What's DID/OSDD? Learn the facts!

Instructions

I've been doing some studying over the past few weeks about DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and OSDD (Other Specified Dissociative Disorder) and I'm here to tell y'all the facts! ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` So what is DID? DID is the existence of several interpersonal personalities (Alters) to help cope with repeated childhood trauma. Children don't start out with a unified sense of self, but between the ages of 6-8, the Hippocampus and the Orbitofrontal cortex fully develop, integrating the child's mind and forming a strong idea of self. DID/OSDD develop when this natural process is interrupted by REPEATED CHILDHOOD TRAUMA. This causes the brain to never fully develop self. With the unintegrated states of self, plus a traumatic and/or abusive life, these states develop into alters. These alters can ANPs (Apparently Normal Parts) that function for daily life. These ANPs can have names, preferences, accents, genders, and unique skills. The second type of alters are EPs (Emotional Parts) that function in high stress areas or when triggered by a certain stimulus. EPs do not usually have identifiable traits such as names, gender, etc. Most alters can fall under these 2 types. The traumatized child will also dissociate as a response to high stress. Sometimes, switches can be made to bring in an alter for certain areas (EX: A more athletic alter switching in for a track meeting) These switches can be forced or planned for ahead of time. Alters have amnesia between alters, to protect non-traumatized memories from being corrupted. Alter who hold traumatized memories are called Traumaholders. ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Ok, so what's OSDD? OSDD is a term used for someone that has dissociative symptoms, but does not fit the right standards for DID. There are 2 main types of OSDD: OSDD-1A: Someone who has amnesia between alters, but doesn't have distinct enough parts for the alters to be identified with. OSDD-1B: Someone who has distinct enough parts that can be identified, but little to no amnesia between alters. Both DID and OSDD are traumatic, which mean it can only form as a response to long-term trauma, though unlike DID, OSDD can occur at any age. (Unlike DID which can ONLY occur roughly between ages 4-8[2]) ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Let's get to the fun facts already! Alright, Alright, I year y'all. Let's learn some facts! - There are around 71 MILLION people worldwide who have DID [1] - The first recorded case of DID was Jeanne Fery, in 1584. [3] - The *premature self-inflicted death* rate is about 70% in those with DID (not very fun, but hey it's a fact!) - The average amount of alters is 18 - More to be added soon! ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` DEFINITIONS Dissociation: Being disconnected from one's self and/or environment Trauma: A highly stressful or life altering event Amnesia: The inability to remember Switch: To change which alter is currently present