DID comorbidities

Schizophrenia is very similar to DID in the fact that there are voices in your head and a split personality. The difference is that there are delusions, hallucinations, and the voices are adults. 20% of people with DID also have schizophrenia.

When I went for my DID assessment, I got diagnosed with ASD (autism). Now, this diagnosis did not come to a surprise to me because I had self-diagnosed myself half a year earlier. Through research, TikTok, and many online exams, I came to the realization that the feelings of isolation throughout my life was part of being autistic. My alters are also autistic, but each present differently on the spectrum. It is important to realize that your alters will not exhibit the same symptoms you exhibit and may even have a harder time with areas you find easy. For instance, Sam is mostly non-verbal while I go non-verbal when overwhelmed. Additionally, Sally stims a lot with her hands while I do more subtle stims.

When my official diagnosis came in, I found a special paragraph at the end to be fascinating, The doctor had left a note on the relationship between ASD and DID. Apparently, when an individual, such as myself, has ASD and experiences trauma in their childhood, it can cause them to process said trauma in a way that can develop into DID. Therefore, the way your brain processes trauma is what leads to DID, making it possible for someone with childhood trauma and a different brain process, such as my mom who has ADHD, to not develop DID.

I was also diagnosed ADHD. I was reported as having psychosis and paranoia. Psychosis is when the mind has difficulties telling the difference between reality and make-believe. Now, how does that relate to me you may ask? I have trouble knowing when I am awake during a nap or sleep session. I tend to have dreams where I am waking up over and over again or doing chores or school work. Until I ACTUALLY wake up, I am left feeling bewildered and confused in my dream-state. Paranoia is when your thoughts are affected by your anxiety. I have severe anxiety and am often times left worrying about things I cannot control. This also leaves me feeling quite helpless and restless.

Following that section, it states that I have cognitive dysfunction and low psychosocial functioning. Cognitive dysfunction as also known as brain fog and effects the thinking and memory of daily function. Psychosocial functioning involves the activities of daily living and engaging in gratifying relationships.

The last test I took revealed that I have difficulties with interpersonal conflicts, meaning that I can’t do conflicts between two or more people. I have idealization and disillusionment, meaning I don’t perceive things as they truly are. I also have abandonment concerns and identity impairment. Lastly I have affect dysregulation, or irritability that is excessive.

At one point, I was studying the effects trauma has on the brain. The articles below give scientific studies and reasonings as to what happens and why. The first article talks about how the parts of the brain that process fear, conflict, sadness, and memory have less brain cells, making it so that we don’t react correctly or even at all. The second article goes into how these brain changes can even affect the way the body ages, making those of us who experienced trauma to age faster. When we are in violent or abusive situations, our body ages faster (puberty and cells) while the brain ages depending on what type of trauma you went through. For instance, abuse would cause there to be less emotional processing while neglect would cause less sensory processing.

“Mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain and you feel the rain, but you are not the rain.”— Matt Haig

“I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.”— Lewis Carroll