Dissociative Identity Disorder

[dib4uk]

Looking for some advice here please.

Been diagnosed with both DiD and Emotionally Unstable (borderlne personality disorder) and was wondering how many others experience bi pola and unconfirmed psychosis?

Also when and IF i seek employment how do i tell prespective employers of my dissociative disorder?

 

[flamehairedlunatic]

I suffer from Bipolar with borderline traits but I also have complex PTSD which leads me to dissociate from time to time.

My employers are aware of my bipolar - they have been quite good about it and occupational health have supported me - but I have never told them about the dissociation, even though I know I should.

I think the problem is that people don't understand dissociation unless they have been there.

I hope this helps, even though I don't feel like I've answered your question!

 

[spuntree]

Hi I have suffered from DID for years, I used to be treated with therapy for DID well it was MPD when I was diagnosed and anti psychotics for the psychosis, though my psychosis was apprently unconfirmed I think. But they drugged me to keep me quiet I suspect. Then I had a change of doctor who doesn't believe in DID as a vaild diagnoses and he diagnosed me as having unstable personality disorder and BPD. He described my psychosis and psudo!!! but for some unknown reason continued with anti psychotic medication. He did that I think because when I was psychotic there was nothing else he could give me that worked...go figure eh....anyway then the courts took my baby because I was way too unstable and ordered 2 in depth psychology and psychiatry assessment who between them managed to diagnose me with a total of 9 diagnoses, funnily enough DID not being one of them despite the fact I had previously been diagnosed and have genuine alters.

I was however diagnosed by one expert as having schizo affective disorder which kind of covers the psychosis and bi polar aspects. Though my treating pstchiatrist is firmly stuck on personality disorders dismissing other severe symptoms though I understand it is rare to treat such a disorder with depot injections.

I really hope you mental health is not as complex as that though if you have DID I suspect it might be. I find it facinating and am learning some pretty good control between alters by associating before dissociating if you get my drift. Well it is starting to work for me. I also really hope that you have got a good mental health team with a good approach to DID.

As for work I don't think they would understand....they put me on the eternal sick pay but I hope to have enough of a grip on it soon to think about employment though it seems a long way off at present.

 

[Northern]

I've had other labels (psychosis & personality disorder), but only DID fits my situation. The trouble is now finding a professional to follow it up

 

[dib4uk]

To get diganosed Did and not bpd is hard.. but its easier the other way around because if you fit all the catergories of bpd then its an automatic diagnoises of Did

 

[maxitab]

I dib....I am interested in your last post. I know lots and lots of people with BPD and I am the only one of them all who also has DID. Only a couple of them dissociate, so in my opinion and my understanding, the one (DID) does not automatically follow from the other (BPD).

 

[rain and roses]

I dont have either BPD or DID but as far as i understand it DID has high comorbidity with other disorders especially like PTSD. theres a 1994 paper called 'Rethinking the comparison of borderline personality disorder and multiple personality disorder.' i cant get the full article but the abstract is on PubMed and if you paste the article title into google search it will come up, but it basically explains differences between them and asserts that they are entirely seperate disorders despite sharing some features.

 

[Northern]

So many supposedly seperate diagnostic labels sharing so many features give me the impression that the whole thing is all rather arbitrary.

 

[mickeymoo]

It just doenst make sense that you can end up with so many diagnosis. How are we supposed to improve our lives when they cant even agree on whats wrong with us.

 

[Northern]

Quite right, mickey.

 

[dib4uk]

I dib....I am interested in your last post. I know lots and lots of people with BPD and I am the only one of them all who also has DID. Only a couple of them dissociate, so in my opinion and my understanding, the one (DID) does not automatically follow from the other (BPD).

Eye its confusing isnt it? I thought that disociation is a big part of bpd, well it is for me.. i dont know...

 

[amathus]

I have constant dissociation problems,mainly depersonalisation,
interestingly it seems to occur in clusters.

qf.

 

[maxitab]

I dissociate too....but that is not DID.......

DID is the new name for Multiple personality Disorder, and when I dissociate I am not always in my other personas.......
I depersonalise and de-realise too. A lovely can of worms.

The DID was diagnosed only recently because untill a few weeks ago no one in my care team had encountered me in any of my alters....and now they have.
However, I can go blank, be me but fail to recognise where I am ( dissociative fugue state), wander off in an alter state AND as I am now.......

 

[amathus]

Why do they call it DID??
It should be MPD!!!

I'm confused,but that happens very easily these days....

qf.

 

[dib4uk]

I dissociate too....but that is not DID.......

DID is the new name for Multiple personality Disorder, and when I dissociate I am not always in my other personas.......
I depersonalise and de-realise too. A lovely can of worms.

The DID was diagnosed only recently because untill a few weeks ago no one in my care team had encountered me in any of my alters....and now they have.
However, I can go blank, be me but fail to recognise where I am ( dissociative fugue state), wander off in an alter state AND as I am now.......

I think i do that as well, my care team dont really talk about my DiD to be honest and i feel so silly talking about it as well. :0


For me when i dissisociate i go blank, i go into a trance like and feel really numb like. I sometimes go into my alters but im not to sure when or how often that is... im aware of my other alters at all times. I just dont like to talk about them thats all.