Can you communicate with your alters?

Forming Relationships With Alters Requires Open Communication. Open communication is important when managing DID. For those with co-conscious alters, communication is similar to talking with any other person, just without the presence of a separate physical body.

Can people with multiple personalities speak different languages?

A person diagnosed with multiple personality disorder can have as many as a 100 or as few as two separate personalities. Each personality can have its own posture, set of gestures, and hairstyle, as well as a distinct way of dressing and talking. Some alters may speak in foreign languages or with an accent.

How do people communicate with their alters?

Alters generally communicate with each other internally, by sharing thoughts with each other (they are all part of the same brain!). The host may communicate with them by: Corresponding in a journal. My wife may write something in her journal and various alters may respond.

What does it look like when someone with DID switches?

Family members can usually tell when a person “switches.” The transitions can be sudden and startling. The person may go from being fearful, dependent and excessively apologetic to being angry and domineering. He or she may report not remembering something they said or did just minutes earlier.

Can alters have different disorders?

✘ Myth: Alters can’t have their own mental health issues if the main survivor doesn’t have them. They actually can, and many do. It’s extremely common for individual alters to battle depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, eating disorders, self harm, etc., while other members of the system experience no such thing.

Can you only have 2 alters?

Yes, this is perfectly possible. While the average number of alters in a system is around 15, some systems are made up of only 2 alters in total (—this could be the host and one alter who only comes up occasionally, or two alters who share the mind equally).

What is a person with dissociative identity disorder (DID)?

A person with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), or a similar form of Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (previously called Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, or DDNOS-1) has a fragmented personality. A person with DID experiences himself or herself as having separate identities, known as alters,…

How can I increase communication between alters within dissociative identity disorder?

When they learn to trust it, they may choose to ignore it, but at least they have access to the facts. This will be a helpful way to increase communication between alters within dissociative identity disorder. Find Sherry on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.

Do people with dissociative disorders lose their perspective over time?

However, people typically restore their usual perspective over time. Those with dissociative disorders experience persistent amnesia, depersonalization, derealization or fragmentation of identity that actually interferes with the normal process of working through and putting into perspective traumatic or stressful experiences.

Can memories be recovered from dissociative identity disorder?

Under appropriate circumstances memories can be regained and worked through. Can dissociative disorders go away without treatment? They can, but they usually do not. Typically those with dissociative identity disorder experience symptoms for six years or more before being correctly diagnosed and treated.