#solsticesystemasks

5. I have been diagnosed with psychosis before when I was younger but I’m unsure if that was just a misdiagnosis of my DID… From what I know, the big thing that psychosis has that would make it most apparent is its hallucinations. Because so many of the symptoms are shared with psychosis and other disorders like DID, I think the big tell would be visual hallucinations. Otherwise, I’m not too knowledgeable on the topic. I’d recommend seeing a specialist if this is something you’re concerned you’re experiencing. Always open to answering questions but can’t speak on things I don’t completely know.

1. Honestly think it’s hilarious that because I have this disorder people think I know every little bit about the psychology of it. I just got DID I don’t know all the logistics of how it truly works, and I’m unsure if the scientific community knows fully either. I’ll give your question my best try though!

From what I know going through psychotherapy and being a member of this community: the neurotypical mind typically has one ego state. This is what makes most people a “singlet”. However, when you have DID those ego states are separate, as your identity was not given the full chance to form in childhood. Ego states become alters. This isn’t just for DID, OSDD also has this effect and the separate ego states can be anything from fragments, to to dissociated personality states, to full fledged alters. Some people with dissociative disorders pursue integration to “integrate” said ego states back into one. Integration is something we’ve been working on personally.

5. No

We’re not playing some game or making up stories in our head. Our system is from years of repeated trauma throughout our childhood and into our adult lives. DID is caused by said trauma and I promise you it’s not something you should ever “want”. The PTSD symptoms are unbearable, hearing voices is frightening, not being able to grip reality makes us feel like we’re not human, the suicidal ideation and self harm is terrible. We have no friends because of DID, and if our family found out they’d dissown us. The suicide rate for those of us with DID is 70-75%. Some of us have multiple attempts under our belt and some people I knew never made it out of their childhoods alive.

Gate: There are plenty of ways to support your friend and I think just being patient and understanding is the best way to do it. Be open to talking with them if they want to share with you, and also give them space when they need it. All headmates are different, so not everyone might end up wanting to be your friend. But I think just wanting to be supportive is a great thing! I’m not too good at answering these types of questions as sadly we don’t have any friends that are supportive or know we have DID and our therapist suggested it was unsafe to tell family. However, my best resource for you is r/AskDID on Reddit! I think just scrolling around there, reading posts and comments can really help you. You can also ask questions there if you’re ever curious.

Thank you, I hope so too! I’m simply trying my best.

5. Yeah everyone has a different sexuality and gender too. Here are the replies from journals.

One: Don’t know really but definitely non-binary.

Two: Straight male

Three: Lesbian Female

Four: Pan Female

Five: Lesbian Female

Six: Lesbian Female