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Relationship Ptsd Alternate Personality Specifics?

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I've noticed that when my partners PTSD would kick in with flashbacks and outbursts that a full blown personality change would set in for more than just a few hours. Most of the time a night sleep would reset the personality change but at times like the first time my partner bailed out, the personality change was for weeks-months.

Basically a PTSD episode that is mild but sticks. Like the evil twin version of her normal self.

  • How long can the alternate personality stick?
  • What is the actual terminology for when a PTSD sufferer is stuck in the alternate personality?
 
The my psychiatrist would call that part of an ptsd episode. Basically the nervous system is still out of whack and the blood flow to the brain and its functioning is f*cked. During my dark times, those episodes could last months.
 
Would this be dissociation?

That's an area I'm not very familiar with personally, as it hasn't been one of my vet's major symptoms since we've been together. He has had 2 "flashbacks" with lost time, etc., that have landed him in inpatient treatment facilities in the past though.

I'm curious too. Hopefully some of the sufferers can help.
 
  • How long can the alternate personality stick?
  • What is the actual terminology for when a PTSD sufferer is stuck in the alternate personality?

Answering the second question first, are you sure she doesnt have DID? Its a type of dissociation where alters are present that have their own personalities.

I have BPD, PTSD, & GAD (dignosed ones) and i dissociate A LOT, maybe 20 times a day on average but its more of going away in my head in a way to escape & i only did so & lost memory (didnt know how i got from point a to point b) twice.

I do explode, its a mixture of anxiety that comes w/ BPD & PTSD but was diagnosed GAD cuz of how severe the anxiety is. It seems i have another personality but im just in the red zone cant control myself time.

Tailspins are another thing. I just came out of my worst & longest lasting tailspin (3 days) where & it seemed a had another personality. Cutting, hitting my head in the elevator at work hard enough where the security thought the noise was the elevator broken, kicking the rock wall at work on the balcony, yelling at everyone for everything, on the edge suicidal all 3 days where i couldnt pull myself at least a little off the edge, throwing up constantly all 3 days (as well as at work), driving very fast and VERY unsafe (and im a safe driver), cornered a co-worker (thank god where theres no cameras) and tried as all hell to seduce him...to name a few.

I didnt mean to go into ramblings about me but im just trying to say that w/o DID, I havent heard of an actual personality change w/ PTSD...at least not in my experience.

Im sorry you both have to go through this!
 
Yes, dissisociation can be mild to severe and can be short lasting or longer in time. Weeks....if not more. A complete personality change is common as well.

When trauma brain takes over, it's tough. I'm sorry you're being faced with this, it's hard to stand by and watch.
 
Answering the second question first, are you sure she doesnt have DID? Its a type of dissocia...

The seducing part really is the interesting point of the story. Mainly because it shows you were acting calm at that point but not yourself and sexually aggressive. It is interesting because her alternate personality has a few key personality differences from her normal self and the stepping out part in the aggressive style seems to be part of her alternate. This may sound bad but I've named her alternate personality to help keep the memories in my head straight of who is who.
 
Yes, dissisociation can be mild to severe and can be short lasting or longer in time. Weeks....if not...

It's hard to watch because I can't tell if that is just who she became or if it is just a PTSD personality switch. You can tell in hindsight but as it is happening you can't seem to tell for sure.
 
Want to mention that during the arguments during this last bail out sequence, I noticed ~5 distinct personalities. They seemed to be personalities from different parts of her life timeline. The one she is currently in is very much the one she had before she had our daughter that died that caused the trauma. The personality of "I'm gonna have fun, not going to get married or be in a serious relationship, not going to have kids ever", from basically her teennage years. She had told me all about her life and how she acted and thought throughout her maturing. Then I saw her maturing during our 4 year relationship. She was early 20s to now mid 20s which tends to be a giant shift in how a person acts.

Reading a bit on DID and PTSD (thanks for the term to look for) it said that memory availability is modified at times from light to severe levels and is more a mode of consciousness. Considering that PTSD from what I have been told can modify memory availability as well as the perspective of memories, this seems to make a lot of sense.

The last few months and even this month still coming are the most stress packed months she has seen in years. Homelessness is bad but it is one event that was mitigated quite a bit because of friends helping us out. Currently though, things were way more stressful. Friends and family members dying, turning 25 (a birthday people reflect their life on), her sister turning 16 which is a turning point which happens to be our daughters birthday, then 2 months later the daughters death date. Then coming up on the end of unemployment, her increasingly stressful job that deals with people, etc. Losing a vehicle, getting a new unfamiliar one, etc.

I'm guessing the persistent stress is keeping her in a DID type state.

The article I'm referencing is here: Dead Link Removed
 
Hi Mr Smith,
what you are getting from your partner sounds difficult.
Sorry that I don't know the back story, so apologies in advance if this is way wide of the mark.

I'm increasingly viewing alters and that level of dissociation, as being connected with early and repeated trauma, and attachment/ developmental trauma

@lostforgottensoul has already touched on the subject of what gets described as borderline personality. I'll throw histrionic in there too for the seductive stuff.

Bearing in mind that a lot of the early stuff comes with dissociative amnesia, or was from before conscious memories. Do you think that might apply to your partner?

Does your partner ever speak with a child's voice?, especially to ask if she's a good or bad girl? ( if a child alter ever does surface, make the most of it, get the colouring books out, play tig together, etc).
 
Hi Mr Smith,
what you are getting from your partner sounds difficult.
Sorry that I don't know the back s...

No child voices and most of the childhood never comes up in conversation. Know very little of before she was a teennager. There might be something to this though and I believe that it would take a conscious effort to explore that and most likely with a therapist.
 
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