DID D.i.d. and the troops for truddi chase: when rabbit howls

[Lionheart]

I was wondering about Dissociative Identity Disorder / (aka Multiple Personality Disorder) and the woman known as the Troops for Truddi Chase.

have some questions, .... but let me start by saying this;

I do not have the diagnosis of D.I.D. (my psych records reflect Fragmented Personality Disorder instead) and secondly, my understanding of the diagnosis is limited and I do not want to offend anyone with my ignorance of D.I.D.

First, can anyone tell me if the Story about Truddi Chase was deemed to be authentic?

The autobiographical book she wrote, "When Rabbit Howls", was it deemed to be authentic and true as well?

If so, I wonder why she / the troops did not integrate?

And how she was able to be high functioning since she did not integrate her alters?

Now what brought these questions to mind?

I am interested to learn as much about the diagnosis as I can.

Also, I am thinking of watching the movie "Split". Yet, I don't want to feed my head with nonsense (so I will read the thread about that Movie as well, after creating this thread).

I enjoy thriller movies, but want to be able to separate fact from the fiction and there is a movie based on The Troops for Truddi Chases' story as well. Which I may or may not watch, depending on the outcome of this thread.

Can anyone with more knowledge on the subject of High Functioning D.I.D., please educate me here?

I think it best to better educate myself on the subject before watching either a biographical account or a fantasy movie based on the diagnosis.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Lionheart777

 

[SeanCharles]

Hi Bro, Unfortunately I have no information I can provide as this is something I am unfamiliar with even though I suspect I have DID on top of other conditions which may be interesting to see what comes of my Medical Decision with my ongoing disability case. I will be interested to see what others share too though. :)

 

[Lionheart]

I found an article of interest but, I have trouble reading it....however it may explain things for others who happen upon this site and I am trying to understand it as best I can.

I hope it is okay to share it here: http://dana.org/Cerebrum/2008/Coming_Apart__Trauma_and_the_Fragmentation_of_the_Self/

*(This article is written to set the record straight, to explain what this disorder is and what we understand about its causes, both in early life experience and in the brain).

I will attempt to read all I can but, I really need it put into easier terms and broken down into a few sentences at a time, to better help me to assimilate the information.

 

[SeanCharles]

There are some good books on the subject too. Fascinating article. :)

 

[theshadowoftheliving]

I don't know anything about that book, and can't comment specifically on it.

What I do know: I am a multiple (unclear if I officially fit the criteria for DID but am most definitely a multiple) and I am also high-functioning. I hold a really high-powered position in my field. My success? Most definitely related to being a multiple.

Being more than one is really hard in many ways and provides so much trouble for me in many areas of my life. But when it comes to work, it also permits me to work long, concentrated hours. I can compartmentalize experiences so that when I'm working I won't even consider other things. I'm incredibly productive as a result, as I can even compartmentalize pain, hunger and tiredness, further increasing the amount of work that I can do.

The idea of integration is, because of these abilities, absolutely terrifying for me.

 

[Muted]

I found an article of interest but, I have trouble reading it....however it may explain things for...

It looked like a really great article and I tried hard to read it, but I couldn't.

Being more than one is really hard in many ways and provides so much trouble for me in many areas of my life. But when it comes to work, it also permits me to work long, concentrated hours. I can compartmentalize experiences so that when I'm working I won't even consider other things. I'm incredibly productive as a result, as I can even compartmentalize pain, hunger and tiredness, further increasing the amount of work that I can do.

That's exactly how I am at work too @theshadowoftheliving .

 

[Friday]

Also, I am thinking of watching the movie "Split". Yet, I don't want to feed my head with nonsense (so I will read the thread about that Movie as well, after creating this thread).

It's a horror flick, and a comic book origin story... So I would be disinclined to use it as any kind of mental health resource. In the same way as I'd be disinclined to use Freddy Krueger or IronMan as a mental health resource. Just as a word to the wise.

 

[Lionheart]

I've given this a bit more thought and if the story about Truddi Chase is authentic, I will choose to watch the movie that she worked on about her life and gain a bit of education, rather than to watch a movie that is not based in reality.

I don't want to blur the lines between fact and fiction when it comes to this disorder, not only because it is an affront to those with the diagnosis, but also to me in understanding my own fragmented self.

 

[whiteraven]

I would be considered a high-functioning individual with DID, or multiple. I was diagnosed with DID in 1998 and have made the conscious choice not to intentionally integrate, although will not stand in the way of the blending or merging of insiders if that were to occur naturally.

I'm currently writing a book on living with DID, and one of the chapters is on this very subject. I decided to write about it because among therapists and multiples it can be a hotly debated issue. Some traditional therapists think it is *essential* for multiples to integrate in order to fully heal. Many folks with DID find it a terrifying prospect, seeing it as the death of their insiders/alters and parts of themselves, and others may see it as a negation of who they are as a person. I chose not to integrate because I found that we were able to reach a high level of functionality amongst ourselves that is much healthier for me, in my opinion, and makes me much more a whole person, than would the years of crippling therapy it would take to achieve integration.

We were struggling in massive ways with intensive therapy with a traditional therapist, going through memory retrieval, etc. Unable to work, manage symptoms, etc...In order to survive, I felt, that had to stop. I could not maintain life like that, even though I was told it was the only way. So...circumstances were such anyway that I had to terminate with this therapist. I took a break, then started with someone new who told me that. if I wanted to try to learn to just manage my symptoms and gain functionality, she would help.

That's what I did, and it saved me/us.

All of us work cooperatively to do what needs to be done in our daily lives. There are occasional issues, but we function pretty well, And I am grateful for their presence. I would have it no other way.

 

[Sandstone]

If you want to read an account of living and working as a teacher with DID you could look at Link Removed and the following eight articles.

 

[Muted]

I've only read the first one so far, but that is really an amazing story. Thank you for sharing that @Sandstone :)

 

[Ronin]

I am interested to learn as much about the diagnosis as I can.

In my experience you won't learn that from watching and/or reading of others' experience, sensationalized to sell or not.

Because as every person is different? So is every one with D.I.D.

There's not gonna be a standardized how-to's about anything D.I.D., and in some parts of self discovery, trying to apply others' functioning models to your own, can mess you up more than be beneficial.