Does anyone have any experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

a friend of mine has it, and i was wondering if anyone had any experience with it

[mdmc]

1. I do know someone with multiple personalities

two people actually (i mean two different people. not one person and his alter ego:) ) but both have other official primary dsm diagnosis. -

[CoffeeCat]

2. Well, DID runs on a continuum...

I'm not a psychologist, but it is my understanding that DID can mean so many things.

Everyone disassociates. If you've ever been bored in school, looked out the window--and "lost yourself"
you've disassociated. That's disassociation on the low end of the spectrum. High-end disassociation
would be "going away" for long periods of time, for which you have no memory.

Often, someone who has been traumatized in childhood may "disassociate" to mentally escape the intense
emotions. It's just a defense mechanism, especially used by children, who can't run away or who lack
the cognitive ability to calm themselves down. Or make sense of the situation.

So they "go away."

As these kids grow into adults, many of them still disassociate.

It's also my understanding that DID episodes can be "co-conscious" or not. Someone who disassociates
on a "co-conscious" level understands what is happening, even though they may "be gone" for a few seconds
or a few minutes. Much like the bored person in the classroom.

Then, up the continuum--you have someone who is not co-conscious. They disassociate and often lose time--hours
and sometimes days. They've compartmentalized their emotions so much--that the emotional states get separated.

I hope this makes sense and is helpful. Are you worried or concerned about your friend?

One thing that stuck with me, as I learned about disassociation--is that it is a VERY astute, coping skill
that often helps someone survive--and even thrive--despite really rough circumstances. Disassociation is
not a weakness nor is it something to fear. It's a learned behavior--that can be dropped as the person
grows to feel safe with certain emotional states and truths. And sometimes that takes time.