I know that resources for those of us with DID are scarce so I thought I would share what I have found so far.
One of the first sites I found is Fort Refuge. It is a Community for survivors of abuse, not just Child abuse but all forms. They have forums where you can post comments or ideas, chat rooms, and further resource information. There are many sections for different Survivors including DID. I highly recommend heading in for a look. It can be a great online community.
Another site I have found but not spent too much time in is T.A.S.D.D. This stands for Therapeutic Alliance for the Recovery from Dissociative Disorders. There motto is "Breaking down the isolation and silence".
Ivory Garden DID support Group
Leah Peterson: Flawed but Authentic
Some blogs of interest are:
Seeing Through Multiple Eyes
Dissociative Living
Integration from the Sidran Institute
Blooming Lotus
and my favourite, Holding my childhood to ransom
I hope some of these sites are helpful for you. I have not spend much time on some of them so cannot guarantee how accurate they are, but they may be worth a look.
I recently also found a list of movies supposedly about people with DID. Now keep in mind they are what Hollywood considers entertaining, not necessarily factual. But it may be fun to have a watch of some of them and get an idea of how we are portrayed in the media. I managed to hire 5 of them on DVD. It was interesting to talk to the Sales person at the DVD store when I said the 5 movies I had chosen all had a theme. He couldn't pick it, and when I told him he said something about them all being Sckitzo!! Hmm not really helpful but I guess I got a picture of how ill informed most people are.
Any way here they are:
Trilogy of Fear: Millicent and Therese ( found it on Youtube)
Secret Window, 2004
Colour of Night, staring Bruce Willis, 1994 (R)
Primal Fear, 1996
Shattered Mind, 1996
Never Talk to Strangers, 1995
Identity, 2003
Me, Myself and Irene, Starring Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger
The Ward, 2010
So far I have watched Trilogy of fear and Me, myself and Irene. My husband watched Me, myself and Irene with me and interestingly said if he hadn't known before he watched it he would never have picked DID. It was not my favourite movie, but I am not really a big Jim Carrey fan.
Well I hope you find some of this information interesting and or helpful. Have some fun and enjoy today. It is gong to be a beautiful sunny day here in South Australia so I intend to make the most of it.
Please keep me informed on what you watched and like and what sites you found helpful. If you know of any other great resources please let me know so we can share them with others out there.
I nearly forgot the best resource I have found ever!!!!! If you are blessed to live in Adelaide, South Australia, of even anywhere in Australia and traveling to Adelaide at some time, please check out our amazing BRIDGES group.
This is a group for people with Dissociative Disorders. We meet every Friday at 1.30pm to 3pm at MIFSA (the Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia) 5 Cooke Tce, Wayville, SA.
Because of the disorders the group deals with it is NOT open for onlookers. If your have a dissociative disorder of any kind you are most welcome to come.
Well that's enough rambling from me now, have a great day and keep in touch.
03 November, 2011
02 November, 2011
Dreams
Dreams as defined by Wikipedia are:
successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.[1] The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious interest throughout recorded history.
Research shows that we all dream during sleep, but of course not all of us remember them in the morning. Dreams are often considered a way for the subconscious part of the brain to process the days events.
I imagine that none of this information is new to you, me either, until Friday at Bridges (DID support group).
I have wondered and felt for a while that maybe it is Alters, in the case of Multiples, who often communicate to me during dreams. In the morning I almost always remember my dreams and I find that if a dream has a particular strength to it I will not be allowed to forget it. My alters will keep reminding me of it and replaying pieces of it throughout my day until I get the message.
This topic was brought up in Bridges, and we were all very surprised to see that it is common to all of the Multiples there. We all spoke of similar experiences and were all sure that our alters talk to us through our dreams. What amazed us is that we had never really considered it before.
Since this revelation I have taken the time in the morning when I wake up from a dream, to lay there and try to
summarize the dream, and understand the main points. When I get it right I am able to 'hear' what my alters are trying to say and take action if needed. Sometimes just listening is all they need me to do. Through this I have found a wonderful door has opened up to communication.
Many of us experience reoccurring dreams, or dreams with a reoccurring theme. This has often left me confused as to what is meant by it. For me a common dream is the ocean crossing over a road or path I am trying to take. The ocean may have sharks or even whales in it, but it is always blocking my path.
About the time I started Therapy I had several dreams about the end of the world. They were very frightening and left me shaken when I woke up. I guess in a sense it was the end of a world. Not sure I really understood it then but it makes more sense now.
Although I have not managed to really understand some of these dreams, have been told by a friend that if I paint or draw a picture of what is happening in the dreams it may stop them reoccurring. I haven't as yet done it but I intend to soon.
None of us at Bridges, nor my Therapist could remember any research done on DID and dreams. It is an amazing topic.
I would love to hear from you if you have DID and have experienced anything like this. Or if you know of any other topics we can share.
successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.[1] The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious interest throughout recorded history.
Research shows that we all dream during sleep, but of course not all of us remember them in the morning. Dreams are often considered a way for the subconscious part of the brain to process the days events.
I imagine that none of this information is new to you, me either, until Friday at Bridges (DID support group).
I have wondered and felt for a while that maybe it is Alters, in the case of Multiples, who often communicate to me during dreams. In the morning I almost always remember my dreams and I find that if a dream has a particular strength to it I will not be allowed to forget it. My alters will keep reminding me of it and replaying pieces of it throughout my day until I get the message.
This topic was brought up in Bridges, and we were all very surprised to see that it is common to all of the Multiples there. We all spoke of similar experiences and were all sure that our alters talk to us through our dreams. What amazed us is that we had never really considered it before.
Since this revelation I have taken the time in the morning when I wake up from a dream, to lay there and try to
summarize the dream, and understand the main points. When I get it right I am able to 'hear' what my alters are trying to say and take action if needed. Sometimes just listening is all they need me to do. Through this I have found a wonderful door has opened up to communication.
Many of us experience reoccurring dreams, or dreams with a reoccurring theme. This has often left me confused as to what is meant by it. For me a common dream is the ocean crossing over a road or path I am trying to take. The ocean may have sharks or even whales in it, but it is always blocking my path.
About the time I started Therapy I had several dreams about the end of the world. They were very frightening and left me shaken when I woke up. I guess in a sense it was the end of a world. Not sure I really understood it then but it makes more sense now.
Although I have not managed to really understand some of these dreams, have been told by a friend that if I paint or draw a picture of what is happening in the dreams it may stop them reoccurring. I haven't as yet done it but I intend to soon.
None of us at Bridges, nor my Therapist could remember any research done on DID and dreams. It is an amazing topic.
I would love to hear from you if you have DID and have experienced anything like this. Or if you know of any other topics we can share.
01 November, 2011
Put it down!!!
Hi there,
I have been learning a big lesson over this last week or so.
Like most people I guess, when I am diagnosed with a condition I like to spend as much time as I can learning as much about it as possible. This goes for my DID too. I have spent the last few months scouring the internet and reading books to find out as much as I can. It as all been very informative and combined with talking to other DIDers, my knowledge has grown immensely. I feel much more comfortable and aware if what is happening to me than I did several months ago.
But in my desire for knowledge and my need to go from one book to another I forgot one very important point. Early in my journey after diagnosis I had a wonderful chat to two alters on an internet forum. They were quite happy to answer any questions I had to ask. After picking their brains about life on the inside, one of them gave me some great advise. He said that it is great to ask all these questions of others but everyone's system is different and not to presume mine is the same as anyone else's. What was most important was to get to know my own system.
Of course that sent me on a mission to get to know my system. You may have realized where I am going with all this. DESPERATELY studying and listening and looking for answers but not doing the one thing I really needed to get where I want to be.
My final wake up call came from a friend of mine the other day. She said that life can become one big illness and we can forget to get on with enjoying life. Sure spend time learning but just as importantly PUT DOWN the time of searching and studying, and rest. Make sometime for fun, have a break between books on the subject. Life is not just about the disorder, life is about many other things too and it is important to make time for "NORMAL" life activities.
So if you are like me and often charge headlong into sorting yourself out, take some time. Put down the disorder or disease for a while and remember who you are as a whole person.
Since taking this advice I have noticed I am hearing my alters much better and there is much more peace in my head. Who would have thought, by not doing it I was doing it. lol
Tomorrow I want to share with you a revelation from Bridges group.
Take care and put it down!!!
I have been learning a big lesson over this last week or so.
Like most people I guess, when I am diagnosed with a condition I like to spend as much time as I can learning as much about it as possible. This goes for my DID too. I have spent the last few months scouring the internet and reading books to find out as much as I can. It as all been very informative and combined with talking to other DIDers, my knowledge has grown immensely. I feel much more comfortable and aware if what is happening to me than I did several months ago.
But in my desire for knowledge and my need to go from one book to another I forgot one very important point. Early in my journey after diagnosis I had a wonderful chat to two alters on an internet forum. They were quite happy to answer any questions I had to ask. After picking their brains about life on the inside, one of them gave me some great advise. He said that it is great to ask all these questions of others but everyone's system is different and not to presume mine is the same as anyone else's. What was most important was to get to know my own system.
Of course that sent me on a mission to get to know my system. You may have realized where I am going with all this. DESPERATELY studying and listening and looking for answers but not doing the one thing I really needed to get where I want to be.
My final wake up call came from a friend of mine the other day. She said that life can become one big illness and we can forget to get on with enjoying life. Sure spend time learning but just as importantly PUT DOWN the time of searching and studying, and rest. Make sometime for fun, have a break between books on the subject. Life is not just about the disorder, life is about many other things too and it is important to make time for "NORMAL" life activities.
So if you are like me and often charge headlong into sorting yourself out, take some time. Put down the disorder or disease for a while and remember who you are as a whole person.
Since taking this advice I have noticed I am hearing my alters much better and there is much more peace in my head. Who would have thought, by not doing it I was doing it. lol
Tomorrow I want to share with you a revelation from Bridges group.
Take care and put it down!!!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)