As an undergraduate student in psychology, I was taught that multiple personalities were a very rare and bizarre disorder. That is all that I was taught on ... It soon became apparent that what I had been taught was simply not true. Not only was I meeting people with multiplicity; these individuals entering my life were normal human beings with much to offer. They were simply people who had endured more than their share of pain in this life and were struggling to make sense of it.

~ Deborah Bray Haddock

Deborah Bray Haddock Bizarre Dissociative Identity Disorder Mental Mental Health Mental Illness Mpd Multiple Personality Disorder Multiplicity Normal Pain Psychiatric Psychology Student Trauma Undergraduate

As a therapist, I have many avenues in which to learn about DID, but I hear exactly the opposite from clients and others who are struggling to understand their own existence. When I talk to them about the need to let supportive people into their lives, I always get a variation of the same answer. It is not safe. They won't understand. My goal here is to provide a small piece of that gigantic puzzle of understanding. If this book helps someone with DID start a conversation with a supportive friend or family member, understanding will be increased.

~ Deborah Bray Haddock

Deborah Bray Haddock Dissociative Identity Disorder Goal Mental Health Mental Illness Mpd Multiple Personality Disorder Multiplicity Normal Pain Piece Psychiatric Psychology Puzzle Safe Safety Support Trauma Understanding Unsafe

DID is about survival! As more people begin to appreciate this concept, individuals with DID will start to feel less as though they have to hide in shame. DID develops as a response to extreme trauma that occurs at an early age and usually over an extended period of time.

~ Deborah Bray Haddock

Deborah Bray Haddock Dissociative Identity Disorder Goal Mental Health Mental Illness Mpd Multiple Personality Disorder Multiplicity Response Shame Survival Trauma

When a client enters therapy with a prior diagnosis, it might be difficult for the therapist to think outside of the box presented. One reason a dissociative individual might have several different diagnoses, however, is that as different parts present, they may also be presenting with diagnostic issues that are different from the host. Such differences especially make sense given the nature of DID.

~ Deborah Bray Haddock

Deborah Bray Haddock Dissociation Dissociative Dissociative Identity Disorder Mental Health Misdiagnosis Multiple Personality Disorder

When experiences or emotions become too overwhlming, the mind clevely encapsulates the material and stores it for safe-keeping. Many people respond this way in the face of trauma, but the additional step that occurs in this process, in the case of DID, is the formation of distinct ego states that carry the experience.

~ Deborah Bray Haddock

Deborah Bray Haddock Alter Personalities Compartmentalization Coping Dissociation Dissociative Dissociative Identity Disorder Dissociative Parts Memory Fragmentation Multiple Personalities Ptsd Trauma Traumatic Experiences Traumatized