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 get so angry when my other personalities need to talk but there is no one else around but us. We are dealing with so much lately that nobody is clear of sorrow or capable of being present due to it. Therefore, I am on a food binge. What else can we do?
I hope your hurt eases soon cos it truly is such a huge pain, but it does get better in time
We also feel that "expressive therapy"--especially doing art-- is a very important outlet. We have people that color, that scrapbook, that write poetry, and one tells us that he wants to play music, but we haven't been able to offer that yet. And of course there is the tried and true journaling.
Also, many have a relationship with a Higher Power that is really important, because there is always Somebody there to talk to.
Do any of these appeal?
~Indigo
Ice cubes
This is the first coping skill I learned. If I am stuck in a memory of the past, I rub 1 or 2 ice cubes between my hands, to shock myself back into the present. Sometimes this works right away, sometimes it takes a few more ice cubes if it's a really bad memory. Also, sometimes I don't remember to get the ice cubes once I'm deep in a memory already, so my husband gets them for me if he's here, and helps me. I've noticed that this worked really great at first, then as the months have gone on, I think it's no longer "shocking" enough. But at least it worked to get me through those first few months! Sometimes if I hold the ice cubes for a bit, then put my cold hands on my cheeks, that really snaps me back into the present. Not to mention it feels good, which is truly an oasis in the middle of a painful flashback.
Rubber band
This is the second coping skill I learned. I wore a rubber band loosely around my wrist, and snap it to shock myself back into the present. This worked for a while! Sometimes I do it hard enough to leave a welt, but a welt is a heck of a lot better than a cut or a burn. The only time it doesn't work is, just like with the ice cubes, I'm already to deep in a flashback to realize the rubbber band is even on my wrist.
Just walking around
If I'm having a "double exposure" thing going, or if I'm just feeling really "floaty" and on the edge of dissociation of a flashback I walk around my house and touch familiar things and look at them, and say what they are out loud ("this is the stuffed animal he got me when ," stuff like that). If my husband is home and realizes I am stuck in a memory, then he takes me by the hand, walks me around the house, and asks me to look at things and tells me what date it is and asks me where I am, etc. Sometimes just seeing your pet, or a photograph, or a stuffed animal, will help guide you out of a flashback.
"54321" exercise
I learned this on Sanctuary one night, someone was using this to help someone else out of a crisis time. It worked so great, I wrote this down on index cards for each room of my house, and also one for my purse! My husband also uses this to help me. The 54321 exercise helps me when I am dissociating, to get back into the present. It helps me when I am self-injuring, to not only get back into the present, but to become aware of my surroundings and not be so "out of it" that I can't attend to my injuries. I have been honored to help other people online who are in crisis, with this exercise. So if this works for you, please pass it on! Help someone else in need. You can ask them, "would you like to play a game?" and then do 54321 with them, and you can "play" along. Sometimes, there'll be 4 or 5 of us in a chat channel, and we all play it together with someone.
Here's the 54321 "game." NOTE: If this doesn't work to bring someone up out of a dissociative state, that's okay. The key is also distraction. if you or someone you're helping, looks around the room enough, sometimes that is enough to bring someone back into the present. If not, well then at least it can keep someone distracted if they are feeling like self-injuring.
Name 5 things you can see in the room with you.
Name 4 things you can feel ("chair on my back" or "feet on floor")
Name 3 things you can hear right now ("fingers tapping on keyboard" or "tv")
Name 2 things you can smell right now (or, 2 things you like the smell of)
Name 1 good thing about yourself.
That last one is a doozy, eh? Sometimes it takes a while to come up with that one. Sometimes the only good thing I can think of, is that I am doing the "54321" exercise instead of harming myself. So, that's a good thing. If you're doing this with someone else, play along, you can make suggestions for the "1" part to help the person along.
Don't get discouraged if this doesn't bring you, or someone else, back into the present. It's just a coping skill, like any other. At least you tried. Also, the answers you give (or get) to the questions are important If someone is seeing things that aren't in the room with them, then you know they are dissociated or having a flashback to an earlier time. This is valuable to know!
httpp://selfhelp.yuku.com