Disassociation Identity Disorder

I’m learning more about Disassociation Identity Disorder since his diagnoses acouple years ago. It has been a difficult journey, and I’m still learning more everyday. I’ve researched different ways to help him manage his symptoms but it’s hard when every person is so unique.

What I have found so far, is that it’s important to give my son the space he needs to express his different identities, while also creating a stable and secure environment for him.

Last Night

William complained of chest pain and had confusion during our conversation. I also was able to reveal not only a high blood pressure reading but also the mental anguish he was struggling with.

He could barely put together words to tell me what distressed him, eventually managing to mention his anxiety from revisiting traumatic memories as if they were happening in real time. All that mattered was validating his feelings of fear and being proud of how calmly he responded despite it all. When I suggested turning off the lights, to avoid overstimulating—William buried himself into my arm almost instantly; he was so relieved by the idea that it seemed to be a long-held wish for him.

His gratitude was enough for me to understand how much he needed a safe and comforting space at that moment.

I tried to keep him in the present on what we did during the day and he acting like he didn’t know what I was talking about. So I tried redirection, and slowly he started to come back around. I found out that he wasn’t able to focus on one thing for very long, so I tried putting things into small pieces and that seemed to work. It took some time, but eventually he was able to stay focused with me for longer periods of time. That’s when I knew we were making progress.

I told him we can sit here in the dark as long as you want. I’m sure there are a million, “nice memories” to talk about and I’m ready to listen. No sooner I said that he fell asleep with his head on my shoulder and I can feel the heat from him slowly getting cooler. His breathing  was clear and regular and seemed peaceful. 

I must have dozed off because before I knew it an hour had past.  I took him to bed. 

This was very mild compared to when he was first diagnosed. His Disaccociation Identity Disorder use to come without warning. He saw things that werent there. Especially the one that betrayed him in his eyes. Full conversations with anger and aggression to no one in the room. This was the toughest time for me because I had no idea what to do.

Conclusion

But now that he is talking more, and Im with him each day, I can see the signs of his disorder. I can tell when he is losing control and help him get back to the present.

It’s been a long road but I’m so proud of how far we have come together as a family