I've been under mental health services for 20+years before a therapist understood the' voices 'I said I was hearing weren't a sign of psychosis requiring antipsychotic medications. They were in fact parts of myself inside as a result of complex trauma. Consequently, years of being sectioned, injected against my will and lots of misunderstanding by the mental health team and obviously myself have left me finally receiving the best of treatment and support c/o the CTAD clinic, just rather later in life than ideal. I'm hugely lucky to have escaped the vicious circle of forced admissions and medication that only resulted in retraumatising me. Better late than never...thanks!
That’s really awful that you had to go through so much of unnecessary traumatizing experiences and treatment. We’re glad to hear that you are in a better place with yourselves! Just wanted to say we’re proud of you for getting to where you are now!
Diane! Wow.. very scary!! You are a trouper for having to be at the hands of such inept and cruel treatment to your BODY!!!! 🙀 for all those years they stole, and for obstructing your deliverance and success. Glad you have these Clinic people to guide you into getting your life in order! .. And YES, you CAN mend, and have the life you want! PROUD OF YOU! 🌟😊👍
I think it's very sad that many therapists don't even know the difference between psychosis and dissociative voices. Psychosis is when the voices are heard as if they were outside of your head. Some experts also suggest that psychosis is the level after dissociation, meaning it is caused by trauma as well.
I was given electro convulsive therapy for what appeared to be treatment resistant major depressive disorder. I woke up while under anesthesia and was severely traumatized. I had a stroke in 2018 and was triggered by a rude nurse and became combative in my efforts to escape the ICU. The way I was pinned down by multiple staff members and the tech who growled in my ear to “knock it off” caused nightmares for months afterwards. The diagnosis of C-PTSD and DID was actually a relief for me. Unfortunately, my therapist counsels me against self-disclosing due to the continued stigma and ignorance in the wider medical community. And to top it all off, I’m obese. Literally every health complaint I have is written off due to obesity and/or mental health issues. I hope one day I can find a medical doctor interested in saving my life as much as I am. I’ve lost 130 lbs and still, obesity is the first thing they see. If I self-disclose my diagnosis, their behavior towards me changes. I have a brain injury called DID and CPTSD…I’m not a leper for goodness sake. Rant over. 😢 Sorry. I needed to get that off of my chest, apparently.
GOOD RANT 👏👍 When I was 4yo, I found self awake during tonsil adenoids surgery. Am near 70y now, and over decades, have said NO to med tests requiring anesthesia-- I JUST DO NOT TRUST THEM.. (and in a way would rather go ahead and die 😳 -- been lucky). So, I know 'some' of what you might experience at thought of anesthesia... 🫂 Incredibly sorry at the cruel ways you have treated. Wishing you the VERY best!! I live in USA, and there is no treatment available, ESPECIALLY for the reason I am an older person. With extreme shortage, found there is only one in the area. She's getting older and has a two year waiting list 🙄 That's okay.. And there is never a guarantee that the therapist is a fit.. "NO therapy, is *better* than bad." Blessings 🙏 Be good to You
I was diagnosed with depression in 2009 and Avoidant Personality Disorder in 2014. No one looked closely at my trauma, no one noticed that I dissociated, including myself who didn't even understand or know what that was. I was diagnosed with CPTSD earlier this year with dissociative symptoms and I hope that now finally things can start getting better.
Holy... I was assumed "postnatal depressed" I 2004 (even though I've notices the symptoms I came in for Before and during pregnancy, and I wasn't depressed AT ALL either!) Then I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder in 2014, that got "updated" to agoraphobia in 2016/7, and THEN I was assessed for AvPD... And NONE of them really took into account my trauma, my dissociation, and my "identity phases". I am STILL being assessed because no one has enough experience with DDs. It's devastating.
I've had such an alphabet of different diagnoses over the years! Two personality disorders, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, "recurrent dissociative states", fibromyalgia, tinnitus, PTSD, unexplained faints... I seem to really confuse NHS services and it's only through luck really that I was able to find a private therapist that specialises in DID who could actually help me. All of it makes sense in the context of CPTSD/DID without the DSM bingo
An excellent topic to cover. So often to see that the dissociation gets hidden. I got an ADHD diagnosis at an early age and so everything subsequently was always blamed on the ADHD and clinicians never looked at anything else. My life would be very different if they'd done their due diligence.
i had depressions coming in waves since i was a teenager, first therapy in a clinic as i was 18 and several therapists since then, until i had something like a mental breakdown with 35. That day several alters "popped out". Now i am aware of my system and know that the depression is manifesting in one of my alters .But since i know about the DID the "depression" isnt needed in the outside anymore because i can take better care for us.
This perfectly explained why my first therapist under the mental health team was gold dust. She noticed the disassicating symptoms and worked hard with me to take that shame about it away. So now i am honest about it and therapist will be honest if they can work with me. Had a fair few who can't cope with the symptoms. And im not upset as it can be difficult if they arent in turn to how i am feeling and aware of my own body language.
This is I believe the best channel I follow. With cptsd dissociative symptoms and bi polar 2, it’s important to tease out which symptom is from which condition. ❤
This is going to be a validating series for me. I suspected I have OSDD for a year now after reading a Janina Fisher book and having my system emerge. My last therapist just validated it but didn’t assess me. The next one when I asked for assessment said she doesn’t believe in pathology so she trusts if this is how I see my parts, we just follow it. I finally will be going to a new provider and asked to be assessed with the MID to rule out OSDD / DID. I am that client who has been in and out of services for years. I did TMS for treatment resistant depression in 2019, and only had short term remission. I later read this is common for ASD folks. But I think I was getting coregulation from daily check ins with a staff member and that’s what helped vs the treatment. I have GERD, Graves’ Disease, pelvic floor dysfunction, and fibromyalgia. I have dysautonomia symptoms too and am waiting to see a neurologist for that. I have been diagnosed with ASD level 1 (but my parents and I believe I’m level 2, so I’m on a waitlist to be reassessed), ADHD, CPTSD, panic disorder with agoraphobia, social phobia, OCD and GAD. So yeah I am looking forward to see how this series plays out. I know I need support with the safety and stabilization phase of trauma therapy. And therapists seem to struggle to support me with that, especially since I’m even more hypersensitive with my ASD + chronic illness combos. Every time I try to read books about coping with dissociation, I dissociate so severely I can’t continue. I think my parts are afraid of integration and try to mess with it. I also think IFS has made me more fragmented and I’m hoping to try a different approach next. Anyway long process comment but thanks for all you do. I’m excited to learn more and hope I get some answers over time so I can heal with the right treatments and supports.
@@imjustjules thanks for the comment, some of the conditions you mentioned will be part of this series. I have GERD, too, though at least I know it is of physical origin.
I relate to therapists/clinicians not wanting to pathologize it. I spoke with someone who told me I should accept myself, and that I was just living my life differently, or something to that extent. They mean well, but it's an ultimately unhelpful (possibly dangerous, depending on the circumstances) approach. I have literal wild animals in my system and I have been asking for help, so I have gotten both this response and that of a psychiatrist trying to treat me for psychosis (both unhelpful, lol).
@@sad_doggo2504 yeah, I terminated with my therapist who said this to me. She reminded me too much of the last therapist. My specialty when I was a provider was ND affirming care. Toward the end of my career I got some system clients and didn’t know much about it. So a colleague introduced me to a friend with DID who was a peer mentor and I learned a ton from her as well as being in that community for a while. I didn’t expect to learn I was so drawn to understanding it because I may have it too. And right like.. another therapist said to me “I added OSDD to your chart because I believe you but I haven’t seen it yet” wow. They really think we’re all dissociaDID who that’s a rant for another day.. but I’m so sick of therapists thinking everyone has these drastic obvious switches. Many of us mask what we can to survive. And since I’ve had to do that so long I’m unraveling more. Yesterday I had a verbal shutdown at the hairdresser and when spoken to, it was a kid voice and I couldn’t hide the switch. It just felt so embarassing. If someone assessed and supported me sooner and singlets realized that OSDD/DID isn’t “alter disorder” and they need to help us with all the debilitating symptoms around it, it would be better. I’ve done some intense meditations where I see my system for a while and they talk to each other or me. But in the hypnotic ones it breaks free and I see my actual young me exiles. That is the only time I see them. And I recently realized they all are just happy and full of appeasement. I think my whole system exists to help the appeasement to stop. I just.. wish more of us had the help we deserve with this. Anyway sorry one of my parts has been vent dumping again even though we stopped for a while. I hope you find support. I always assessed clients and even asked how they wanted to go about it if they asked me and that was important to them. I specialized in BPD for a while and people tend to be afraid they have it, so I did those assessments often too.
Thank you Dr. Lloyd, Since both related and unrelated co-morbid conditions can be present. Consider including a remark on advocating for a such a family member (eg a sleep disorder related to DPDR/BPD and a vertigo disorder from traumatic injury). I’ve noticed very one sided thinking from physicians. Either ‘all conditions are from the severe mental illnesses’ or “anything physical has no relation.” The former precludes some treatments while the latter inhibits coordinated treatment across the team. Thanks for your videos. (Edit for typesetting typo)
I’m really interested to know whether you have come across anyone with a complex Dissociative Disorder does NOT have c-PTSD symptoms (pre treatment) Look forward to this series I often get a sense people think I should just take anti anxiety / depression medication when I know it’s trauma and dissociation that leads to these conditions and don’t wish to take medication. It then could come across as if I’m being resistant to help
I've experienced this too. I think this has a lot to do with the medicalization of mental illness. In the U.S. psychiatry is more or less a first line to mental health disorders but with complex trauma psychotherapy is the primary treatment- since the culture of biomedicine has pervaded psych practices most people consider that if you're not taking a medication then you're not actually getting treatment, like you said. I'm at a stage in my therapy where a lot of my cPTSD and PTSD symptoms (from a recent event) are secondary to what I identify as part of or stemming from my cDD. For example any depression I have is situational and to do with the effects of my symptoms on my life, where my life has gone due to my cDD. I don't think medicine is for me either.
@@Rat_Queen86 it is, but realistically, DID shouldn’t occur without some form of complex trauma, so having a CPTSD diagnosis is secondary to DID rather than co-morbid.
Your therapist's limited training in evaluating and treating trauma disorders is showing. This issue around diagnosis of trauma disorders is covered in the beginning phases of professional formal training. Not every therapist has strong diagnostic skills.
@@Cathy-xi8cbshe….had 10 years experience of working with trauma patients? I made sure to check all of her certificates and training beforehand. Her diagnostic skills were spot on. Your comment seems unnecessarily judgmental of her. Perhaps she used to wrong wording. Either way, not a cool comment for such a sensitive subject.
@@Cathy-xi8cb I agree.. Ages ago I took some courses, and was able to be a Support. And, BAD therapy can really set a person BACK, in terms of length, and suffering!!!, and finances. I appreciated your comment..
very interested in this series. i was labelled as schizoaffective for years and being treated for it with NO progress until i was reassessed (a process which took another handful of years) and diagnosed with DID, and a strong likelihood of autism. Since being treated for dissociation and complex trauma, though its been a HARD process, i (we!) have made significant progress. i am not out of the woods, but for the first time in my life, I'm starting a job! getting treatment that means i can work has been a dream
Absolutely my experience…….treatment resistant depression, regular crisis team interventions etc and an amazing psychiatrist who was at a loss on how to help! Even had head scans. Enter a psychologist and all became quickly apparent.
@@thectadclinic feel so incredibly lucky to have gotten to work with an amazing psychologist who I’ll forever keep in my heart, and helped me in a way no other mental health professional ever has - totally transformative. I’m still not used to this post therapy life and hope I’ll never take it for granted. The work you guys do can never be overstated.
I commented on your last video about having an organic pain-causing disability plus dissociation. Interestingly, my son had an appointment with a geneticist last week, and the geneticist said he sees a lot of dissociative symptoms in people with our condition, which is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Is this something you see frequently?
I wouldn't be too confident in a geneticist's diagnosis of dissociation, considering that licensed mental health providers do such an incredibly poor job of getting it right. Geneticists rarely spend more that a few months on a psychiatric service. Dissociation symptomatology can be confused with poor proprioception (don't feel my body/ don't want to be in this body), the effects of pain and pain medications (sleep paralysis, derealization/depersonalization), even POTS. POTS in particular is often misdiagnosed as a mental health disorder.
@@Cathy-xi8cb I am being treated for dissociation by a mental health professional. My son's geneticist didn't diagnose me with dissociation. He took a thorough family history, and my psychiatric symptoms came up in this discussion. He said he sees dissociation frequently in the personal or family history of people with EDS.
Kinda a side question... How do you know if it is an unhealed parts, interchild, or DID? I have tried finding out the differences and haven't been successful. My therapist originally said she didn't think DID was that common, and it must be unhealed parts, then it went to maybe we need to focus on inner child work. Now she thinks there is a good probability I have DID. I never cared about what the diagnosis was until now. I don't want it! Since talking to her about it, things have gotten worse in my head and losing time more often. It was like pandora's box had been torn apart, and all the compartments are gone. Would this be a typical response?
This is why a good, broad and structured assessment is needed before treatment. Many therapists don’t know how to do this, they just start on a ‘problem’.
Would you consider doing a full video on Maladaptive Daydreaming Disorder? It's not in the DSM but we feel that it has an important place in this discussion and as a disassociative disorder. We developed MaDD long before we became a system but feel that it had an impact in our being sort of predisposed to plurality and additional dissociative disorders (cptsd and did/osdd)
what about somatic especially autoimmune diseases? One therapist told me they are quite often associated. I have a dissociative disorder (probably DID, doctors are not quite sure, yet). And I have Sjögren syndrom (including the autoantibodies associated with it). Where it get's a bit complicated is that I have a couple of "neurological" symtoms, that in my opinion make more sense to be autoimmune (comes in waves, is reduced by cortison), but neurologists don't want to deal with it, because they see it as "just psychological.
It would be completely common for someone with an autoimmune disorder to display neurological symptoms. It takes a good medical clinician, not a psychologist usually, to be able to distinguish between medication side effects causing neurological symptoms and primary disease effects. The side effects of cortisone short and long term are well known. Your current neurologists might be concerned that you won't take the meds and end up in more severe difficulty if they go into the details. It might be preventing faster disease progression. Mental health issues are regularly seen with chronic autoimmune conditions. It is not as common to see very severe childhood trauma in the patient history, nor identity confusion and amnesia as in DID.
I recognized her dissociation because I'd used it to escape verbal abuse/lectures (I had undiagnosed adhd & strict parents). Perhaps I was drawn to the idea of helping her escape such abuse from her helicopter parents. With my medicating doctor's permission, I brought her along for evaluation of stress and potential medication. However, she completed denied having all the symptoms to my doctor. This was after she was using the majority of my Busparin as a coping mechanism while working for her parents (since age 14). Such frequent dichotomy was very frustrating. Have you experienced such a thing with your patients? (Words without actions) She'd seem very sincere and genuine yet reverse course when it came to implementation.
My partner seems to be dissociated an alarming amt of each day. He has an army of defense mechanisms as well and therefore hasn't paid attention to my comments or explanations (I dissociate myself, just not any where this often and do have the awareness). I'm not a professional and understand I am not qualified to diagnose. He finally went to mental health services and did a full DBT group although he isn't even familiar when I mention any of the lingo. He says he's seeing a therapist rn but, at least in my area, it seems most therapists take the same path- cognitive bias, drink water, be around ppl, and wrap up with affirmations. I haven't found a therapist, even the ones who claim to be "trauma informed", that has more than a very superficial understanding of dissociation, flashbacks, etc. Any advice?
i have osdd or partial did, the subpersonnality type (I believe) and i felt like my qualities and my strenght left me in few minutes when i switched, so it makes me much more weaker and it was 11 years ago and no switch since then. I have derealisation and bad social anxiety, my question is can i say to the psychiatrist about derealisation only To heal from social anxiety ?
Hi Mike, wondered if it was usual to get so confused which life is the real one and which aren’t and why alters always seem to make me highly paranoid as they always question everything, everyones hidden motive and make me think that people are pretending to be real in order to brainwash me into doing and thinking things that aren’t safe, people always treat me as if I’m delusional so how do you know your not if you don’t know what’s real? If that makes any sense? Thank you, Juliette
@thectadclinic Thank you for replying. It's a bit daunting. I've been looking into therapies offered by the NHS. I'm scared to leave my house so it's hard. I'm not sure what will be beneficial. I've had some not so good experiences with doctors in the past so I'm very anxious
Would you also consider mitochondrial dysfunctions in energy metabolism due to either wrong diet and/or metabolic dysfunctions? I have been improving short term and long term memory with precision nutrition prescribed by nutrigeneticist, amazing how my health condition improved, together with two years of cognitive psycotherapy. I am a patient diagnosed with two neurodevelopment conditions called gifted with traits of extended autism phenotype, with a history of c-PTSD improving each year. I am in Brazil and I really appreciate your videos.
I personally feel that mitochondrial dysfunction is actually a dissociative state, because when we have been in fight and flight too long we freeze. When we freeze our bodies essentially prepare for death and shut down our rest and digest functions. I believe that the mitochondria are switched off in these times so energy doesn’t get into the cells causing fatigue. Pacing for me has had limited benefit but managing my nervous system states was life changing.
As someone with a number of mental health comorbidities, we're really interested in seeing this series of posts! For us, after an amazing CPN fought, services did eventually see and start to help us with the dissociation... Unfortunately after some therapy (and the people who actually understood the DID left) it then meant 'the team' dismissed the other diagnosed conditions and have refused to offer support for the other mental health issues we do have because "they can't support long term with the DID and trauma".
@@thectadclinic It seems we left frustration behind a while ago, soul destroying and mentally damaging are words we would currently use to describe it. Thank you for your reply and for all you do here 💜
Unrelated Question: If a person has been diagnosed with DID, is it possible that their parent may also have DID? I know it's not genetic, but can the consequences of childhood trauma lead to the same diagnoses in parent and adult child? Or would this be surprising / unexpected?
Any psychological conditions can be ‘passed down’ to a degree, but for DID/OSDD, the child would need to have been traumatised. Many parents with DID are excellent, and protect their child well. So, it depends on context.
I've been under mental health services for 20+years before a therapist understood the' voices 'I said I was hearing weren't a sign of psychosis requiring antipsychotic medications. They were in fact parts of myself inside as a result of complex trauma. Consequently, years of being sectioned, injected against my will and lots of misunderstanding by the mental health team and obviously myself have left me finally receiving the best of treatment and support c/o the CTAD clinic, just rather later in life than ideal. I'm hugely lucky to have escaped the vicious circle of forced admissions and medication that only resulted in retraumatising me. Better late than never...thanks!
That’s really awful that you had to go through so much of unnecessary traumatizing experiences and treatment. We’re glad to hear that you are in a better place with yourselves! Just wanted to say we’re proud of you for getting to where you are now!
Diane! Wow.. very scary!! You are a trouper for having to be at the hands of such inept and cruel treatment to your BODY!!!! 🙀 for all those years they stole, and for obstructing your deliverance and success. Glad you have these Clinic people to guide you into getting your life in order! ..
And YES, you CAN mend, and have the life you want!
PROUD OF YOU! 🌟😊👍
I think it's very sad that many therapists don't even know the difference between psychosis and dissociative voices. Psychosis is when the voices are heard as if they were outside of your head.
Some experts also suggest that psychosis is the level after dissociation, meaning it is caused by trauma as well.
I was given electro convulsive therapy for what appeared to be treatment resistant major depressive disorder.
I woke up while under anesthesia and was severely traumatized.
I had a stroke in 2018 and was triggered by a rude nurse and became combative in my efforts to escape the ICU. The way I was pinned down by multiple staff members and the tech who growled in my ear to “knock it off” caused nightmares for months afterwards.
The diagnosis of C-PTSD and DID was actually a relief for me. Unfortunately, my therapist counsels me against self-disclosing due to the continued stigma and ignorance in the wider medical community.
And to top it all off, I’m obese. Literally every health complaint I have is written off due to obesity and/or mental health issues.
I hope one day I can find a medical doctor interested in saving my life as much as I am. I’ve lost 130 lbs and still, obesity is the first thing they see. If I self-disclose my diagnosis, their behavior towards me changes.
I have a brain injury called DID and CPTSD…I’m not a leper for goodness sake.
Rant over. 😢 Sorry. I needed to get that off of my chest, apparently.
GOOD RANT 👏👍
When I was 4yo, I found self awake during tonsil adenoids surgery. Am near 70y now, and over decades, have said NO to med tests requiring anesthesia-- I JUST DO NOT TRUST THEM.. (and in a way would rather go ahead and die 😳 -- been lucky).
So, I know 'some' of what you might experience at thought of anesthesia... 🫂
Incredibly sorry at the cruel ways you have treated.
Wishing you the VERY best!!
I live in USA, and there is no treatment available, ESPECIALLY for the reason I am an older person.
With extreme shortage, found there is only one in the area. She's getting older and has a two year waiting list 🙄
That's okay..
And there is never a guarantee that the therapist is a fit..
"NO therapy, is *better* than bad."
Blessings 🙏
Be good to You
I was diagnosed with depression in 2009 and Avoidant Personality Disorder in 2014. No one looked closely at my trauma, no one noticed that I dissociated, including myself who didn't even understand or know what that was. I was diagnosed with CPTSD earlier this year with dissociative symptoms and I hope that now finally things can start getting better.
Holy...
I was assumed "postnatal depressed" I 2004 (even though I've notices the symptoms I came in for Before and during pregnancy, and I wasn't depressed AT ALL either!)
Then I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder in 2014, that got "updated" to agoraphobia in 2016/7, and THEN I was assessed for AvPD... And NONE of them really took into account my trauma, my dissociation, and my "identity phases".
I am STILL being assessed because no one has enough experience with DDs. It's devastating.
I've had such an alphabet of different diagnoses over the years! Two personality disorders, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, "recurrent dissociative states", fibromyalgia, tinnitus, PTSD, unexplained faints... I seem to really confuse NHS services and it's only through luck really that I was able to find a private therapist that specialises in DID who could actually help me. All of it makes sense in the context of CPTSD/DID without the DSM bingo
An excellent topic to cover. So often to see that the dissociation gets hidden. I got an ADHD diagnosis at an early age and so everything subsequently was always blamed on the ADHD and clinicians never looked at anything else. My life would be very different if they'd done their due diligence.
i had depressions coming in waves since i was a teenager, first therapy in a clinic as i was 18 and several therapists since then, until i had something like a mental breakdown with 35. That day several alters "popped out". Now i am aware of my system and know that the depression is manifesting in one of my alters .But since i know about the DID the "depression" isnt needed in the outside anymore because i can take better care for us.
This perfectly explained why my first therapist under the mental health team was gold dust. She noticed the disassicating symptoms and worked hard with me to take that shame about it away. So now i am honest about it and therapist will be honest if they can work with me. Had a fair few who can't cope with the symptoms. And im not upset as it can be difficult if they arent in turn to how i am feeling and aware of my own body language.
This is I believe the best channel I follow. With cptsd dissociative symptoms and bi polar 2, it’s important to tease out which symptom is from which condition. ❤
Thank you so much!
This is going to be a validating series for me. I suspected I have OSDD for a year now after reading a Janina Fisher book and having my system emerge. My last therapist just validated it but didn’t assess me. The next one when I asked for assessment said she doesn’t believe in pathology so she trusts if this is how I see my parts, we just follow it. I finally will be going to a new provider and asked to be assessed with the MID to rule out OSDD / DID.
I am that client who has been in and out of services for years. I did TMS for treatment resistant depression in 2019, and only had short term remission. I later read this is common for ASD folks. But I think I was getting coregulation from daily check ins with a staff member and that’s what helped vs the treatment.
I have GERD, Graves’ Disease, pelvic floor dysfunction, and fibromyalgia. I have dysautonomia symptoms too and am waiting to see a neurologist for that.
I have been diagnosed with ASD level 1 (but my parents and I believe I’m level 2, so I’m on a waitlist to be reassessed), ADHD, CPTSD, panic disorder with agoraphobia, social phobia, OCD and GAD.
So yeah I am looking forward to see how this series plays out. I know I need support with the safety and stabilization phase of trauma therapy. And therapists seem to struggle to support me with that, especially since I’m even more hypersensitive with my ASD + chronic illness combos. Every time I try to read books about coping with dissociation, I dissociate so severely I can’t continue. I think my parts are afraid of integration and try to mess with it. I also think IFS has made me more fragmented and I’m hoping to try a different approach next.
Anyway long process comment but thanks for all you do. I’m excited to learn more and hope I get some answers over time so I can heal with the right treatments and supports.
@@imjustjules thanks for the comment, some of the conditions you mentioned will be part of this series. I have GERD, too, though at least I know it is of physical origin.
I relate to therapists/clinicians not wanting to pathologize it. I spoke with someone who told me I should accept myself, and that I was just living my life differently, or something to that extent. They mean well, but it's an ultimately unhelpful (possibly dangerous, depending on the circumstances) approach. I have literal wild animals in my system and I have been asking for help, so I have gotten both this response and that of a psychiatrist trying to treat me for psychosis (both unhelpful, lol).
@@sad_doggo2504 yeah, I terminated with my therapist who said this to me. She reminded me too much of the last therapist. My specialty when I was a provider was ND affirming care. Toward the end of my career I got some system clients and didn’t know much about it. So a colleague introduced me to a friend with DID who was a peer mentor and I learned a ton from her as well as being in that community for a while. I didn’t expect to learn I was so drawn to understanding it because I may have it too.
And right like.. another therapist said to me “I added OSDD to your chart because I believe you but I haven’t seen it yet” wow. They really think we’re all dissociaDID who that’s a rant for another day.. but I’m so sick of therapists thinking everyone has these drastic obvious switches. Many of us mask what we can to survive. And since I’ve had to do that so long I’m unraveling more. Yesterday I had a verbal shutdown at the hairdresser and when spoken to, it was a kid voice and I couldn’t hide the switch. It just felt so embarassing. If someone assessed and supported me sooner and singlets realized that OSDD/DID isn’t “alter disorder” and they need to help us with all the debilitating symptoms around it, it would be better.
I’ve done some intense meditations where I see my system for a while and they talk to each other or me. But in the hypnotic ones it breaks free and I see my actual young me exiles. That is the only time I see them. And I recently realized they all are just happy and full of appeasement. I think my whole system exists to help the appeasement to stop. I just.. wish more of us had the help we deserve with this.
Anyway sorry one of my parts has been vent dumping again even though we stopped for a while. I hope you find support. I always assessed clients and even asked how they wanted to go about it if they asked me and that was important to them. I specialized in BPD for a while and people tend to be afraid they have it, so I did those assessments often too.
This series sounds so practical. 😊 it will help a lot of people.
Thank you Dr. Lloyd,
Since both related and unrelated co-morbid conditions can be present.
Consider including a remark on advocating for a such a family member (eg a sleep disorder related to DPDR/BPD and a vertigo disorder from traumatic injury).
I’ve noticed very one sided thinking from physicians. Either
‘all conditions are from the severe mental illnesses’ or
“anything physical has no relation.” The former precludes some treatments while the latter inhibits coordinated treatment across the team.
Thanks for your videos.
(Edit for typesetting typo)
This sounds like it will be amazing
Thank you so much for everything you do for people with dissociative disorders
I’m really interested to know whether you have come across anyone with a complex Dissociative Disorder does NOT have c-PTSD symptoms (pre treatment)
Look forward to this series
I often get a sense people think I should just take anti anxiety / depression medication when I know it’s trauma and dissociation that leads to these conditions and don’t wish to take medication. It then could come across as if I’m being resistant to help
I've experienced this too. I think this has a lot to do with the medicalization of mental illness. In the U.S. psychiatry is more or less a first line to mental health disorders but with complex trauma psychotherapy is the primary treatment- since the culture of biomedicine has pervaded psych practices most people consider that if you're not taking a medication then you're not actually getting treatment, like you said. I'm at a stage in my therapy where a lot of my cPTSD and PTSD symptoms (from a recent event) are secondary to what I identify as part of or stemming from my cDD. For example any depression I have is situational and to do with the effects of my symptoms on my life, where my life has gone due to my cDD. I don't think medicine is for me either.
I was diagnosed with complex PTSD before I was diagnosed with DID. My trauma therapist said that they were very co-morbid, so she aimed to treat both
I think CPTSD is an inherent part of DID
@@Rat_Queen86 it is, but realistically, DID shouldn’t occur without some form of complex trauma, so having a CPTSD diagnosis is secondary to DID rather than co-morbid.
Your therapist's limited training in evaluating and treating trauma disorders is showing. This issue around diagnosis of trauma disorders is covered in the beginning phases of professional formal training. Not every therapist has strong diagnostic skills.
@@Cathy-xi8cbshe….had 10 years experience of working with trauma patients? I made sure to check all of her certificates and training beforehand. Her diagnostic skills were spot on.
Your comment seems unnecessarily judgmental of her. Perhaps she used to wrong wording. Either way, not a cool comment for such a sensitive subject.
@@Cathy-xi8cb I agree.. Ages ago I took some courses, and was able to be a Support.
And, BAD therapy can really set a person BACK, in terms of length, and suffering!!!, and finances.
I appreciated your comment..
This is a very helpful episode. It's a shame that mental health services can be so inaccessible sometimes, the system is very tough.
very interested in this series. i was labelled as schizoaffective for years and being treated for it with NO progress until i was reassessed (a process which took another handful of years) and diagnosed with DID, and a strong likelihood of autism. Since being treated for dissociation and complex trauma, though its been a HARD process, i (we!) have made significant progress. i am not out of the woods, but for the first time in my life, I'm starting a job! getting treatment that means i can work has been a dream
Absolutely my experience…….treatment resistant depression, regular crisis team interventions etc and an amazing psychiatrist who was at a loss on how to help! Even had head scans. Enter a psychologist and all became quickly apparent.
@@bidster1000 is psychologists can be helpful, sometimes! I hope you got the best help available.
@@thectadclinic feel so incredibly lucky to have gotten to work with an amazing psychologist who I’ll forever keep in my heart, and helped me in a way no other mental health professional ever has - totally transformative. I’m still not used to this post therapy life and hope I’ll never take it for granted. The work you guys do can never be overstated.
I have treatment resistent depression and anxiety - both severe - never though of it this way. I also have fnd and fibro - I hope you cover these!
(THANK you for your videos! 👍)
I commented on your last video about having an organic pain-causing disability plus dissociation. Interestingly, my son had an appointment with a geneticist last week, and the geneticist said he sees a lot of dissociative symptoms in people with our condition, which is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Is this something you see frequently?
I wouldn't be too confident in a geneticist's diagnosis of dissociation, considering that licensed mental health providers do such an incredibly poor job of getting it right. Geneticists rarely spend more that a few months on a psychiatric service. Dissociation symptomatology can be confused with poor proprioception (don't feel my body/ don't want to be in this body), the effects of pain and pain medications (sleep paralysis, derealization/depersonalization), even POTS. POTS in particular is often misdiagnosed as a mental health disorder.
@@Cathy-xi8cb I am being treated for dissociation by a mental health professional. My son's geneticist didn't diagnose me with dissociation. He took a thorough family history, and my psychiatric symptoms came up in this discussion. He said he sees dissociation frequently in the personal or family history of people with EDS.
Depression, anxiety, eating disorder, bipolar 2, adhd.... Cptsd... Finally at 43 Osdd
Kinda a side question... How do you know if it is an unhealed parts, interchild, or DID?
I have tried finding out the differences and haven't been successful. My therapist originally said she didn't think DID was that common, and it must be unhealed parts, then it went to maybe we need to focus on inner child work. Now she thinks there is a good probability I have DID. I never cared about what the diagnosis was until now. I don't want it! Since talking to her about it, things have gotten worse in my head and losing time more often. It was like pandora's box had been torn apart, and all the compartments are gone. Would this be a typical response?
This is why a good, broad and structured assessment is needed before treatment. Many therapists don’t know how to do this, they just start on a ‘problem’.
Would you consider doing a full video on Maladaptive Daydreaming Disorder? It's not in the DSM but we feel that it has an important place in this discussion and as a disassociative disorder. We developed MaDD long before we became a system but feel that it had an impact in our being sort of predisposed to plurality and additional dissociative disorders (cptsd and did/osdd)
what about somatic especially autoimmune diseases? One therapist told me they are quite often associated. I have a dissociative disorder (probably DID, doctors are not quite sure, yet). And I have Sjögren syndrom (including the autoantibodies associated with it). Where it get's a bit complicated is that I have a couple of "neurological" symtoms, that in my opinion make more sense to be autoimmune (comes in waves, is reduced by cortison), but neurologists don't want to deal with it, because they see it as "just psychological.
It would be completely common for someone with an autoimmune disorder to display neurological symptoms. It takes a good medical clinician, not a psychologist usually, to be able to distinguish between medication side effects causing neurological symptoms and primary disease effects. The side effects of cortisone short and long term are well known. Your current neurologists might be concerned that you won't take the meds and end up in more severe difficulty if they go into the details. It might be preventing faster disease progression. Mental health issues are regularly seen with chronic autoimmune conditions. It is not as common to see very severe childhood trauma in the patient history, nor identity confusion and amnesia as in DID.
I recognized her dissociation because I'd used it to escape verbal abuse/lectures (I had undiagnosed adhd & strict parents). Perhaps I was drawn to the idea of helping her escape such abuse from her helicopter parents.
With my medicating doctor's permission, I brought her along for evaluation of stress and potential medication. However, she completed denied having all the symptoms to my doctor. This was after she was using the majority of my Busparin as a coping mechanism while working for her parents (since age 14).
Such frequent dichotomy was very frustrating. Have you experienced such a thing with your patients? (Words without actions)
She'd seem very sincere and genuine yet reverse course when it came to implementation.
My partner seems to be dissociated an alarming amt of each day. He has an army of defense mechanisms as well and therefore hasn't paid attention to my comments or explanations (I dissociate myself, just not any where this often and do have the awareness). I'm not a professional and understand I am not qualified to diagnose. He finally went to mental health services and did a full DBT group although he isn't even familiar when I mention any of the lingo. He says he's seeing a therapist rn but, at least in my area, it seems most therapists take the same path- cognitive bias, drink water, be around ppl, and wrap up with affirmations. I haven't found a therapist, even the ones who claim to be "trauma informed", that has more than a very superficial understanding of dissociation, flashbacks, etc.
Any advice?
i have osdd or partial did, the subpersonnality type (I believe) and i felt like my qualities and my strenght left me in few minutes when i switched, so it makes me much more weaker and it was 11 years ago and no switch since then.
I have derealisation and bad social anxiety, my question is can i say to the psychiatrist about derealisation only To heal from social anxiety ?
❤ thank you for sharing this. 😊
You are very welcome!
Hi Mike, wondered if it was usual to get so confused which life is the real one and which aren’t and why alters always seem to make me highly paranoid as they always question everything, everyones hidden motive and make me think that people are pretending to be real in order to brainwash me into doing and thinking things that aren’t safe, people always treat me as if I’m delusional so how do you know your not if you don’t know what’s real? If that makes any sense? Thank you, Juliette
Where are the next episodes?
There are five videos after this one all on this subject (CFS, BPD and Bipolar)
When dissociation is treated.. is it possible for the lost memories to return?
@@Sophie-ur2qb of course, that is often a therapy goal, though some are not wanted, even so.
@thectadclinic Thank you for replying. It's a bit daunting. I've been looking into therapies offered by the NHS. I'm scared to leave my house so it's hard. I'm not sure what will be beneficial. I've had some not so good experiences with doctors in the past so I'm very anxious
Would you also consider mitochondrial dysfunctions in energy metabolism due to either wrong diet and/or metabolic dysfunctions? I have been improving short term and long term memory with precision nutrition prescribed by nutrigeneticist, amazing how my health condition improved, together with two years of cognitive psycotherapy. I am a patient diagnosed with two neurodevelopment conditions called gifted with traits of extended autism phenotype, with a history of c-PTSD improving each year. I am in Brazil and I really appreciate your videos.
I personally feel that mitochondrial dysfunction is actually a dissociative state, because when we have been in fight and flight too long we freeze. When we freeze our bodies essentially prepare for death and shut down our rest and digest functions. I believe that the mitochondria are switched off in these times so energy doesn’t get into the cells causing fatigue. Pacing for me has had limited benefit but managing my nervous system states was life changing.
@@ArtyAntics Thank you for your comments, I clearly understand your point.
My gf was diagnosed with bipolar 2, antisocial personality disorder, GAD, depression, OCD, RTS, c-PTSD, and BPD, in addition to her DID.
As someone with a number of mental health comorbidities, we're really interested in seeing this series of posts! For us, after an amazing CPN fought, services did eventually see and start to help us with the dissociation... Unfortunately after some therapy (and the people who actually understood the DID left) it then meant 'the team' dismissed the other diagnosed conditions and have refused to offer support for the other mental health issues we do have because "they can't support long term with the DID and trauma".
@@indigo.and.dissociation that must be so frustrating for you.
@@thectadclinic It seems we left frustration behind a while ago, soul destroying and mentally damaging are words we would currently use to describe it. Thank you for your reply and for all you do here 💜
Unrelated Question:
If a person has been diagnosed with DID, is it possible that their parent may also have DID? I know it's not genetic, but can the consequences of childhood trauma lead to the same diagnoses in parent and adult child? Or would this be surprising / unexpected?
Any psychological conditions can be ‘passed down’ to a degree, but for DID/OSDD, the child would need to have been traumatised. Many parents with DID are excellent, and protect their child well. So, it depends on context.
🫶