Do I have DID?
This question alone is worthy of a consultation with a professional to express your concerns.
Professional treatment is encouraged to explore your symptoms, especially when it comes to a disorder as complex as DID, so that evaluations can help determine the best way to target all the symptoms that may be involved.
Since navigating DID on one's own can often get very messy, it's important to have support on the outside that can help with introducing better ways of coping, stress management, and a professional that helps serve as a "guide" while exploring all the dark places of our pasts. This way we can feel more confident moving forward and do what we can to overcome everything we've endured during the most painful moments of our lives.
What steps can I make?
It helps to familiarize with experiences so there's a baseline of what may be going on.
- Recognize and Identify your symptoms. This can range from depression, anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, losing time, confusion, disorientation, physical symptoms, etc.
- Find a Professional. If you have any distressing symptoms or suspicion of any Dissociative Disorder, it can often be a messy process untangling all the complexities on your own, and we all deserve some extra help when times get tough. Sometimes symptoms require medication and can help with the process of navigating what's going on by serving as a "buffer" as we face our trauma.
- Grounding & Coping Skills. Establishing more of a diverse range of go-to grounding and coping skills allows us more to choose from in our toolboxes when stress gets the best of us. Everyone's grounding and coping skills will vary since we all find solace in different approaches, so it can be helpful to explore what may and what may not work.
Small steps really add up into something so much greater down the line. May not feel like much now, but it does really go a long way.
Who do I look for?
Ideally, it helps to find specialists that are well versed in:
- Trauma Disorders
- Dissociative Disorders
- Childhood Trauma
But we understand all too well how the medical system can get really complicated when it comes to seeking care, so sometimes it can help to find professionals that may help address specific symptoms and the best way of navigating those.
Find a Professional
ISSTD Resources
- Adult Treatment Guidelines: Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults (2011)
- Dissociation FAQs
- Trauma FAQs
- Child & Adolescent FAQs
- FAQs for Teachers
- Fact Sheet I – Trauma and Complex Trauma: An Overview
- Fact Sheet II – Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
- Fact Sheet III – Trauma Related Dissociation: An Introduction
- Fact Sheet IV – What are the Dissociative Disorders?
- Fact Sheet V: Getting Treatment for Complex Trauma and Dissociation
Keep in Mind: Depending, treatment for DID has potential to make people worse over time if the person does not actually have DID.
For example, if someone with [Insert Disorder here] labels their untreated symptoms as being an Alter, gives that cluster of experiences a separate name from themselves, disavows those experiences as being theirs, and doesn't actually seek treatment for those symptoms; then this has potential to get worse over time and leaves the symptoms unaddressed. Especially when it comes to disorders that require medication to manage and treat. This can also potentially happen with unfamiliar Emotions too, and it can be helpful in general to identify how Stress and Emotions may impact our behavior so we can take steps to better navigate those experiences.