Dissociation and Healing
A History of the Study of MPD/DID Evidence of Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder and hereafter referred to as multiple personality in deference to those who do not believe it is a disorder at all) is not a new development of the twentieth century. 
Association -- The Key To Recovery Association seems like such a simple concept. How many times has your therapist urged you to find the connection between an event and your response to it, saying that therein will lie the clue to your healing?
Dissociation & Stages of Development Multiples and dissociative abuse survivors grew up in environments that were about as far from perfect as can be imagined.
Dissociative Identity Disorder Fact Sheet Fact sheet about DID/MPD.
Grounding Techniques As survivors we all at one time or another may experience flashbacks and/or periods of intense anxiety surrounding the memories of abuse. During those times it's important to find ways to ground ourselves in the here and now until the feelings pass.
Helping Your System Find or Make Safe Places For All Parts Ideas to help all parts of the system to work together on finding and creating safe places inside.
Integration Metaphors Integration work does not require any rites of passage - many multiples report that it can occur seemingly spontaneously without the intervention of the therapist or the rest of the system.
Learning About Dissociation If you've recently discovered that you are multiple, or have been diagnosed with a dissociative disorder, you might be reading everything you can get your hands on about it.
Mapping Your System Two words used frequently by multiples to describe their experience of MPD, especially early in the healing journey, are chaos and confusion.
MPD & Imagery Imagery is using the imagination to create a picture in the mind as an aid to using a specific coping skill. This mental picture may include color, sound, texture, scent, taste, or feelings and emotions.
MPD & Journaling Journaling is the basic form of communication among the parts of the system. It can be in the form of written communication, it can be in the form of art media, it can be, if necessary, in the form of a tape-recorded conversation among parts of the system.
On Being A Proper Multiple When most people think about what it means to be multiple, they go immediately to the "classic" cases of early MPD documentation - multiples like Sybil and Eve White/Black, who demonstrated extremely pronounced changes between their different personalities, accompanied by profound dissociative amnesia.
Poly-Fragmented Multiplicity The average number of alter selves within a multiple system is thirteen, but some multiples have many times more than that. A few years ago, those with twenty-plus selves were known as "super-multiples". These days, however, therapists are being graced with the presence of more of their clients' selves.
Reclaiming Triggers Many of the triggers which disrupt the lives of survivors are apparently innocuous, everyday items - for example, certain colors, animals, music, people (eg men with facial hair).
Suggestions For Healing Many creative suggestions from Sara Lambert for healing.
Switching - Early Warning Signs One of the most common fears of multiples is that they will switch inappropriately in public. Not only is this embarrassing at times and hard to explain to those who do not know the survivor is multiple, it can also be dangerous.
Switching These days, therapists understand that multiplicity is a condition of great secrecy, and most switching between alter selves is difficult to detect, at least initially.
System Mediation Mediation is when a neutral third party helps two or more conflicting groups to come to agreement. Another term for it is "assisted negotiation". If you are multiple, you may be constantly attempting (and failing!) to negotiate with each other as you face a constellation of differing opinions about everything from what clothes to wear in the morning to whether or not you should stay in therapy.
Using Your Dissociative Skills In Healing The point of therapy is not to retraumatize yourself! In fact, experienced therapists agree that keeping yourself to a gentle pace throughout your recovery work is essential.
Abuse and Healing
Common Misconceptions about Healing Before leaving psychiatric nursing to devote more time to advocacy work, I wrote some hand-outs for my patients. No matter what the trauma, no matter what the diagnosis, no matter if the patient was suffering from a chronic or an acute condition, I found that many profited from one that helped clarify some of the common myths about healing.
Containment/Boundaries Having boundaries is a normal activity that survivors can have difficulty with. Boundaries are about your relationship with distance, time, space, emotions and thoughts. Having conscious boundaries is being able to know and decide when, where and with whom you merge.
Creating And Enhancing Your Personal Support It is important to think about what help or support you need and make a list of those whom you trust to turn to. Dividing your requests for support between different people can ensure that you receive a helpful diversity of care. It will also prevent burning out one ally whom you have to lean on too much or too often.
No, It Was Not Your Fault! One of the things that sympathetic friends find so hard to understand about survivors of childhood sexual abuse is why we feel responsible for the very abuse that was inflicted upon us. "You were a child!" they plead. "You were little. You couldn’t have stopped it!" Well, my adult mind knows that. But getting my feelings to agree is a different matter.
Relapse Prevention Worksheet Recovering from abuse takes time. It is important to remember that recovery doesn't occur perfectly for anyone and there will be relapses during the recovery process. This is normal and it is to be expected. A Relapse Prevention Plan is something that may be helpful to you in preventing a relapse.
Self Nurture Ideas for nurturing oneself, including soothing words, soothing deeds, keeping busy/health distractions, taking care of your body and releasing physical energy.
Sitting With Feelings Many abuse survivors find it hard to tolerate having feelings, even positive ones like joy. After a lifetimes of automatically dissociating from emotion for self-protection, it can be really scary to allow yourself to feel again. A common defense is to "act out" instead of getting in touch with your feelings. For example, you may throw yourself into work when you are scared about something, in order to divert yourself from the fear.
Still Think the Abuse Was Your Fault? Unlearning the lifelong habit of taking responsibility for our childhood sexual abuse takes practice. I want to share with you some of the practices that have helped me silence the voice that shouts, "It’s all your fault."
The Process Of Recovery From Abuse The process of recovery from abuse is long, demanding and very individual. It requires and deserves much support and safety from other people.