Is This Structural Dissociation?

[Ronin]

Or maybe even enforce some chain of command.

I'm on to them now. Someone needs to cough up some Intel

This both cracked me up, for differing reasons.

Someone here speaks my language with relating experience. Thank for that much, you. :D:cool:

 

[ms spock]

Gosh I can read this thread and it is like I haven't read it before - even though I was the opening poster and replied to posts.

 

[katz]

If part A's job is to protect part B?
Ask part A to help reach and start to debrief part B?
That *might...

This is exactly what I ended up doing. A T that I had back when, helped me learn to "help myself". In other words, if the child me started to panic. Then the adult me, using what she learned, can step in. Just like an adult would comfort a child if she saw something scary.

I can always tell when the "feeling"- for lack of words, starts to come up. I usually sit down, so I know that I'm safe. Then the adult me starts telling the little me that "it's okay. It happened a long time ago. You're okay now. You're safe now." I also start asking myself, inside, of course, "what is the worst thing that could happen?" I usually find out that the worst thing that I come up with is far, far worse that what actually happens (in the present). (I'm sure that most of us can come up with some terrible things.) Then the feeling eases down and the panic starts to fade. I also always tell the "little me" that "you've been so strong to go thru this."

Doing this over and over, thru the years, has helped me get stronger and I have even begun to pay more attention to the memory feelings when they come up. Now, most of the time, when I feel a memory, coming, I look around and try to figure out what is causing it. A person, a smell, a sound ect. This has helped me to learn a lot about the way I am. I am not nearly as angry at myself for being the way I am because I understand much more about my past.

A lot of the terrible things that I blamed myself for ( example : ugly, weak ) I can now see were just the results of what happened. They are not my fault. You should always remember to congratulate your "little" self for getting thru the "memory feeling". Doing this has helped the "little" me to grow inside of me.

 

[Powder]

I'm a proponent of realizing that is someone has Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), Post Truamatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or a Dissociative Disorder (DDNOS, DESNOS, DID) you are dealing with the same action systems + dissociation. Thus the advice to discuss with DID is not out of hand, simply they have 30 push ups and sit ups to do a day, and you have 20. Their advice may prove outstanding.

The list below is of Action Systems all humans (and some animals) share, regardless of dissociation levels of said systems:

Exploring Environment (work/play/exercise)
Attachment (crying/holding/hug)
Energy (Eat/Sleep/Self care)
Social
Caretaking/parenting
Sex

The above are "Daily Life;" and in PTSD or in any Dis.Disorder, the above can be "Numb" or "avoident," as in not feeling hunger, sex, or the need for sleep cues.

Then in PTSD we have intrusions of the "Defenses:"with several subsystems: Hypervigilance, freeze, flight, fight, total submission (Fanselow & Lester, 1988; Misslin, 2003), and some forms of social submission [fawn] (Gilbert, 2000). Recuperation follows survival of attack,

Primary SD = PTSD
Secondary SD = DDNOS (which is like DID but without the amnesia between parts and elaboration of the ANP into full on personalities)
Tertiary SD = DID

Positive and Negative symptoms comingle.
Because DID can mask itself as DDNOS for years, DDNOS is often simply treated as if it were DID in disguise. The same action systems are dissociated. The major diff. between DID and DDNOS is that the ANP is more unified in DDNOS and the parts are more co-conscious. The EP's intrusions are not dissociated away, so flashbacks are mostly remembered later but can be fuzzy.

Unfortunately, when parts first start appearing in any of the above, it is upsetting because those EP's are in tremendous pain and often re-enact their pain for the same duration as it lasted the original trauma.

Once processing/understanding is underway, the time length of the parts take overs can be foreshortened by immediately realizing what is happening and taking action to ground or relieve dissociation: See Pete Walker's 13 Steps to Flashback Management: PDF: http://pete-walker.com/pdf/13StepsManageFlashbacks.pdf

I find that drinking ice water through a straw, as soon as I can manage it, and talking as much as I can about what is happening grounds me and brings my ANP back into play. However, I do not dimiss or shrug off the EP; rather I journal and talk with it, ask it questions, and for any additional memories it has, so that I can make the most narrative memory out of the awful experience.

I basically add its information to my timeline and trust its experience, validate it, and give it whatever it wants to calm down.

Last time, it wanted a "My Little Pony" so while I sipped my ice water and applied my Vicks (aromatherapy to cut dissociation) my spouse retrieved one of my kid's toys. I stroked it and then remembered a strong, positive memory of Chuck E Cheese with a BFF. I was expecting more trauma, but the EP actually help peritraumatic memories of positive childhood experiences that followed the trauma later. This is how you put the timeline back in order. You take all memories, good and bad, and just stick them on the timeline. :)

Good luck! It's not all painful, is the lesson. Bittersweet.

An the T's may be dumb-asses, but well-intended dumb-asses at that. No need to demonize. If their intent was to harm, then, please sue their dumb asses ASAP.

Hugs if you want them,

Muse