Omg, someone speaking about dissociative disorders in a human way? Thank you! It's so sad that even most health practitioners don't know much about it...

I’ve never considered healing from DID as feasible. My mom has pretty debilitating DID, and she’s never really moved the needle on it. It was def destabilizing to be raised in that. In all her years of therapy, I don’t think the relational aspect has been there. Hearing that it’s a continuing area of research and treatment is heartening for future cases.

Well - the video is terrific.
Also - the comment section here is a gold mine - thank you to everyone who responded so articulately and openly here as well.
This reminds me very much of reading the book "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden" in the 70s which is a first person look into the experience of schizophrenia. There were so many aspects of it that I recognized in myself but to a much, much more mild degree. Clearly, I didn't have schizophrenia, but I could see the path from where I was to where it was.
I don't have DID, but between Dr. Kaufman's descriptions and Dr. Lebois' explanations of the neurology I so clearly see the path from where I am to what DID is.
I am also deeply grateful to both of them for bringing their experience and expertise to this conversation and I am grateful to Forrest for holding these complex conversations that honor the complexity and give it the space and time it needs.

As someone diagnosed in my forties...i so appreciate this, bc as a patient (still, at age 71) there are so few therapists trained to recognize and treat this. I was very functional 99 percent of the time...and it is so NOT understood by the public, and by so many therapists and psychiatrists. (I saw a fair number of both who were clueless through the years. So damaging...)

Most people I have met with DID do see themselves as literal different people. I’ve run groups for DID/OSDD for 10 years and met hundreds of systems. They tend to be very confused about what they want in life/choices. They are also very conflicted about internal differences of opinions and get distressed when another part of them takes over the body and they don’t remember how they got somewhere. For us I notice we all have different attachment styles and different nervous system states/trauma responses. It’s can get very chaotic. It’s not just a conversation with different voices in our head.

The first time I was aware of dissociation was after a disturbing event involving my mother, who was very abusive and sadistic. I told my boyfriend, "I feel like I'm not here". It was very strange. I have since identified other forms of dissociation I experience. The most recent and frequent is a strange sense of what I call 'being haunted'. It's so weird. I feel like I'm straddling the line between life and death and getting input from both. Not pleasant at all.

I wish there was much more experience shared about the reasons DID is so hard - as an adult trying to function daily without a coherent sense of self, emotionally dysregulated by constant triggers with no sense of time or consistency with memory...  Coming to & sometimes remembering what you did wishing you didn't or watching yourself behave so embarrassing... Knowing & forgetting all this countless times a day while struggling with thoughts, emotions. & body sensations that just don't make sense...
To me - trauma informed means knowledgeable about All the comorbidities, well versed in several approaches to treatment, & most importantly to not retraumatize!  Good stuff.  TY

I was  diagnosed with d.i.d  approximately  31 years  ago.  Finally  trying to  come to terms with it.  But living  our best  life. ❤️🙏😊😇❤️

"Knowing & not knowing simultaneously" captures my current perception of my past and current threats... and "baffling " too feels like a contained nicer sort of way to acknowledge the frustration and terror and grief...

This video was so informative, so kind to those who have the disorder, and I loved the end part where you did a sum. Helps so much. This was beautiful to watch and even helped me visualize recovery for the first time ever. Thank you.

Edit: ( in hindsight I suspect I got some of the following wrong.  Not in the descriptions of the experiences  and my solves for them, as those are very real and true to me.  But as far as categorization of what these experiences are.  I believe the dissociation and the different states are somehow tangentially attached to DID but to be candid, I don't know what bucket this all would fit neatly in.  I do believe that the vast majority of this is the result of developmental and ongoing trauma while being an h s p.  Beyond that, Ill leave the categorizing and diagnosing to others.)

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I can't speak to the different little people in her head experience.  But what I can say is that DID is a shift of states.  Its primarily stress induced.  Under duress and stress, the amygdala shuts down. It, like everything else, is on a spectrum. Its severe disdociation. Depending on which state im in, I cannot retrieve memories, feelings of other states.  So often, I have little memory of the other state experience.  When my executive function comes back online, I can recognize often I was in an altered state but I cannot retrieve the experience except to recognize it was really bad.  I refer to them as state 1, 2 etc.  

I have spent years and years working towards integrating the states such that when i'm in one of these bad states, keeping a list  on my wall, an external executive function if you will, a list of reminders.  Tips to recognize that certain feelings typically indicate I'm in a bad state, that im probably very dissociated, that this isnt who I am when Im at my baseline, not to make any life decisions, not to act on impulse. Anything that feels compelling is the definition of a sympathetic nervous system spike.

And steps, like quieting down drinking something hot, slowing everything down recognizing that nothing's gonna feel good, recognizing that it feels like it's the first and the worst time this has ever happened, recognizing that it feels like it's never gonna end but a reminder thst it always has because I cannot retrieve that when I'm in that state. So I have a wall full of tips to help me ride it out and recognize, because on its own, I can't distinguished bad states.

Something which helped me is to Know … this happened To Me …
It never touched the Real me.  I’m still whole and at peace … nothing ever changed that

Very appreciative of this topic. At 72  I'm still working through life. This was helpful.

Thank You so much for this video! I don’t have DID but I do disassociate like strong and protective characters  that are powerful to escape my own vulnerability since childhood. Like a story and sequel. I have control of it. It relieves my fears, escape emotional or physical pain, horrible situations and mostly it helps me feel safe. I just learned what this is and I don’t feel so alone in this and it has been something I had no idea what I was doing and why?! It was an escape route for safety! Little kids have very imaginative minds and help us abuse victims survive these horrible situations to help us feel safe, not feel alone and escape. Our brains are incredible !

This was so helpful, I have been wondering about the IFS model and how that relates to DID. It is good to understand the distinction between parts and intrusive self states. Thanks.

Thank you for sharing and talking about this it’s very important to get this information out there in the world. So many people being placed in prison with untreated disabilities, and the system treats them so poorly and causes more damage. I pray they allow more programs that allow treatment instead of punishment.

27 mins in. To not tell anyone, to not let anyone think you're crazy, to know and not know. This hit HARD.😢 So, so true. For decades, I felt like that and had not idea what these experiences meant thinking that everyone had the same. It wasn't until I began my therapeutic journey that I realised what that meant along with the horrific core trauma memories that emerged later. I sincerely thank you all for what you have done her. Emotional, compassionate, sincere, factual and to the point. Beautifully delivered. Thank you ❤

Thank you so much for this interview, the compassionate approach is really what I need in helping to understand and accept my dissociative states more and helps me further in letting go of the shame that I still carry around my dissociative capacity and adaptations

This was a really excellent interview, with intelligent questions and commentary.  Thank you for offering this episode!

Loved this interview. First video of you I’ve watched. I love your kind, calm demeanor and appreciate your guest’s experience! I thankfully have no history of trauma, but love learning about things. Keep it up!