DID Awareness Day 2024

 

Here we are again, taking a very specific day to remember there is a complicated kind of life — a life that 1.5 – 3% of the world population, totalling over 100 million people experience — living daily with the challenges of Dissociative Identity Disorder, aka DID.  Or DID/MPD.  Some people have changed the term to Dissociative Identities… or Dissociative Abilities … (removing the disorder bit, especially when it’s seen as a gift, and a coping skill, and an amazing superpower in the midst of a life history filled with far too many instances of severe trauma).  Or, it’s been called having multiple personalities, being split, having many inner selves, being multifaceted, experiencing headmates, having lots of parts, etc.  It’s about living a life with more than one self, more than one identity, more than one personality. 

It’s living a life where time is also multi-faceted.  Time stands still, comes in layers, and sometimes seems to disappear completely.  Time feels like years ahead, or decades behind.  Time flops around all over the place.

It’s living a life where an inside world and the outside world exist at the same time, but from different time zones, and from different life perspectives.   How can one be both an adult in 2024, a child from the 70’s, and a 15-year old teenager at the same time?   How can one know how to drive a car and yet completely forget where they’re going, getting lost more often that not?   What about having incredible IQ and then not knowing how to read a simple little book?  Why does a person insist on cleanliness and yet adore playing in mud and dirt the next day?  It gets confusing, to say the least.

It’s living a life where there is both an inside world and an outside (IRL) world.  Do you see the internal worlds in the picture above?    Someone with clearly diagnosed and visible Dissociative Identity Disorder created this image specifically to try showing internal worlds with internal selves.  To show the people inside.  To show what it feels like to have layers of people within.   To show what it feels like to have multiple selves.  To show how busy the head can feel.  To show how different people can be.

For those of us who are singletons — just our one self — the idea of having this many internal people in the head, especially if all those insiders are talking and making noise or moving around doing things, seems hard to fathom.  Hard to imagine.  Hard to grasp.   UNTIL.  Yep.  UNTIL.  Until you actually meet someone with DID and meet their insiders.

Once you’ve truly walked alongside someone with DID and have gotten to know their headmates and their insiders, it becomes sooo much easier to understand how each and everyone of those inside people can look and feel so different.  Out here in the outside world, we can see the changing, the switching, the becoming someone else.  We can see the flip flops, the back and forths, the external inconsistencies, the differences, the complete opposite behaviors happening.  We can see the different facial expressions, hear the different voicings and vocal patterns, see the change in body gestures and ways of walking, notice the different rememberings, etc.  Sometimes the differences between the insiders can be subtle, slight, hard to notice, of course, but sometimes, the external differences are massive.

How can ONE person be actually and consistently so very very very different?

It’s hard to grasp and to understand until you can actually grasp and understand the concept of DID itself.

The image pictured above is a fairly calm image of most internal worlds I’ve heard about, but the point is still obvious.  In this picture, we get a glimpse of what it looks like when someone is split into various selves, when parts inside feel like unique and separate people, and what it’s like to have a variety of lives happening at the same time.  The inside people are walking around, moving, doing their own thing.  Maybe they are talking to others on the inside, and maybe they are sitting by themselves.  There are layers of these inside parts, some more visible than others, some more hidden and barely recognizable.  Some are easily seen in the bright light of day while others are tucked away in the darkness and shadows.  The insiders appear to be of all different ages, both male and female, clearly different and unique from each other.

Does the idea / concept of Dissociative Identity Disorder make more sense when you think of someone having that many people inside their head when you can see the people in their head?  I’m a visual person so when I saw this image, it had an impact on me, for sure.   

OH!  Yes, DID would be so much easier to recognize if we could actually SEE all the people like that.

But whether we see them of not, all those insiders are there, many are active and participating in the outside life in a regular, meaningful way, whether anyone else in the world recognizes that or not.

And to think, that millions and millions of people in our world population experience life this way — sadly due to severe trauma — but wow.  How busy is their head, hey?  My goodness!  What an amazing and creative way to handle an extremely overwhelming and difficult life history!  DID isn’t the rare condition that people once said it was.  It should be rare, but because there is soooo much trauma occurring out there in the world, it’s not nearly as rare as it could.   The problem is there is too much child abuse in the world.  The problem isn’t that someone learned how to manage their childhood trauma by splitting into dissociative selves.  The real issue is there is too much trauma. 

I’ll say that again, just to be clear. 

The real issue, and the real problem is that far too many people out there in the world are cruel to children, abusive to others, and living as if it is okay to be so deeply harmful to others.  It’s not okay to hurt children.  It’s not okay to neglect, assault, torture, or harm kids.  Or teenagers.  Or adults for that matter.  The amount of sadistic violence that occurs in this world is the problem.  If someone has been hurt soooo much that they have to dissociate the pain and the conflict this creates in them, they have experienced far far far too much cruelty.  THAT is the problem.   Hats off to them who have found the way to survive the unthinkable, but wow… it still blows me away that there is so. much. abuse. out there in the world. 

 

 

What are you doing to help the world understand what DID is?

What are you doing to teach about dissociation?

What are you doing to remove the myths, misconceptions, and the stigma about DID?

There is much to learn about DID and dissociative disorders.  
And soooo much to teach.   

The community of dissociative survivors at Discussing Dissociation and the DD forums are forever teaching me.  By sharing their own experiences with each other, there is a deep connection and unity while working on healing together.  There is greater acceptance, a knowing, and no judgment.  Everyone knows just how difficult and complex it can be.  There is a natural camaraderie between dissociative people who deeply and naturally understand what it’s like to live with DID.  As I listen, I learn every year.  There really is so much to know!

What are YOU doing to bring more awareness and advocacy about DID?

 

There are lots of plans for teaching about DID right here at Discussing Dissociation.

 

Teaching and education about DID is the whole point of Discussing Dissociation.  Everything written on this DD blog, every individual / family consultation, every group zoom, every forum post, every email written, every individual intensive, every P4 DID Conference, every P4 DID Retreat.  The main  intention here is to accurately and correctly teach people about trauma, dissociation, DID, switching, what DID looks like, what having DID is (and isn’t!), etc.   Having been working closely with dissociative survivors since the 80’s, I’ve learned a lot.  And, yep, that’s the point here — to teach, educate, and provide accurate, correct information for you.

Discussing Dissociation is a very busy community full of people, events, activities, and options.

Wanna know what we’re doing?

 

Small Group Intensives

 

This year, we’re starting a new idea — the Small Group Intensive (SGI). 

Let me explain the concept.

Individual intensives are always an option to consider, of course, and anyone who is able to have intensive time for themselves and their personal system of issues is welcome to consider this option.  [ For more information about Individual Intensives, click here. ]  However, between travel costs, hotel costs and the Intensive itself, these individual weeks can get expensive and the costs can prevent some folks from having an extra chunk of time to deeply address their personal issues in such a meaningful way.  These Intensives are fantastic when possible, but not always possible.   And then, on the flip side, our big P4 DID  Retreats are awesome, also amazing and fantastic experiences, but the timing and location isn’t always accessible for everyone.  And if you miss a year, it feels like a long looooong time before the next Retreat happens.  The retreats are a bigger group event, and we mix and match the retreats with fun activities, of course. 

What about creating something in between those options?

That’s where the Small Group Intensive fits.

This year, we’ve designated 2 separate weeks this spring to bring a small group of dissociative folks together to share an Intensive experience as a small group of approximately 5 – 8 attendees.  This helps share the costs of an Intensive, of course, and brings in the community, camaraderie and those invaluable group discussions from the retreat experience.   We’re gonna talk about some important healing topics, and the group experience will naturally occur to support the attendees and allow for some of those in-depth conversations.  It’s gonna be the best of both worlds!   

Our SGI Lake House experiences will be something unique and one we’ll be talking about for a while.  Not only will it be awesome to spend some time at the lake, it will be an absolutely lovely location to do some deeper healing work.    SGI-2024 here we come!

 

 

The P4 DID Retreat

 

Oh yes, the retreats have been absolutely amazing and plans for the 2024 P4 Retreat are already well underway.  This year, 2024, we are headed to TEXAS in October.   October 14-24, 2024 to be exact.   

If your a dissociative system, and are interested in learning more about the P4 DID Retreat in Texas, by all means, please contact us for more information.  The P4DIDConference site will soon have more details and updates, but you can start planning and preparing now!    Read the info about our NC ’23 DID Retreat.   What we’re doing in Texas for P4 ’24 will be similar.  Just better.  Every year gets better and better!

As we’ve learned from past experiences, these retreats are highly rewarding, but the very best and most fulfilling experiences occur if you already know and are familiar with the other retreat attendees.   My recommendation is to join the DDCF forum now.  Get to know the other people, make a few friends, build some connections, and start working on creating trust, rapport, communication.  You’ll feel safer at this amazing retreat if you know who you’re going to be with.

This year, in TEXAS, in addition to daily group discussions, tons of good food, space to play, two pianos at my fingertips, recreational options, a pool table, plenty of room for sleeping quarters, accessible facilities for those who need them, and a lower price point option, we will also have an entire building dedicated to art projects.  You’ll have lots of space to create things while you’re sitting out in a beautiful private location.  We will also be considering activities such as hiking trails, taking canoes out on a private lake, zip lining, music nights, maybe a trail ride on horses, etc.  We’ve got room to grow in our private location, we’ll be far away from the noises of the city, and there will be no traffic sounds.  It’s a lovely quiet acreage with lots of space.   You’ll be able to enjoy the Texas wildlife, and I’ve been told, we might see an albino squirrel!  That will be awesome.  JoeJoe will be thrilled to see that.

Anyway, y’all get ready to come to Texas!   P4 ’24:  October 14-24, 2024.  

 

The Discussing Dissociation Forums

I’ve mentioned these above, and they continue to be the very best place to share and exchange information about learning to live a happy and productive life while you are working on your dissociative issues.  The amount of high quality DID education and support that happens in these forums on a daily basis is unlike no other resource I know.

The Discussing Dissociation Community Forum (DDCF) is friendly, helpful, supportive, knowledgeable.  We have a mix of newbies to their DID diagnosis, folks who’ve had a few years in their healing journey, and those oldie-goldies who know a whole lot about their system, and yet still find the friendship with other dissociative systems to be deeply rewarding.

The DDCF forum is available 24/7/365.  Your options of conversations are never-ending and the amount of topics we talk about there is staggering.  Want some friendly relationships in a protected space?  The DD Forums are a low-cost option for you to consider. 

OH!  And if you are a DD Forum member, we have been having monthly Zoom Groups.  These are awesome conversations, talking about current day struggles and getting into conversations about healing issues.  These Zoom Groups have become a favorite part of the forum community, and everyone looks forward to our talks.  Need to have a safe and genuine conversation IRL with other dissociative survivors?  Join our forum community and then you’ll be able to participate in our heart-to-heart talks.  They are really the best.   

Wanna join us?  For more information, check out the DDCF Info Page. 

 

Spreading the CORRECT News about DID

And of course, everyone who comes in contact with Discussing Dissociation, or the DDCF forums, or sees these announcements on social media, etc, knows we’re all working to spread the CORRECT information about DID.  A lot of us are tired of dissociation being misrepresented to the public (in all the weird and yucky ways it gets described), so one common goal I have with all the folks I speak with, is to encourage each person to somehow teach and advocate for DID appropriately in their local area.  Teach the correct news about DID.  Let’s address those myths and clear up the false assumptions.

This means, with the encouragement of those here, we have people who are speaking at public events, people who have written articles for newspapers, people speaking at conferences and gatherings, writers who contribute to blog articles, more positive information being spread on social media.  Advocacy opportunities can happen the most frequently via one-on-one conversations, with a new health professional, or with a neighbor, or a random stranger in town who asks you a question about your DID-themed t-shirt.  The more the general world population accurately understands DID, the better the awareness, and the less misconceptions will be out there. 

Is it my job to create DID Awareness?  OH for sure! 

I am teaching someone, somewhere in the world something about DID / dissociation almost every day of the year.  Talking directly to one person or another.  And, I suppose if you count it when people read the 450+ Discussing Dissociation blog articles, I get the privilege of teaching someone something every day of the year.  That’s awesome.  The more accurate information we spread, the better!

And hopefully, you’ll take on that challenge as your goal too.

Not sure what to tell someone?  Not sure what to say or how to say it?  Just give them the links to one of your favorite articles here at Discussing Dissociation.   Share the website all around FaceBook, IG, Pinterest, X, etc.  Let’s all help more people see the positive aspects of dissociation, and teach that yes, people CAN lead productive lives while DID, and show that YES, people can heal from their wounds, and let’s all encourage everyone, even if they are dissociative, to lead the best lives possible.

Having DID is not the end of your world.  It is the opening of a whole lot of worlds, including all those internal worlds, yes.  It is recognizing that you share your life with other insiders’ lives, and yes, your ability to dissociate and split into dissociative parts has helped you manage more situations in life than you can even begin to imagine.  Thankfully, your ability to dissociate has kept you sane, has allowed you to be creative, and has helped you survive more than you would ever assume possible.  Is living a life with DID difficult?  Of course.  No doubt about it.  However… there’s more to it than just the complications. You’ve got people on your side, inside and out! And now,  your dissociation let’s you experience the world in all kinds of ways. 

It’s an interesting life, that dissociative life. 

Find the joy in being DID.  It’s there.   

In the meantime, I wish you the very best in your healing journey.   

Take gentle care, and hey!  Y’all come see me in Texas this year! 

 

 

Warmly, 

Kathy

 

 

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