25 years of learning and singing other peoples music.In my wifes host personality who's name is "Wheezie" her voice is much deeper and more masculine than in her core personality whos is "Elizabeth" and my wifes given name.Another personality named Sarah along with Elizabeth are much more feminine than Wheezie herself.Wheezie became much more masculine because of the abuse she suffered in her youth. She put on this persona of a tom boy in order to deter the abusers around her from hurting her.Unfortunately it never worked and they still did.These are my wifes three most prominent alters.There is a boy named CJ who was created when my wifes mother and father split up.She was heart broken because her father didn't want any of his daughters living with him. So she created a boy alter to compensate for this.This alter "CJ" totally loves doing mechanic work on cars and remodeling our house. Anything that "normal" people would consider a masculine job he loves and everytime me and my wife do anything in that nature I know he is right there helping me and I'll ask "are you there CJ?" and he always responds "Yep!".He absolutely loves getting his hands dirty which is the complete opposite of Elizabeth and Sarah.These alters are normally co-conscious with Elizabeth and eachother as they go throughtout the day but when it comes down to talking about their traumatic memories they have kept most of that from her.Taking away her awareness when they come out to speak to me about their pain and memories.I guess when the time is right and they feel she is strong enough to deal with them they will share them with her but for now they wont.In this article it also explains that most people with DID's host personality are usually unaware of their other alters until they grow emotionally. They are unable to see these subtle switches due to the damage they suffered from the abuse that happened to them.Until there is healing from this abuse it will always be this way.I know this for a fact because I have seen proof of it in my wife.Her host personality "Wheezie" wasn't able to see the switches until she healed and grew emotionally. Now she sees people switches easily.

I read a few of the articles and found them a real mixture of good research and flat out absurdly ignorant statements. Guess that's true of many things, but it has caused me to be leery of the author. His strict unwillingness to discuss his ideas also gives me pause. Due to this, I would only recommend these articles to people who are very educated about and familiar with DID and probably not to anyone wrestling through their own therapy.

good question stephanie and the answer is outsiders probably wouldn't know unless they know the person very well. as wheezie says it is a change in voice, a mannerism small but telling things. i've heard it described by people who've experienced it as a 'tilt-a-world' feeling, or being unable to control what comes out of their mouth and not recalling what happened during slices of time, which may occur in small increments, say five to ten minutes. it does not have to be dramatic.

in my life it's been bizarre. i was in um, maybe 9th grade, i don't recall but i was about say 14? i'm really unsure. a man called and id'd himself w/my friend's name. i didn't recognize his voice but he knew me. after a minute i realized he wasn't my friend but had the same name. he claimed i gave him my phone # and had many details only someone who knew me could know. i thought it was some sort of practical joke, until he showed up for our 'date!' i was horrified. he was a MAN. not a boy. i told my mother i had never seen or spoken to him before. it was a complete mystery, but he didn't seem to be lying. he didn't get upset but said he was sorry i'd changed my mind. wow.

there were not many incidents like that in my life but there are a few just as unsettling. i would do things that were totally inexplicable, i quit my job in the morning once, had another by lunchtime. imagine how surprised my husband was when i casually mentioned it at dinner that night. i had no reason. my laundry fairy is legendary. i suddenly had clean laundry but had no recollection of having done it. i would find myself saying things completely out of character - i like green? me? i HATE green. and i do not recall very important events in my life. i have no memory of my wedding. i was there, i have the papers and pictures to prove it but i do not have a single memory of it. someone said 'i do,' however.

does this make for a diagnosis of did? no. not exactly. what it does however is make a professional write, 'rule out did,' and give me the diagnosis of 'dissociative disorder nos.' or depending on the professional it might be borderline personality disorder, or traits. the reason they say borderline is because my behavior was so erratic and i was frequently suicidal, and it is a garbage diagnosis, meaning they tend to use it when they can't think of anything else. my first therapist refused to use it and diagnosed me with major depression instead. he knew that was not accurate but he did not want to give me the stigma of being classified as borderline.

i hope that helps. if nothing else try to remember dissociation occurs on a spectrum. it is not black and white.

I can totally relate The People to the wedding comment you made.I have gone through the same thing with my husband.I gave my husband the hardest time for 13 years wanting him to marry me and finally when he said yes I wasn't even there to enjoy the ceremony or even in the planning of the events.I also wasn't there for the really painful parts of the births of both of my children.Two separate alters were created to endure that pain.Thankfully they have shared their memories with me and I honor and love them for the sacrifice they made for me.