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I like the DBT approach. The workbook I've been using for the past year is called The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, and it's by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley. I really like the mindfulness exercises, and I find they work well for dissociation.

Never heard of this, so looked it up... According to wikipedia, 10% of the population has this!

Absolutely, yes! That's a nice way of putting it.

I cry when I'm flooded with emotion, no matter what that emotion is, whether it's positive or negative. One of the highly overwhelming (and therefore tearful) feelings for me is self-compassion. I'm so used to being hard on myself, it catches me off-guard, and it feels overwhelming. Maybe that's...

I feel your pain of not having a clear narrative for your past. I have some trauma that I can remember in a clear-cut narrative fashion, and I have trauma that I only know as fragmented shards of memory. I pretty much ignore these shards for the most part because they are baffling. Aside from...

Thank you for sharing your progress. Hearing about all these positive steps you're making is inspiring! Keep it up, and let us know how it goes as you work on being more open and vulnerable with your wife. As I'm finally learning too, it's pretty scary to be truly seen--but also pretty amazing...

every1: I have a hard time accepting not only pity, but also its more benevolent cousin, compassion. I know a huge part of it for me is that I so much want to be strong, and be seen as strong. Sharing how my past affects me today feels scary and threatening to me. Pity or compassion--or people...

Thank you for the kind encouragement. You are more comforting and wise than you realize! My gosh, I can certainly relate to this. I think this feeling of wanting to avoid pity is part of what's motivating me to start an online trauma diary. I can open myself up, but without feeling like I'm...

This is true for me, too. It's about finding the right dose so as to turn down the anxiety, and to turn up my ability to focus on the present--but without going so far as to get high. It really sucks how cannabis is criminalized and stigmatized, especially considering all the research showing...

It feels so strange to keep a public trauma diary. I've spent so many years locking up myself, afraid to be exposed to the world. And now... I realize there's something healing to be able to put myself out there. To say, here I am, this is me. I sense there's a power in this, in being able to...

For those who live in areas where medical cannabis is an option: I should add that there are some new strains of cannabis that are high in CBD and low in THC (cannabis has dozens of cannabinoids--THC is just the most famous). These strains are interesting because they seem to have a calming...

Hey, Woof. Medical cannabis is a big part of how I cope with PTSD. I'm lucky to have a doctor who understands and supports it, too. It helps with my anxiety like nothing else I've tried (benzos, SSRIs), and without the disturbing side effects. It certainly helps me get to sleep at night (my...

Reds, I am sorry you are going through a hard time. I wish I could give you that shoulder to cry on... This is such an excellent point, and I hope it brings you some comfort, Reds. Personally, I know I will try to hold onto this thought when I'm feeling upset about interpersonal issues...

I am so sorry you had to go through--and continue to go through--so much pain. I know you can find this here. I'm pretty new here myself, and I am completely humbled by how supportive and encouraging and nonjudgmental this little online community is. Welcome!

Sometimes I like to call it a "superpower." :)

Welcome! I think the WillyKat and Abstract give excellent advice. Just one small point I'd like to add on this: I can understand why you're attached to the confidence and the child-like wonder--I too would want to hold onto these. I think the good news is that you get to do just that. Please...

Yup! I'm actually grateful for this ability.

Yes, please! If only it were easy to find such a therapist...

The more I learn about dissociation and dissociative disorders, and the more I hear from people on this forum, the more I'm convinced the various "diagnoses" are arbitrary ways of classifying and differentiating a whole constellation of self-preserving mental habits we develop as a survival...

Wow, so glad I was pointed to this thread. I get this too! Sometimes my mind simply won't acknowledge certain things I know to be true (at least on some level). What these certain things have in common is that they feel dangerous to think about, like a disturbing/triggering detail about...

First of all, thank you to everyone who replied. This was the first thread I started (other than intro), and I'm humbled by all the answers and how supportive people are on this forum. You all made my day! She did not "test" me, no. I did a self-administered test from one of the books I read...

I am no longer seeing this therapist, I should say. I felt like she wasn't really listening to me (maybe it was a problem with my communication, I don't know). But I'm still left wondering… She is a trauma and dissociation specialist, has DID herself, and insists I have DID. I am not sure the...

I'm so sorry for all your pain. Nobody deserves this kind of pain. When you're in the thick of it, it can feel like things will never improve. I know I've certainly been there before. Like you, I wrote the letters, made the plans, got so so close. And I know this isn't much consolation, but...

Research suggests that the following supplements can be helpful for anxiety: california poppy, ginkgo, hawthorn, passionflower, rhodiola, and valerian. I do not pretend to have any knowledge of herbalism, but I put together this list after carefully looking through the actual evidence published...

This is controversial, but... have you considered medical cannabis (or non-medical, if that's all you have access to)? It can do wonders for anxiety. I know many people have found great relief from PTSD this way.