will_n_way's Blog

It has come to my attention that there are thousands of people that have been diagnosed with a certain category of psychiatric disorder that have been shoved to the back burner far many more times then any other by both the professional community and the general public at large.

When you hear the term "multiple personality disorder" you think of movies and tv and serial killers. 1, it's been statistically prooven that people with mental disorders are as a whole far less violent then the general population, and 2. Most people with what are called Dissociative disorders, pass you on the street everyday, and you've never had a clue they were there. They look just like you and me, just like everyone else.

Dissociation is something that has happened atleast once to everyone, to all of us, at the low end there are things like highway hypnosis, or you're curled up reading a good book and look up to see that 3 hours have passed when it feels like only 30 minutes have gone by. On the high end, you've all heard storied of people who have been in bad car accidents, they don't remember anyhting between driving and being in the ER, that is what dissociation was made for, when you experience something so traumatic and life threatening, your brain shuts off or burries your experience of it so you don't have to go through it.

A dissociative disorder is usualy man made. These are people who have been through chronic child abuse or neglect, ritual abuse, or other chronic trauma. Because the brain is still developing when the child's dissociative defense kicks in (time and time again), it changes the wiring in their brain, it physically changes their neural structure, because of this it becomes a problem whne they start into adulthood. When these children grow up, their warning system has been stuck in the on position, their brain and nervus system react as if there is a life threatening situation even when there isn't, it becomes intrusive and distressing, and can leave a person feeling, I don't usualy use this word, but people with the disorder have said it themselves, it can make them feel like they're crazy.

All of these problems stem from a perfectly healthy, perfectly normal biological protection mechinism. there are some people who don't belive these disorders in the first place, and there are some that think it's the result of bad therapy, I am not in either of these groups. there is now research, scientific evidence of something wrong, of something happening, and there is work being done to make it even clearer.

If you or someone you know has been through this kind of trauma, have a resulting dissociative disorder, or think there might be dissociative symptoms but you're not sure, or are a professional that would like to gain more insight, there is a newsletter put out by and for people with histories like these.it is very professionally put together, the articles, stories and art are mostly from people with these disorders and offer incredible first hand accounts of the symptoms and stigma associated with them. For a free sample copy, click on: http://www.manyvoicespress.com/

For more information, check out these books:

The DID Sourcebook

The Stranger in the Mirror

For info on treatment/resources, google "ISSTD" and "dissociation"

http://www.manyvoicespress.com/