Cpatel writes "I was diagnosed with MPD yesterday.  At first I was in complete denial.  Now I am dealing with it.  I couldn't sleep at all last night.  Do you have any suggestions for dealing with this?  I was put on Celexa and adovan.

Hi,
Well it takes a coupla weeks for those meds to do their magic, so in the mean time try to take things slow.  My stages of denial waxed and waned for almost two years; at times I was certain, and others, so sure I wasn't.  It is best to begin a journal for all to write in, it helps in getting communication going inside.  I think the fact that you are reaching out to others like yourself is a big step in the right direction.  Keep asking questions!  For now, begin the journal and try to figure out just how much time you lose.
Jennifer

Cpate17:  The first thing to do is try to discover who your alters are, from the main adult "Front Office" of you.  If you are, or have been, functioning in society...working, having a family, doing your own finances, or going to school, and managing to follow the laws and morals of society, you do have a "person, or persons, in charge."  That one of you needs to take on a non-judgmental approach to the undiscovered alters inside that may be younger or less responsible. 

If you have destructive alters, or ones that make you mess-up in life, you need to start a relationship of some kind.  This can be scary, and full of emotion, because there is a reason why one self replaces another and doesn't want to be seen.  Go to your alters with an approach that you don't force, you make deals.  Offer to do nice things for an alter that has let you see it--and stay by your word.  Only draw the line against requirements that are illegal or damaging.  That is hard sometimes... really tough... as the alter often needs desperately some things that your higher self knows are mistaken and wrong. 

 You also can start practicing a tough, angry, power stance that you can employ as a  sort of "policeman" to make  an altar shut up and give you a rest for awhile. You may need to do that out loud, and beat on a stack of newspapers, or something. Do it in private, though.  Your physical act  makes a strong impression on the unconscious.  One reason patients have to keep alters away is because their pain is uncontrollable. But that can change. 

Like children, some alters need a strong parent who can tell them firmly to "sit down and be quiet" for a minute. They will learn to love and trust you for being able to control them as well as let them express.  Be sure to tell the alter it can come back and will not be forced to change too fast, but just to shut up for a moment.  That way you learn  to have a control over panic and depression that you really need, to stay functional.   Some alters are full of fear or grief and can drown you in it if allowed to express thru you  untamed. It's touch-and-go, and exhausting sometimes, but this 'taming' does work, and  worth  the trouble!  And things can get much better when you become more co-conscious, and cooperating instead of  going every which way.
Restin Wells

Cpatel,
I too take Celexa and think it does a really good job.  I agree with Jennifer about the denial coming and going.  Actually, after 12 years I still content with it.  I was in therapy for a few months before my T told me my dx, in the mean time I was learning how to cope and filling notebooks with every thought going through the mind.  I sometimes have to look at my old journals to prove to myself that this is all too true to deny.  A nice thing you can do for yourself is to write it down, write down that you accept the diagnosis so that you can refer to it at times when you might not be so sure.  This might also be a great starting point to help the your alters write and talk about their experiences.
Emily

Joshua would like to know "Is there a condition that is similar to DID in every way but this: that both personalities share the same memory and name?

Yes, I am not a professional, but I do have a friend with ESD, Ego State Disorder.  She is similar to us multiples in every way except the amnesia and separation of alters.  Her alters seem to communicate at all times, and her memory is intact.  Are there only two alters here?  Then maybe you have borderline personality disorder, which I can't tell you much about.  I would definitely go to a psychologist and get a diagnosis.
Jennifer

Joshua,
There are so many ways dissociation can form.  This may be unusual; but if that is what you suspect or experience, it is important to look into it.  It's generally believed that dissociation happens in order to resolve unbearable pain.  I think it's important to find what caused you to make a new template of your own self... a very efficient idea I might add.  The two you's need to get together and discuss why one needs to substitute for the other.   Maybe it happens in certain situations.  Maybe a good T could help you.  It isn't that one alter has to be given up, but that they can cooperate instead of alternating unconsciously, in ways that can cause you trouble.  It's so you can have time to do your daily things, and feel okay while you're at work, or school, or doing your hobbies, or whatever you do in life.
Restin Wells

Joshua,
In some ways I understand the concept of being two but also having the same memories.  Like Jennifer, I know someone with Ego State Disorder, and it can be just as debilitating as Multiple Personalities.  I mean, this is what I have learned from this person with ESD, and what I experience in a co-conscious mode (which is hard for me to express at times).

My experience with duality is the constant struggle with dual thoughts and feelings.  There are times that I get so frustrated because I cannot figure out what to think, what to believe, how to feel.... anything.  The whole point is if you find that you cannot function well and you have unexplainable thoughts and feelings, seek help to find some answers.
Emily

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