So why is it so hard to stop self-injury? I mean, there are pages and pages of good distraction techniques out there in the world. Fifty really good ideas were mentioned in previous blog posts. Shouldn't that be enough to make it stop? For many people, it is not. Why is it so very very difficult to change self-destructive behavior? Why do people hurt themselves? "Why can't I stop hurting myself?" I've been … [Read more...]
Feeling Split about Anger
. What do you think when you see this picture? How does it relate to you? I like this picture. I don't agree with the wording, in its entirety, but I can see value in the message. First, let's talk about the picture itself. How does this picture represent the inner worlds, and internal systems of someone with Dissociative Identity Disorder? Do you see the different people? The different ages? The different body … [Read more...]
Three Difficult Scenarios involving Fathers
It’s Father’s Day. Father's Day is all about those endearing, positive, caring fathers. But what about the abusive fathers? Fathers. Yep, fathers are as difficult a topic for dissociative trauma survivors as mothers. Fathers often are heavily involved in the trauma history for dissociative survivors. Most DID survivors I know have far too many painful memories involving their fathers. I decided I … [Read more...]
Who’s Looking at You In the Mirror?
The following drawing is a DID survivor’s response to my question: Can you picture dissociative identity disorder? *** If you are a dissociative trauma survivor, please read the following article with caution. Some of the topics presented in this blog article could create an emotional reaction from your internal system as several difficult but important topics are mentioned. Please be sure to … [Read more...]
When You Suddenly Lose Your Therapist
Several people that have been reading Discussing Dissociation have made posts and comments about how enormously painful and difficult it is to lose a therapist. There are several different ways to “lose a therapist” but for the purposes of this particular blog entry, I’d like to focus on situations where there was sudden loss. In my years of experience, I have seen a variety of circumstances that have led to … [Read more...]