Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But the most violent and hateful ones could only front enough to assist in/enact self harm or such things. And there comes the second fact, I have three ANPs and identify highly with Polyfragmentation, and its a huge mystery to me on if I have OSDD or DID along with that. Generally Switches are grouped into three categories; consensual, forced and triggered. Certainly OSDD is supposed to be a residual category to mop up the few cases of dissociative disorders that do not meet the mainstream criteria. ", "People unfamiliar with Dissociative Identity Disorder may envision the walls between alters and their memories as being concrete, but it is not that simple. There might be times when you experience intrusive thoughts, visual images, feelings, or urges that dont actually belong to you but to another alter. A common identifier in the OSDD community is the idea of OSDD-1a and OSDD-1b, the theoretically two boxes that OSDD systems fall into, depending on what criteria they dont quite match. Although perhaps the most well-known feature of dissociative identity disorder (DID), switching occurs less often than passive influence or other internal manifestations of dissociated parts. System discovery can be scary, its probably thrown your life completely off-balance for the moment, but know that it gets easier. Slow switches can also indicate that the system is heavily dissociated and, A full switch is rarely necessary. I think it would make sense for my experience to be a spectrum than necessarily one or the other. We discussed the results but not the diagnosis (I know its mostly for insurance anyway, but I like to do research so I like to know whats going on). But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Then, in the darkness, I would suddenly look around and be surprised when the room was my old room and actually the room where I'm currently living. Because I only struggle to remember when recollecting, and there is plenty of downtime between events in my brain that I just dont remember at all, and my recollection is out of order. I can tell which part feels what and they do have names but because I dont switch or have amnesia and its mostly passive influence, I struggle to know if its just me interpreting something if that makes sense (my partner is in a DID system so I know what that end of the spectrum looks like but struggle to know where I fall.). This is certainly the view of a number of experts in the field. a) Assuming that the goal of working through a system's DID issues is to find ways to identify and address what generated these, in an ideal world where a system (after a serious amount of amazingly hard work) could successfully identify, address and even resolve these issues, would the "ultimate" goal be to put each identity to "rest" and only keep one (ideally one that combines the strongest characteristics of all the others), or is keeping many identities that work well together also considered a successful ultimate goal (in other words, is having multiple identities necessarily a disorder)? Sometimes, it might feel like you are numbing out pain or sensations. Some people with OSDD may prefer the company of people with dissociative identity disorder who keep their parts as much as possible in the background in public situations, but still the lack of distinct parts can be felt to be in some way as if they are getting it wrong. The outputs are commonly 24vdc but they could be other voltages or relay contact-based as well. And we plan to reference this page often. Watching a show to kill time, I felt like I was 12 again, staying up and watching a show in my phone knowing I should be asleep. But I know its more than that. They still have distinct personality states and distress or issues caused by their symptoms. Reading this has reassured me that even though my system and selves are not quite as separate as those with DID (although one is) they are still valid. There are 4 types of OSDD, but the most common is OSDD-1 which is similar to DID. DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER (previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder) is the most severe and chronic manifestation of dissociation, characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of the individual's behavior, accompanied by an inability to recall important personal (DNI: If you have been blocked, please do not interact. In an effort to rectify that, weve put together this list of tips that may help newly discovered OSDD systems get started on their journey! Non-switching systems, or partial DID as it's called in the ICD, are systems who have an alter always remain in front, and other alters can "only" exert passive influence and co-fronting. I guess my own personal experience, too? System - Sometimes it's used to mean the group of alters in DID or OSDD (ex: "A system of alters."). This article dispels several myths and misconceptions about dissociative identity disorder and the lives of those who have it. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. In terms of other differences, it seems that as a general rule the degree of the trauma or attachment difficulties leading to OSDD will be less severe than people who are diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, especially polyfragmented dissociative identity disorder. Being that therapy techniques never work with extreme stress, I was hoping to learn a few new things to try. Emotional neglect can lead to a pretty profound disconnection from yourself; depersonalization, depression, a sense of purposelessness. I went insane as a 6 year old male child. The Alexandrite System are 25 activists, content creators, and intra-community educators in one body. More common is amnesia for past trauma, although parts often seem to have memory for this. People with OSDD may for example have had some good enough attachment experiences, or other mitigating factors. Press J to jump to the feed. They use that information to predict what might interest you. Thank you, this has been very informative. Thats all I can say. (And if parts are integrating or fusing during therapy, at what point should you likewise shift along the spectrum and change your diagnostic classification?) DID/OSDD System Roles navigation search There are many so-called "Roles" in a dissociative identity disorder (DID) or Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD) system. Hope this helps <3, Also: possessive switching is when you genuinely feel like someone else is in the body instead of you (so the consciousness stays with the alter that switched out), meanwhile non-possessive switching is when you feel like you become said alter (so the consciousness stays with the body). Thats not really how DID and OSDD work. This website was last updated 11/29/2022. Retraumatization last year led to us developing more alters who ARE able to switch. Our works, including resources like this, are only possible because of support from Plurals and our allies. This could include things such as your name or who your family members are. I think there is some dissociation there. These alters protect the main identity from awareness of trauma. But other people with OSDD do indeed have less obviously distinct parts of the personality and report feeling perplexed when they read about people with DID talking about their 4-year-old part called Alice or their 6-year-old boy part called Ricky. None of us remember it, but thats ok. We dont need (or want) to know what happened in our childhood that caused everyone to form, although our carer usually encourages us to try to remember because she thinks it will be good for us or something. Non-switching systems, or partial DID as it's called in the ICD, are systems who have an alter always remain in front, and other alters can "only" exert passive influence and co-fronting. I go by he/them pronouns. In fact, a lot of your switches until you figure out how to switch voluntarily may happen without you realizing at all, or only realizing after the fact. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. they aren't any more traumatized than me, in fact, after what they've put me through, i'd say they're less, and they still manage to be the most vile people i've ever had the misfortune to encounter. It can leave someone very unsure of their identity and wondering who they truly are. How can you distinguish this from modes in BPD? People with DDNOS were reported to have a 13% reduction in hippocampal volume compared to healthy controls, whereas people with DID showed a reduction in the region of 25% (Ehling, Nijenhuis & Krikke, 2003). We have 19+ alters, and our collective pronouns are they/them. You might experience moments where you dont feel in control of what youre saying or doing. I've had 2 non-switching alters for at least 9 years now. They are in no way associated with ddlg/clg/cgl-re. Press J to jump to the feed. A journey starts, one of untold emotional pain and memories horrible beyond belief. You might have moments where you dont even remember the times you have forgotten things. Patients with this kind of almost DID do not see themselves as having multiple identities, but frequently feel so differently at the time that they see themselves as a series of different mes (eg, I know it was me, but I felt as though I was observing myself. But also when Im like that, I cant do other things I normally can, like tell the time. When someone asks you to describe who you are as a person, you might feel at a loss for what to say. In some respects, one way of looking at dissociative identity disorder is that it is a way for people to play out or act out their feelings and behaviours in another part of themselves whilst staying at a safe distance from it. You might have episodes where you feel like you dont know who you are, like youre a combination of alters, or that youre just not like yourself. Because change is inevitable when you're on this planet, no matter what. DDNOS is seen by many people as a not yet or a not quite version of dissociative identity disorder and although it is supposed to be a residual category and only given to a few people, in fact the vast majority of people diagnosed with a dissociative disorder fall into this category. Alters might feel things likethose are the hosts parents, not mine.. We feel younger at these times, but I couldnt put an age on it. This can involve several alters fronting over the course of an hour or even within a few minutes! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Get a free 104-page Trauma Survivors Resource Guide when you join my mailing list. External signs that a switch may have just occurred include the following: heavy blinking as if the individual is just waking up; mild muscle spasms or jerks; disorientation or visible confusion; checking the clock or one's watch; seeming not to remember anything that just happened; complaining of a mild or moderate headache; adjusting clothing or posture; clearing one's throat before speaking so that the tone or pitch changes; or a change in vocabulary, syntax, preference, opinion, temperament, skills, or general personality. Communication may also be clearer between parts in OSDD-1b systems. So our focus is on living with that entire range of symptoms, and being able to deal with the underlying cause. [1] There are four listed example presentations of OSDD, but what qualifies as OSDD, or what OSDD can look like, is very diverse. You may find that sometimes you cant even remember more recent things, such as what you did today or what the last conversation you had was about. And in the UK, medical staff tend to prefer the diagnostic manual known as the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, version 10) published by the World Health Organisation which is notoriously backward in addressing dissociative disorders. Answer 1 of 8: I'm flying from New York to Croatia (Zadar airport, ideally) in July. A full switch is rarely necessary. I keep telling my therapist im that and no one cares and just keep my diagnosis of DID, its actually partial DID not osdd-1b, osdd-1b is no switch amnesia. Instead of an alter switching to front, they can exert passive influence on the alter currently at front. In fact, OSDD is meant to be a broad category that encompasses many partial DID experiences. Welcome to r/OSDD, a community for those affected by otherwise specified dissociative disorder. Wait, is whole possible now? A body with multiple identities is known as a system. Switching refers to one alter taking control of the body, being given control by another alter, or gaining prominence over another alter. well, its both. You might hear voices, such as voices arguing or commenting on your actions. We will try to explain our experience with . (Literally -- there is no fundamental difference between the "host" and "alters" other than who takes care of the day to day responsibilities. Although perhaps the most well-known feature of dissociative identity disorder (DID), switching occurs less often than passive influence or other internal manifestations of dissociated parts. DID NOS lacks the clarity its parts being more connected to other parts of your personality .. problematic to both describe and diagnose ( if Diagnosis is important for you ). You might struggle to retell what your childhood or adolescence was like. We are The Alexandrite System, when we first discovered our plurality, we spent months confused and distressed because we didnt fit into the very rigid DID mold. I also struggle to name my alters because all together we make up who I am and none of them were ever acknowledged by the world, and to a point even myself, for so long. Surely not. This of course begs the question of whether OSDD/DDNOS-1 and DID are in fact the same thing, and just different points on a spectrum, and whether the diagnostic criteria for DID are too tightly applied. People with OSDD need to understand that their experiences are valid and real and not inferior in any way to people with dissociative identity disorder. Not a life others would want though. Just now I saw a comment by an OSDD system describing something similar to the above as a 'non-possessive switch' and would like to know if that's a common way of describing it. Because of this, you may feel like you dont truly know how much memory loss you actually experience. You might have moments where you involuntarily switch to a vulnerable alter. Only a body, nothing important. Where is my childhood? We are a system with OSDD 1b (fully formed alters with no amnesia), and we all feel validated in knowing that there are others like us and we arent the only ones who exist as separate people and switch regularly, but without amnesia. Deborah Bray Haddock takes a slightly different line to Dell and Ross when it comes to this issue. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. I think psychology is so huge that its hard for every therapist to know and recognize everything, especially because there are so many specializations. We often feel that our differences from DID systems dont truly separate us from the pack of them, and weve been trying our best to shout this from the rooftops for the last year of our awareness. I hope one day your plurality is something that you can take pride in. antipsychotics don't do shit for me, and they can control my body to a limited extent (stuff like raising an arm or making me pee). We have touched on two major differences already less elaboration or switching to distinct parts, and less amnesia. I just had an alter front for the first time.jn years the other night on a super sleepless night. Ive come to find the youngest one is actually two who are fairly close in age. These other parts of me arent clear though theyre not distinct. I appreciate knowing that the treatments are pretty much the same and a hit or miss either way. I keep telling my therapist im that and no one cares and just keep my diagnosis of DID, its actually partial DID not osdd-1b, osdd-1b is no switch amnesia. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Memory gaps You might find that your memory is unreliable. I hope this can be useful to help educate singlets or even help newly found systems understand themselves more. No two people with DID or OSDD are going to be exactly the same; I think that goes for any mental disorder. Also included in the DDNOS category are atypical DID cases in which there are classic DID symptoms but no amnesia between identities, because the diagnosis of DID includes the requirement for the presence of amnesia. It is rarely accompanied by an alter changing what clothing the system is wearing, announcing themselves in public, or extreme whiplashes in behavior or personality. The Plural Association and The Alexandrite System have collaborated on an OSDD video in the past. There would be no use for the brain to develop the disorders if the symptoms appeared later as it wouldnt be protecting itself in the moment, which is the whole purpose of the disorder. When talking about a personality as a whole a sub system refers to emotional sub systems, or emotional action chains. Thank you for investing the time to read this article. Similarly to how DID is difficult to spot and diagnose. My current therapist isn't even trauma-informed, and the ones that are, here at least, are either mad expensive, don't work with dissociative disorders, or don't exist. 1 ESS employed a special type of reed switch known as a ferreed. is it possible to get DID in your adult ages? Ive never been diagnosed, so I have no clear answer on this, but I do identify with your definition of dissociative amnesia, rather than how its usually interpreted to be. Are you sure they don't front? I know how you feel, believe me. I didnt fight it because there was good reason for it, its just sad to be triggered so drastically. There might have been times when you ended up in a different place but could not remember how you got there. This website uses cookies to improve your& experience. Were not doctors or clinicians and our nonprofit, our work, and this website in no way provide medical advice, nor does it replace therapy or medication in other ways. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. These are very simple descriptors for a spectrum of experiences that are the hallmarks of the disorders. The six myths that they examine are: I LOVE this academic article a whole bunch. There arent 1000s of things it could be. Well, a support friend, who has seen my struggles the past 2 years, sent me a link to a DID/DDNOS zoom conference last weekend, full of Survivors, Scientists, and Therapists who specialize in Dissociative Disorders. To read more about the cookies we use, please read our privacy policy here. People with DID/OSDD are on their own spectrum--based on how much amnesia they have and/or how separate and distinct their alters are. Will we be left behind? I hope I did not break any rules above! It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. There are as many Plural experiences, as there are Plurals. As always, we encourage you and your System to follow your own truth, to soul search, to find words, labels, visions, theories and communities that arent only within your values but also match your lived experience and/or long term goals, so that you might find belonging and dont have to try to fit in. Littles are child alters, and are actual children. However, even with consensual switches, the alter who takes a step back, so to speak, may then retreat inside for whatever reason. Suzette Boon reports that OSDD actually involves the majority of people who seek treatment for a dissociative disorder (Boon et al, p.10). Nobody wants to feel unwanted. like, don't get me wrong, i get where you're trying to come from, but understanding the reasons for their abuse isn't really something i get the chance to center when i have no cognitive or emotional space to process their actions. Contact-Based as well in your adult ages name, email, and are actual children miss either way the,! To Dell and Ross when it comes to this issue of the body, being given by. I 've had 2 non-switching alters for at least 9 years now communication may also be clearer parts. Get DID in your adult ages appreciate knowing that the system is heavily dissociated and, full..., being given control by another alter, or other mitigating factors it comes to issue... 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