Dissociative Identity Disorder Awareness Day.
It’s DID Day!

Yep, March 5th, each year, we recognize, remember, and celebrate those with Dissociative Identity Disorder.  It’s DID Awareness Day.  

Much of the time, the focus is on public advocacy and increased education about DID.   We all know that DID is still poorly understood, and all too often, misrepresented in the most bizarre of ways out there in the world.  I’m sure there will be plenty of other articles and sources of information related to the general world education about the reality of DID.  We do need to advocate and teach the truth about DID, that is for sure.  Three cheers for those of you who are daring to do that — I applaud your efforts.

So today, here at Discussing Dissociation, I want to take a different approach.  I want to talk with you — the dissociative population.  My thoughts and questions are related to you and when it comes to your dissociation, what you may or may not be aware of.   But first…. 

You are AWESOME, Amazing, and Exceptional!

First, I want to re-stress the concept that you are awesome.  Yes, you’ve developed a set of unique skills, complicated abilities, and unusual talents that all come with their own inherit problems, but also those very skills and abilities helped you manage and survive all those horrible traumas.  Not for one second do I think that the trauma and abuse was okay — it clearly was NOT!  Not for one second do I think it was okay you were hurt — that was NOT okay.  Not at all.

But since those abusers and perpetrators didn’t adhere to human decency, and since you were hurt…  I think it’s important now, however many years later, to find the hidden gold in what you survived.  Reframe the pain.  Look for the silver lining.  And yes, I do see, recognize and applaud you for finding the most amazing ways to manage such horrific situations.  I’ve heard the terms:

Dissociative Identity Gifts 
Dissociative Identity Miracles 
Dissociative Abilities
or simply, Dissociative Identities

I understand all that.  I really do see your ability to be dissociative as an incredible gift, especially in times of intense trouble.  You needed a way of escape, and even if your body couldn’t leave, your mind could go far far away, and that in itself has created some fascinating strengths for you. Thank heavens you found a way to dissociate and separate yourself from the pain.  The trauma and abuse have created many difficulties for you — but the dissociation — that has been something that helped you survive the unfathomable.

I recently posted the Dissociative Superpowers article, and I really do see you as having some super-human strengths and abilities.

Have you read these articles?

• My 100 Strengths, as Said by a Group of Dissociative Trauma Survivors
• My 100 Strengths, by a Group of Dissociative Trauma Survivors, Part Two
• My 100 Strengths, as Said by a Group of Dissociative Trauma Survivors, Part 3

Don’t ever ever believe that you aren’t wonderful.  Because you are.  Yes, yes, you are.

Now that you’re dissociative, how AWARE are you?

Let’s talk for a minute about your awareness, because of course, being dissociative means that your awareness often dissociated away….   

You learned to not look.  Not be there.  Not exist.  Not be real.

That was the whole point of dissociating, right?  To not see, to not know, to not feel, to not remember.  To NOT be aware. To not be the person who went through that, so that you could stay unaware or at least much further away from the difficult moments.   Splitting apart, stepping away, leaving the body, floating to the ceiling, going numb — all these helped you to survive by NOT being aware of what was happening. 

Healing means turning that NOT having awareness into YES, having awareness.

So today, on Dissociative AWARENESS Day, I want to challenge you to look at a few things.  Healing is about re-connecting to the various bits of reality that you dissociated from.  It’s reversing the “dissociating away” process and changing into a “connecting with” process.  It’s the bringing back together what was once blown apart.   

As you are going through your healing process, think about the ways you can increase your own awareness.

Dissociative AWARENESS includes system awareness.

• Are you aware of the whole of your system?  Do you really know everyone inside?  Are you aware of all your people yet?  Even if not, it’s not too late.  You can keep finding your insiders, and building meaningful, helpful connections with them. 

• Are you aware of what your insiders need for healing?  Do you know what they find comforting, helpful, inspiring?

• Are you aware of what your people have lived through?  Do you know what traumas they had to face?  Do you know their stories, their pain, their heartbreak? 

• Are you aware of what your insiders are afraid of?  What have they had the bravery to conquer? 

• Are you aware of your insiders’ strengths and extra abilities?  They will have them.  How are they amazing? 

• Are you aware of the insiders who are hidden in the deeper, darker areas of your internal worlds?  Just like the picture at the top of this article, some of the puzzle pieces are less visible than others.  Have you taken the time to meet and connect with those who are a little less obvious to you? 

Your system can become your best friends.  They can be the most loyal, and the most trustworthy people in your life.  It’s really okay to get to know them.  Communicate and connect with them.  As hard as it might feel at times, building solid, genuine bridges with your insiders will take you a very long ways.

Dissociative AWARENESS includes personal awareness.

• Are you aware of what your body needs, feels, experiences?  Or are you still so very separated from your body that meeting basic physical needs is a challenge?   

• Are you aware of your feelings and emotions?  It’s pretty typical to split off and dissociate away your feelings.  Feelings are difficult, and often painful, and certainly complicated. 

• Are you aware of safety issues, such as, who the safe people are in your life, vs the dangerous people?  Are you aware of hidden motivations or secret relationships?  Are you aware of your own tendencies or blindspots?

• Are you aware of your behaviors in relationships?  Do you see how you treat people?  Are you repeating old family dynamics, unhealthy attachments, trauma bonds, or manipulative projections?

There is sooo much to learn as you become more and more aware of the info you used to dissociate away.  It’s okay to know.  The truth will do, and hopefully, you’ve already survived the worst of it.  That means the best is yet to come! 

Find your courage.  Stretch, grow, and find ways to be kind.  Kindness is sooo important.  Separate yourself even more from that painful history by becoming a better, healthier person. 

Gain more strength and self confidence as you gain the ability to see and remember.   Once your life is safer, you won’t need to rely on those dissociative skills as much.  It will be okay to be aware, present, and connected.

How are you going to celebrate your day?

Today, as you enjoy your DID Awareness Day, take some pride in yourself and your system. Y’all can be good people, and seriously, have some confidence in what you’ve overcome in your life.  Appreciate your system for how they’ve helped you survive, and remember, you’ve got what it takes to be great.

Today, I hope you do something fun with your people.  Celebrate with them. Take your kids out to see some ducks swimming on a pond, or go for a lovely walk on a scenic route, or pop out for a favorite treat.  Remember your teens and let them dance to their favorite music.  How about a pizza?  Anything fun, and whatever helps your insiders to feel a little bit happy and a whole lotta accepted and cared about.   

If you can, do something out there to give a positive Shout Out for the goodness in the dissociative community.  Find something supportive and kind to say, teach someone about the reality of dissociation.  Educate people online, or explain something to a neighbor.  You don’t have to out yourself as dissociative in order to teach others about the truth of dissociation.

We can make a difference.  We can teach the truth about dissociation. 

May both your impact and your awareness grow!

As always, I wish you the best in your creative, influential healing journey.  

Warmly,

Kathy

Copyright © 2008-2026 Kathy Broady and Discussing Dissociation