FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

DID is a defense mechanism used solely for survival. It is created by highly creative and intelligent children in order to protect themselves from severe repeated trauma, usually sexual abuse by a loved one, that usually begins before the age of 5. Only young children have the ability to create alter personalities. These children dissociate themselves from their current situation (the abuse) and "go inside themselves." Here they create other children to take the abuse for them. This way they can pretend that the abuse did not happen to themselves, but to another created child. As this defense mechanism is the chosen survival tool, dissociation is used more and more and can create hundreds and thousands of separate personalities within the one individual. The trauma is "compartmentalized" by these other selves who hold the trauma away from the original child who can then go through life as though the trauma never happened.

2. Who can get DID?

DID is not contagious. It is caused by extreme abuse to a child of a very young age, usually before the age of 5. Adults do not have the ability to create alter personalities, however, adults who became DID in childhood can continue to create more alters during adulthood.

3. Is DID and Schizophrenia the same thing?

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder due to a biochemical or genetic disorder in the brain. Schizophrenia is not caused by abuse or trauma. It does not involve flashbacks or other symptoms related to childhood abuse. Schizophrenics hear voices on the outside of their head, not the inside as with DIDers.

4. Don't we all have "multiple" or different personalities?

Yes, we all have different ways of behaving depending on our moods, situations, who were with, etc., but we haven't all been abused as children. We don't all have a dissociative disorder. We don't all have to ask the same question again, not remembering that we've already asked it three times. We don't all have different personalities with their own individual names!

5. How many individual personalities can one person with DID have?

Every person is different. It really depends on the severity of the abuse, the age the abuse began and how long it continued, the relationship of the abuser, etc. A person who was fondled once at the age of 6 by her uncle may create 3 or 4, or she may create none and go on to live a "normal" life. But a child who began to be sexually abused by her father at the age of 3 and continued into her early teens could create thousands of individual personalities by the time she is first diagnosed, and even then she can continue to create these parts. Each individual is different on how they will respond to the same situation. There can be no way to say for sure who will develop alter personalities or how many.

6. How can you tell the difference between the different personalities?

Until the DIDer herself /himself discovers these different parts, usually after years of therapy, even she/ he doesn't realize they exist. DIDers are considered very moody people. One husband says of his wife, "I never know who I am going to come home to." That was before she was diagnosed with DID. With the diagnosis, he was actually relieved-it explained everything to him. Even after being diagnosed, many DIDers will continue to deny the diagnosis. They don't see it, therefore they don't have to believe it. They will do everything in their power to explain away any "symptoms" you may see including believing they are just moody. If you are not closely involved with a DIDer, you will most likely never know you are talking to one. You may see the signs: the personality changes from an adult to very childlike behavior-we usually call this person immature. (Not all immature people are DID!) These alters will do everything in their power to make sure they are not discovered. They are not attention seekers as some claim.

7. What types of personalities are usually found within the DIDer?

No two individuals are ever the same and this goes even more so for the DIDer. There are however common types of parts.

• Presenters:

  Presenters are those you see in everyday life. There can be just one or ten or more depending on the individual DIDer. One presenter may do it all, or one may take care of the house, one takes care of the kids, one goes to work, etc.

• Protectors:

  Protectors are the ones accused of being the moodiest. They come out of nowhere, or so it seems, to protect in any given situation. Maybe someone is trying to take advantage of them at work, playing a game, etc. If the DIDer has children, there is usually one part who is in charge of protecting these outside children. The last thing they want is to see their biological children hurt in any way. Protectors are too numerous to even begin to describe. Each individual DIDer has their own creations. They are usually very strong and come across very angry. One of their jobs is to make sure the secrets remain hidden.

• Caretakers:

  Caretakers are just what their name says they are. Their job is usually to take care of the small, hurt children within the DIDer. One caretaker can care for hundreds of little ones or several can do the job.

• Children:

  I believe there are two classes of children. One group are like regular children, only in an adult body. They ask children's questions and do children's activities. But the other class of children are the ones who were created to take on the abuses so the original child didn't have to. These are the hurt children. The ones who cry for no apparent reason-to you. These are the children who have to remember the abuses they lived through. In a particular situation of sexual abuse, one part might have had to do the sexual act. Another part carries the feelings of pain. Another may carry the anger. Another may carry the physical bodily pain. Each part holds its part of the memory so no one part has to carry it all. This is why the healing process takes so long. Each child must bring its memories to the rest in order for that one whole memory to be healed. There can be millions of these such memories.

• The Core:

  This is usually considered to be the original self, usually believed to be dead. The core is believed to consist of three parts: Denial (I don't believe it), Confusion (I don't know what to believe), and Truth (I believe it all).

• The Host:

  The host could be considered the presenter or one of the presenters. This part is usually very depressed and has no clue she/ he is DID. They are usually the ones who seek therapy first.

8. How common is DID?

Studies show now that 1 out of every 3 girls and 1 out of every 5 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. Some studies show that 1% of the entire population could be DID. You might think that is too many, into the millions in the United States alone. Why so prevalent? Because child abuse is prevalent. Child abuse is the number one cause of DID.

9. Is the DIDer crazy?

For the individual DIDer, the answer could be a surprisingly yes! For this person, it is easier to believe they are crazy because that is how they believe the world will see them. They believe that they are the reason they are DID. Somehow they did this to themselves. Is this person in fact crazy? NO! They lived in a crazy childhood and what some sick people did to them, made them this way. They did not do this to themselves! DID is not crazy. Some might say they are mentally ill. In a technical sense this could be true because it is a disorder that effects the mind. Are they mentally ill as we think of someone with a mental illness? No. The biggest difference is that DID can be treated! There is hope. They can be healed.

10. How long does it take for a multiple to become whole?

On average, the DIDer is in therapy for about seven years before being diagnosed as DID. Most DIDers haven't got a clue of their true diagnosis. This is due to the successfulness of the protector parts whose job it is to keep the secrets hidden. Each person is unique to themselves in how long the secrets remain hidden. Some people who have been severely abused from a very young age can have their parts known in their early to middle teens. Most DIDers do not discover their parts until their thirties. Without treatment, a "multiple" will remain multiple. It takes years, anywhere from 3 to 7-give or take, to receive "successful" treatment. The protector parts sometimes make it appear that the work is done when the truth is it has only just begun. Usually there are layers upon layers of parts, memories, secrets. A person may appear to be "normal" for years and then suddenly the symptoms and flashbacks are back again. DID is treatable, but it will not go away on its own. There is serious work involved for every multiple.

11. Are there any signs I should look for if I think someone I know might be multiple?

1. A childhood history of physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse. The person may at one time claim that one or both parents were very cruel and other times they claim their parents were the greatest.

2. A history of serious depression and/ or suicidal behavior.

3. Abusive relationships in their adult life.

4. The person is filled with shame, considers themselves to be "bad," reluctant to ask for help for fear of being a burden to others.

5. Self-injuring or mutilation. This includes substance and/ or alcohol abuse.

6. Hears voices from the inside of their head.

7. Flashbacks. These can be visual, auditory, physical (somatic), etc.

8. History of unsuccessful therapy-they go, they quit, they go, they quit.

9. History of multiple diagnoses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc.

10. A history of changing symptoms. These can change daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. You might have one symptom for a period of time and suddenly it just disappears, only to be replaced with new symptoms. This can continue from childhood into adulthood and on through life. Usually family members will be able to at least recognize some of the symptoms like chest pains, hyperventilating, stomach aches, etc. Then one day they are gone and replaced with blackout spells, nightmares, migraines, etc. And this can continue for years.

11.Changes in physical skills and/ or interests.

12. Being described by others as having a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" personality alteration.

13. Phobias and panic attacks.

14. A family history of dissociation or even DID.

15. Loss of time (minutes, hours, days, months, and even years).

16. Seizure or epileptic like episodes.

17. Sleep disorders-insomnia, sleepwalking, nightmares, etc.

18. Anorexia and/ or bulimia.

19. Sexual difficulties. This includes those who can't get enough to those who don't want anything to do with it.

20. History of un diagnosable symptoms. The person has usually been in and out of doctor's offices and hospitals with various complaints. She/ he may even have had surgery to find a reason for unexplained pains throughout the body, only to have the results come back with a negative. There is no medical reason for what is happening within the DIDer.

The above information is written from my own perspective and research. It is provided for your informational use only. These questions have been answered as I see it from a personal point of view and research that I have personally done. I am not an expert. I am not a therapist. I am a person living with DID.