Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder: It's More Than Just Split Personality

“Correction: 1:08 Sybil was not the same person as Cybil Sheppard, the actress.”

The video will explain what Dissociative Identity Disorder is and how it can affect a person's life. It will also discuss the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatments, as well as some common misconceptions about the disorder. The goal of the video is to increase understanding of Dissociative Identity Disorder and provide support to those who are living with it.

[apriln]

Cybill Shepherd is an actress. In the movie Sybil, the protagonist's name is Sybil Dorset. The movie is about a woman named Shirley Mason.

Sybil is not about Cybill Shepherd.

[BevChoy]

I’m 52 and only found out about our system in Aug 2022. I can say resoundingly that we don’t care for the ‘sub personalities’. We are alternate states of consciousness or ‘individuals’.

[felineoverlordservant]

I trauma split when I was 6 or 7 years old. Both my mom and brother are vulnerable narcissists and were extremely abusive towards me. I was always different from them, highly sensitive, overly agreeable, introspective, emotionally intense, etc.

I was diagnosed with borderline at my 1st mental hospital, then dissociative disorder and complex ptsd at my 2nd mental hospital, then when I went to trauma treatment 7 years ago, dissociative identity disorder and complex ptsd.

I don’t necessarily think the borderline diagnosis was wrong, one of my alters is absolutely borderline but she only pretends to not have empathy. She’s a big fat liar about not caring and it would take an idiot doctor not to catch her malingering, narcotic chasing behavior. She’s the alter that deserves the most empathy and compassion. The reason she was created is heartbreaking.

Anyways, I’m missing about 25 years total of my life on and off memory wise and other periods of time I only kind of remember, like I’ll remember an emotion or feeling but not the event, or I’ll remember the general nature of the event but not the specifics. I also can’t remember most of the people I’ve dated during my borderline and other alter time periods, names or faces.

Post trauma therapy, it’s pretty much consistently been isolation and my inner self helper these last few years (she’s the reason i was able to learn self compassion and how to love myself) but about a month ago I was flooded with very early childhood memories and I think I’ve been able to fuse my ISH with my core and co-habit-ate, I can’t be sure though. It’s super confusing having DID.

I don’t have a clue how many alters there are and piecing my life together little by little without professional help and isolation is close to impossible. Treatment is expensive and very few professionals even understand this.

Also, having DID is definitely not like I switch alters with completely different memories immediately after I’m triggered. Most of my alters sort of share some memories. I’ll go through a period of binge watching Asian dramas for a month eating tons of sweets, then one day I’ll get the urge to craft like crazy and only be able to eat spicy food for another period of time. I won’t have a sweet tooth anymore.

There is an alter that was created when my son was taken by cps (I got him back), we don’t share any memories and I have no idea what the personality is like. I woke up in the mental hospital not having any idea how I got there. The night before I lost about 6 hours staring at the floor, CPS came the next morning to give me information about my son, I had a psychotic break then it was 4 days later and I’m in the ward sitting next to another patient. I actually had to ask how long I’d been there…then my borderline alter took it from there.

I can’t even describe what checking out like that feels like…maybe I can, it’s kind of like blacking out from drinking too much only you’re not drunk, then suddenly waking back up after a long time, as though you were under anesthesia maybe?

I really wish more therapists and doctors could treat DID and I wish it wasn’t so expensive. I’m trying to piece together my alters and memories by journaling, introspection, and watching other people’s stories on Narcissistic abuse to see if it triggers any emotions or feelings, which will then triggers a memory, hopefully.

I’m hyper aware that I need to be in psycho therapy doing emdr but it is what it is. Isolation, apathy and cats is what I’ve got at the moment. At least my hsp core and ISH are presently “with me” and my borderline personality has no reason to surface while I’m isolating.

[debxwalters]

No, I gave up. If you can't even get 'Sybil Dorset's name right, what else are you going to get wrong? It may be a simple mistake, but it makes me doubt what else you might say.

[Holy_Venom]

I am just understanding DID, my wife has it and I have IED (Intermittent Explosive Disorder) we love each other very much and I also love each of her alters the same I love her as a whole, how ever, both of our mental illnesses are clashing as well as other circumstances and situations that are causing both of us more stress than we can both handle and its gotten to the point almost of no return, I say almost because my wife sent me this video to help understand and support her more. Any tips on how to work together and move forward and become stronger together are really greatly appreciated... my relationship with my wife is hanging on half of a hair, I want to understand and her more and be a better supportive and attentive husband to her. Thank you for letting me share and Skylar if you ever see this comment, I'm sorry it took me this long to realize everything that has been going wrong and I love you and your alters ❤

[Consistent-Insomniac]

I was diagnosed in 1992, but it's been witnessed in me since early childhood by my grandmother that pretty much raised me. Cybil is not an accurate representation of MPD, and it disappointed me that you didn't specifically reference that information. So, I was diagnosed in 1992 by a Dr at age 19, and I am 49 now. There have been 7 confirmed personalities and I don't really know anything about them.

[Consistent-Insomniac]

I am also starting a channel around this, but not as a "clinical professional " but as someone-one of many- who deals with this, and the I also have at least 2 of my alters being diagnosed as psychotic and others that are antisocial, and the struggle in finding a therapist who has experience with ACTUAL CONFIRMED CASES of DID