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DID Telling partner's parents about did

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Keen

Gold Member
Hi friends with DID,
My partner is the only person who knows about my diagnosis, but we feel like it'd be safer for someone else to know just in case she wasn't around to help me during a crisis or something like that.
After thinking carefully about who I could possibly trust with such sensitive information, I feel like my partner's parents are the best option. They are really goodhearted people who I have seen being really understanding and caring to people in various situations.
They are from an older generation though. The generation who call anxiety disorders "shyness" or "nerves" and aren't quite up-to-date in understanding mental illness. But I feel like they'd be willing to work to understand, because they already care a lot about me, and have been really kind to me after learning about me having PTSD.
I am wondering if any of you have found a clear, simple way to describe DID that doesn't weird/freak people out? Maybe a good article online? Or a good book?
 
Your partner is really well placed to help you with this. She can give feedback on the way you communicated it to her, how effective that was, what was helpful and what was just scary, and also what she needed to know.

Based on how you explained it to her, maybe look at how you handled that situation, and what changes you want to make for when you explain it to your folks.

The big thing for me when I disclose personal stuff like this is to ask myself: why am I telling them? Instead of just dumping intense information on them, what is it that I eant them to do with that information? Answering that often helps me get it clear in my head what I need to communicate.

So, if it’s for safety reasons, that’s what I’m going to focus on. How is telling them going to help me with my safety? If that’s why I’m telling them, what I need to focus on.
 
I wouldn't disclose it as D.I.D. Especially not to parents. None of their business, and other reasons.

You can speak of things as 'Sometimes I struggle with ___, and in that situation I may be helped by ___ and I'm not helped by (other things)'. Focusing on what influences switches, and safety for which person, rather than the whole... D.I.D. factor.
 
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