Question:
There is something which I really don’t understand. Actually there is lots I don’t understand but, for now I will keep it brief so as not to boor yous. Is it possible to have both MPD/DID and PTSD? I mean, the day mares and nightmares which I have are about me and the past. But, it is as if they happened to someone else. I am very much frightened when I see these things. However, when I think about them afterwards, I can do so without feeling anything. And, they appear to me as if they are happening to me as a child….but I
Response:
< There is something which I really don’t understand. Actually there is lots I don’t understand but, <for now I will keep it brief so as not to boor yous. < < Is it possible to have both MPD/DID and PTSD? I mean, the day mares and nightmares which I <have are about me and the past. But, it is as if they happened to someone else. I am very much <frightened when I see these things. However, when I think about them afterwards, I can do so <without feeling anything. And, they appear to me as if they are happening to me as a child….but I doesn’t make sense. Does it <make sense to anyone else? You better believe it!!!!! Yes (a resounding one) a person can, and frequently does, have DID and PTSD at the same time. If you think about it, they are natural responses to each other. One’s alters can even have their own dxs re: various personality disorders (some can be ocd, for example, while others are not). What you describe is very familiar to us personally. We have the dual dxs, and then some, which can really cause a chain reaction that is very frustrating and terrifying. Let’s see if this sounds familiar to anyone : )… One of my PTSD symptoms is hypervigilance; the body jumps at every little noise, even if whoever is out didn’t hear the noise. So a trigger that we aren’t even aware of goes off, thereby setting off a series of somehow related flashbacks, but the mechanism for dissociation is so strong that once these pictures (that seem to have a life of their own) bother one alter, s/he passes them on to the next. Our whole Continuum ends up experiencing frightening, seemingly unconnected pictures that don’t feel like they "belong" to them. And they react to them in different, often conflicting ways. One cleans when she gets nervous, but another wants to sit and rock. A third is angry and doesn’t know why, while still another wants to b*rn a fifth alter for an unknown crime. (…and she told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on…) Now, after having said that, do I have any sage advice as to dealing with it? Not really. : ( Have a strong support system; use that dissociative power to back up from the flashbacks when they come on at a bad time (is there ever a good one?), and try to explore them later in a safe place. Learn to talk to each other; we all have the pieces, and, IMO, putting them together in a safe environment strips them of their power. With *a few* memories, I can now say, "Oh yeah, that’s when … happened," and deal with it on its own terms. Hope it helped some. I think you’ll find that a lot of us have versions of what you described. And please don’t think that you’re boring us. Yours was a pointed, refreshing question that was appropriate to a.s.d. and welcome by all. Keep on posting. Bl*ss*d B*, Liz "Does this mean that I can use the carpool lane now?"
If you like this post and would like to receive updates from this blog, please subscribe our feed.