ardens blog

probably going to reblog stuff about DID here

[mildsys]

Hi im arden. 21, he/him

I have DID and will primarily use this account to like posts about DID, and occasionally reblog. Doubt ill make many original posts.

I had a blog with this same name before but deleted it for personal reasons

If you see that im following someone you think could be an issue, or that ive reblogged some sort of misinfo, please let me know!

I will not sign off on my posts/comments or specify which part is fronting unless its relevant to the point, so excuse any differences in typing styles and such

I tend to block endos and endo supporters that i see on my fyp in order to curate my space into being strictly about cdds. If you are an endogenic system or a supporter of them, you can still interact with me! I wont block just for interaction.

Pfp edit drawn by @slimecpu

Art sideblog: @mildemelwe

Disability, aac, and misc sideblog: @arden-mildemelwe

[mildsys]

Been so overwhelmed with flashbacks and shit. But i noticed that my eps tend to forget how to do coping techniques in the moment when they need to. So, at the suggestion of a clinician doing a check-in on me, i made flashcards of the distress tolerance skills ive been learning in group therapy + grounding techniques!

I made them in ibispaint, with the 8.5x11 inch size for the printer. I made them to fit 4 per page, but i recommend making them smaller (probably 8 per page) if you want them to fit in your pocket because i will have to fold mine to fit them in my pocket.

On the flashcards, at the top i included the name of the skill, the type of skill, and what it is used for. Under that, i typed the instructions for how to do the skill.

Here is what they look like. Feel free to take inspiration!

[mildsys]

Is this a safe space to say that Healing the Unimaginable by Alison Miller actually isnt a great book

[lanie020]

⠀⠀◞꒷◟ ͜ ͜ ◞ྀི◟୨୧◞ྀི◟ ͜ ͜ ◞꒷◟

f2u icons, rb if use and credit if respost

follow on pinterest 2 support !!

[prose-among-the-trees]

Trying to find system community is like trying to find fucking Atlantis. There are a lot of spaces that claim to know what it’s like or have that same sort of vibe, but it’s not.

I can’t find community with sourcemates because I can’t guarantee I’ll get along with the person I’m speaking to. Being based off of the same media and talking about that only allows me (the collective me) to fall further into the delusions I was in when consuming that media during trauma.

I don’t really get funny relatable system quotes to post to those tumblr blogs because my passive influence is very minimal with little exception. Instead of super silly quotes, I get random anxiety and trigger responses that don’t feel like mine, or vague insults/affirmations (depends on the day).

I have parts that actively hide things. I’ve found deleted profiles of alters that have been wiped because they aren’t meant to be found.

I don’t get “silly little amnesia” moments, I feel like my parents aren’t real, and like there are no consequences to any injury I might get.

I don’t feel safe driving anymore after I got into an accident and didn’t feel like “I” was the one in control for it.

What can community do for me? Every community I try to join (there are exceptions tbf) lets me know that I’m bringing the mood down with my legitmate fucking dissociative disorder.

I get shit for saying “my parts” because “you don’t own them.”

The system community encourages separation of parts, active malingering, and predatory behavior.

I want a community I can relate to with my disorder so badly, but the DID community has just turned it into a new queer identity to put in a bio.

I don’t get a fucking break from this. I can’t make it stop, and my DPDR is getting worse.

If anyone knows a community that won’t make me feel like a fucking downer lmk because the quirky TikTok discord tumbr did communities ostracize people with did who suffer regularly.

[thecircularsystem]

(Note: sorry if my tone is aggro. I can’t really turn that off.)

The Rings and Alexandrites server (pro-endo, plural) has always been helpful for me. The CDD Gardens (pro-endo, CDD centered) is a delight. I’m not sure if Survivor’s Network (neutral, CDD only) is still running, but that’s likely closest to your particular alignments. I’ve received the most advice and guidance for my disorder from Plural Nest (pro-endo, plural).

And if it’s any consolation:

I can’t seek out source mates for the same reasons, regardless of how wildly unknown my damn source is. I wish I could, but it would harm me. I’m jealous of others. I’m also comfortable with that jealousy and have made peace with it over time.

I didn’t used to do funny quotes or anything. It took time to be able to hear everyone so clearly. Time and a lot of trauma processing.

We still hide shit from each other to this day. We just don’t give much of a shit anymore about it. Part hid our grades? Sigh. Poor guy must’ve thought he was helping. Alright, let’s help him out and tackle this even harder and better. That’s the mentality.

I’m sorry you’ve not been able to find any joy in amnesia. Trust me, it’s hard to try to claw your way there. I’m grateful for it nowadays; not remembering what my parents did to us clearly helps me function, and I need that to survive.

We had the exact same shit happen to us with driving. It gets better in time. You’ve just gotta give yourself grace.

I’ve frequently struggled in social situations with trauma flooding; letting it all out, intentionally or otherwise. It’s hard to tell when I’ve saying too much. The key to learning what needs said and what doesn’t is taking the criticism of, “kids, lighten up a little” and actually trying, in whatever way it takes. Trust me, I fucking get how miserable this disorder is — but if you don’t claw ounces of joy out of the hell that is this life, it’ll claw you instead.

Parts language is so much more accepted in so many places. Can people give others shit? Yeah it happens. I got reported years ago in a server for “pushing parts language” (yknow… using parts language). That server? Plural Nest. The server that’s also helped me MASSIVELY through EMDR and dissociative issues. So… sometimes it takes the reminder that people will be shit in every community you go to.

My healing journey requires separation of my parts. Literally doctors orders. Following his advice, we’ve started blending more, switching less, and relying on maladaptive coping mechanisms less. Of course some parts of the community encourage shit that won’t help you when everyone heals different.

Not sure what “active malingering” means here cause I don’t think faking is that big of an issue in system spaces.

Predators are a dime a dozen online, I’m gonna be so real with you. People gotta get okay with the fact that things will be unsafe online, and yeah it sucks ass, but you’ve gotta take the risk of Bad People Being In A Place (and yes, the risk of then leaving said place). There’s never going to be a Perfectly Great and Awesome Community.

DID is allowed to be part of people’s identity. You might not have it that way, but I do; it’s also a disorder for me, tho, and that’s okay.

I wish you luck. If you want my tips, grab some self help books for DID and roll through them. Coping with Trauma Related Dissociation was a fave of ours. I feel like you’ll get more mileage for your issues from that than from community. Community is based on relating to each other, despite other differences. What you’re looking for, from the sounds of it, isn’t that. It sounds like you want healing.

[mildsys]

I see here that your amnesia helps you. This isnt the case for the vast majority of pwDID i have talked to, and i find it a little dismissive that you would reply to someone complaining about debilitating amnesia and say "im grateful for MY amnesia because it helps me survive."

My amnesia makes me forget every single day once i reach the end of it. My amnesia makes me not know my friends as anything other than a vague impression and a couple fun facts. My amnesia makes me terrified, alone, and it actively disables me. Im sure prose is in a similar boat with their amnesia, so id appreciate it if you didnt imply that whats necessary is "finding joy" in it, when for us the goal is to get rid of it.

[tearoses-syscourse]

i'm sorry but you people are always complaining about how nothing works or makes you feel better and then when people who share your condition and DO feel better with x or y thing, try to kindly offer advice and nudge you towards what works for them, you complain that they just don't get it. it's infuriating to watch. no, it isn't that they haven't been where you are or don't understand the real struggle of DID, they just were willing to put the effort in to change the negative effects into more positive ones.

yes the disorder sucks to live with, but maybe it would be better if you didn't scoff at all the advice people further along in their recovery try to give you. there's no cure-all for DID i'm sorry to say, you're stuck with the brain structure you've developed. it can go into remission per se, obviously there's treatments, but also those don't happen instantly. until you reach whatever your recovery goal is you have got to learn to live with it and work with it. i'm not sure why this is a hard concept for your particular corner of the community.

[mildsys]

i truly wasnt trying to be rude before nor was i trying to scoff at any advice. i just wanted to let circ know that our recovery goals are probably different (them wanting to keep their amnesia vs me and prose finding it very uncomfortable and upsetting to live with).

i am in fact actively working towards recovering. i know i dont have as much of a say in this as im not currently in therapy due to being very unstable for a while, but i have made a lot of progress (on my own and with therapy in the past) so please dont assume that im just wallowing in my disorder.

[tearoses-syscourse]

okay, you're right, i apologize. i shouldn't have assumed or implied you weren't trying. i'm heated over this particular subject recently, it's bothering me a lot how i see my recovering friends being treated, pushed out of conversations like they don't know what they're talking about. but i can be a dick when i'm angry, and i misunderstood your tone it seems, so that's my bad and i'm sorry.

also, you not being in therapy doesn't mean you don't get a say, and i don't want you to think i believe that. i'm actually not in therapy at the moment either, mainly cause insurance is a bitch in america lmao.

i guess i don't think circ was trying to imply that anyone should actively keep their amnesia if it distresses them - just that it might help with that distress to try thinking about it differently, or try utilizing it positively while you're stuck dealing with it. like, it doesn't go away just cause you hate it, so the idea is to make it more bearable in some way, and usually that starts with mindset yknow?

[mildsys]

it is unfortunate how poorly many people treat systems who are farther along in recovery. im sorry to hear that youre dealing with that a lot recently.

i suppose i always just assumed that me not being in therapy right now kinda meant i didnt have as much say in the recovery process. but youre right, i have a say in the convo just as anyone else dealing with this condition does. im hoping to start therapy soon, since im almost on a dose of my antipsychotic thats keeping my schizophrenia stable. but either way, i hope your insurance is less of a bitch at some point 🙏

i mightve misinterpreted what they said. when you frame it like that, its definitely good advice that applies to a lot more people. reframing how you think about a situation is an important step in dealing with it.

[prose-among-the-trees]

Trying to find system community is like trying to find fucking Atlantis. There are a lot of spaces that claim to know what it’s like or have that same sort of vibe, but it’s not.

I can’t find community with sourcemates because I can’t guarantee I’ll get along with the person I’m speaking to. Being based off of the same media and talking about that only allows me (the collective me) to fall further into the delusions I was in when consuming that media during trauma.

I don’t really get funny relatable system quotes to post to those tumblr blogs because my passive influence is very minimal with little exception. Instead of super silly quotes, I get random anxiety and trigger responses that don’t feel like mine, or vague insults/affirmations (depends on the day).

I have parts that actively hide things. I’ve found deleted profiles of alters that have been wiped because they aren’t meant to be found.

I don’t get “silly little amnesia” moments, I feel like my parents aren’t real, and like there are no consequences to any injury I might get.

I don’t feel safe driving anymore after I got into an accident and didn’t feel like “I” was the one in control for it.

What can community do for me? Every community I try to join (there are exceptions tbf) lets me know that I’m bringing the mood down with my legitmate fucking dissociative disorder.

I get shit for saying “my parts” because “you don’t own them.”

The system community encourages separation of parts, active malingering, and predatory behavior.

I want a community I can relate to with my disorder so badly, but the DID community has just turned it into a new queer identity to put in a bio.

I don’t get a fucking break from this. I can’t make it stop, and my DPDR is getting worse.

If anyone knows a community that won’t make me feel like a fucking downer lmk because the quirky TikTok discord tumbr did communities ostracize people with did who suffer regularly.

[thecircularsystem]

(Note: sorry if my tone is aggro. I can’t really turn that off.)

The Rings and Alexandrites server (pro-endo, plural) has always been helpful for me. The CDD Gardens (pro-endo, CDD centered) is a delight. I’m not sure if Survivor’s Network (neutral, CDD only) is still running, but that’s likely closest to your particular alignments. I’ve received the most advice and guidance for my disorder from Plural Nest (pro-endo, plural).

And if it’s any consolation:

I can’t seek out source mates for the same reasons, regardless of how wildly unknown my damn source is. I wish I could, but it would harm me. I’m jealous of others. I’m also comfortable with that jealousy and have made peace with it over time.

I didn’t used to do funny quotes or anything. It took time to be able to hear everyone so clearly. Time and a lot of trauma processing.

We still hide shit from each other to this day. We just don’t give much of a shit anymore about it. Part hid our grades? Sigh. Poor guy must’ve thought he was helping. Alright, let’s help him out and tackle this even harder and better. That’s the mentality.

I’m sorry you’ve not been able to find any joy in amnesia. Trust me, it’s hard to try to claw your way there. I’m grateful for it nowadays; not remembering what my parents did to us clearly helps me function, and I need that to survive.

We had the exact same shit happen to us with driving. It gets better in time. You’ve just gotta give yourself grace.

I’ve frequently struggled in social situations with trauma flooding; letting it all out, intentionally or otherwise. It’s hard to tell when I’ve saying too much. The key to learning what needs said and what doesn’t is taking the criticism of, “kids, lighten up a little” and actually trying, in whatever way it takes. Trust me, I fucking get how miserable this disorder is — but if you don’t claw ounces of joy out of the hell that is this life, it’ll claw you instead.

Parts language is so much more accepted in so many places. Can people give others shit? Yeah it happens. I got reported years ago in a server for “pushing parts language” (yknow… using parts language). That server? Plural Nest. The server that’s also helped me MASSIVELY through EMDR and dissociative issues. So… sometimes it takes the reminder that people will be shit in every community you go to.

My healing journey requires separation of my parts. Literally doctors orders. Following his advice, we’ve started blending more, switching less, and relying on maladaptive coping mechanisms less. Of course some parts of the community encourage shit that won’t help you when everyone heals different.

Not sure what “active malingering” means here cause I don’t think faking is that big of an issue in system spaces.

Predators are a dime a dozen online, I’m gonna be so real with you. People gotta get okay with the fact that things will be unsafe online, and yeah it sucks ass, but you’ve gotta take the risk of Bad People Being In A Place (and yes, the risk of then leaving said place). There’s never going to be a Perfectly Great and Awesome Community.

DID is allowed to be part of people’s identity. You might not have it that way, but I do; it’s also a disorder for me, tho, and that’s okay.

I wish you luck. If you want my tips, grab some self help books for DID and roll through them. Coping with Trauma Related Dissociation was a fave of ours. I feel like you’ll get more mileage for your issues from that than from community. Community is based on relating to each other, despite other differences. What you’re looking for, from the sounds of it, isn’t that. It sounds like you want healing.

[mildsys]

I see here that your amnesia helps you. This isnt the case for the vast majority of pwDID i have talked to, and i find it a little dismissive that you would reply to someone complaining about debilitating amnesia and say "im grateful for MY amnesia because it helps me survive."

My amnesia makes me forget every single day once i reach the end of it. My amnesia makes me not know my friends as anything other than a vague impression and a couple fun facts. My amnesia makes me terrified, alone, and it actively disables me. Im sure prose is in a similar boat with their amnesia, so id appreciate it if you didnt imply that whats necessary is "finding joy" in it, when for us the goal is to get rid of it.

[tearoses-syscourse]

i'm sorry but you people are always complaining about how nothing works or makes you feel better and then when people who share your condition and DO feel better with x or y thing, try to kindly offer advice and nudge you towards what works for them, you complain that they just don't get it. it's infuriating to watch. no, it isn't that they haven't been where you are or don't understand the real struggle of DID, they just were willing to put the effort in to change the negative effects into more positive ones.

yes the disorder sucks to live with, but maybe it would be better if you didn't scoff at all the advice people further along in their recovery try to give you. there's no cure-all for DID i'm sorry to say, you're stuck with the brain structure you've developed. it can go into remission per se, obviously there's treatments, but also those don't happen instantly. until you reach whatever your recovery goal is you have got to learn to live with it and work with it. i'm not sure why this is a hard concept for your particular corner of the community.

[mildsys]

i truly wasnt trying to be rude before nor was i trying to scoff at any advice. i just wanted to let circ know that our recovery goals are probably different (them wanting to keep their amnesia vs me and prose finding it very uncomfortable and upsetting to live with).

i am in fact actively working towards recovering. i know i dont have as much of a say in this as im not currently in therapy due to being very unstable for a while, but i have made a lot of progress (on my own and with therapy in the past) so please dont assume that im just wallowing in my disorder.

[prose-among-the-trees]

Trying to find system community is like trying to find fucking Atlantis. There are a lot of spaces that claim to know what it’s like or have that same sort of vibe, but it’s not.

I can’t find community with sourcemates because I can’t guarantee I’ll get along with the person I’m speaking to. Being based off of the same media and talking about that only allows me (the collective me) to fall further into the delusions I was in when consuming that media during trauma.

I don’t really get funny relatable system quotes to post to those tumblr blogs because my passive influence is very minimal with little exception. Instead of super silly quotes, I get random anxiety and trigger responses that don’t feel like mine, or vague insults/affirmations (depends on the day).

I have parts that actively hide things. I’ve found deleted profiles of alters that have been wiped because they aren’t meant to be found.

I don’t get “silly little amnesia” moments, I feel like my parents aren’t real, and like there are no consequences to any injury I might get.

I don’t feel safe driving anymore after I got into an accident and didn’t feel like “I” was the one in control for it.

What can community do for me? Every community I try to join (there are exceptions tbf) lets me know that I’m bringing the mood down with my legitmate fucking dissociative disorder.

I get shit for saying “my parts” because “you don’t own them.”

The system community encourages separation of parts, active malingering, and predatory behavior.

I want a community I can relate to with my disorder so badly, but the DID community has just turned it into a new queer identity to put in a bio.

I don’t get a fucking break from this. I can’t make it stop, and my DPDR is getting worse.

If anyone knows a community that won’t make me feel like a fucking downer lmk because the quirky TikTok discord tumbr did communities ostracize people with did who suffer regularly.

[thecircularsystem]

(Note: sorry if my tone is aggro. I can’t really turn that off.)

The Rings and Alexandrites server (pro-endo, plural) has always been helpful for me. The CDD Gardens (pro-endo, CDD centered) is a delight. I’m not sure if Survivor’s Network (neutral, CDD only) is still running, but that’s likely closest to your particular alignments. I’ve received the most advice and guidance for my disorder from Plural Nest (pro-endo, plural).

And if it’s any consolation:

I can’t seek out source mates for the same reasons, regardless of how wildly unknown my damn source is. I wish I could, but it would harm me. I’m jealous of others. I’m also comfortable with that jealousy and have made peace with it over time.

I didn’t used to do funny quotes or anything. It took time to be able to hear everyone so clearly. Time and a lot of trauma processing.

We still hide shit from each other to this day. We just don’t give much of a shit anymore about it. Part hid our grades? Sigh. Poor guy must’ve thought he was helping. Alright, let’s help him out and tackle this even harder and better. That’s the mentality.

I’m sorry you’ve not been able to find any joy in amnesia. Trust me, it’s hard to try to claw your way there. I’m grateful for it nowadays; not remembering what my parents did to us clearly helps me function, and I need that to survive.

We had the exact same shit happen to us with driving. It gets better in time. You’ve just gotta give yourself grace.

I’ve frequently struggled in social situations with trauma flooding; letting it all out, intentionally or otherwise. It’s hard to tell when I’ve saying too much. The key to learning what needs said and what doesn’t is taking the criticism of, “kids, lighten up a little” and actually trying, in whatever way it takes. Trust me, I fucking get how miserable this disorder is — but if you don’t claw ounces of joy out of the hell that is this life, it’ll claw you instead.

Parts language is so much more accepted in so many places. Can people give others shit? Yeah it happens. I got reported years ago in a server for “pushing parts language” (yknow… using parts language). That server? Plural Nest. The server that’s also helped me MASSIVELY through EMDR and dissociative issues. So… sometimes it takes the reminder that people will be shit in every community you go to.

My healing journey requires separation of my parts. Literally doctors orders. Following his advice, we’ve started blending more, switching less, and relying on maladaptive coping mechanisms less. Of course some parts of the community encourage shit that won’t help you when everyone heals different.

Not sure what “active malingering” means here cause I don’t think faking is that big of an issue in system spaces.

Predators are a dime a dozen online, I’m gonna be so real with you. People gotta get okay with the fact that things will be unsafe online, and yeah it sucks ass, but you’ve gotta take the risk of Bad People Being In A Place (and yes, the risk of then leaving said place). There’s never going to be a Perfectly Great and Awesome Community.

DID is allowed to be part of people’s identity. You might not have it that way, but I do; it’s also a disorder for me, tho, and that’s okay.

I wish you luck. If you want my tips, grab some self help books for DID and roll through them. Coping with Trauma Related Dissociation was a fave of ours. I feel like you’ll get more mileage for your issues from that than from community. Community is based on relating to each other, despite other differences. What you’re looking for, from the sounds of it, isn’t that. It sounds like you want healing.

[mildsys]

I see here that your amnesia helps you. This isnt the case for the vast majority of pwDID i have talked to, and i find it a little dismissive that you would reply to someone complaining about debilitating amnesia and say "im grateful for MY amnesia because it helps me survive."

My amnesia makes me forget every single day once i reach the end of it. My amnesia makes me not know my friends as anything other than a vague impression and a couple fun facts. My amnesia makes me terrified, alone, and it actively disables me. Im sure prose is in a similar boat with their amnesia, so id appreciate it if you didnt imply that whats necessary is "finding joy" in it, when for us the goal is to get rid of it.

[syscoursing-doll]

Alright syscoursers lets have a little fun for a bit. Challenge thread - guess the age of the person above you based on two screenshots of games they played as a kid, then share two screenshots of your own for the next person to guess. Dont cheat by checking anyones bios or intro posts, to help keep the spirit of the game <3

I'll start

[mildsys]

my guess for you, syscoursing-doll, is.. 22!

heres a couple games i treasure greatly (i may be remembering the second one wrong, but id have to hook up my monitor and keyboard to my old pc, which i dont want to do lol)

[prose-among-the-trees]

The fact that (some) people on sysblr cannot quit making a marginalized group’s issues about themselves says a lot about online discourse as a whole. There’s an increased amount of left wing performative activism that actually makes me fucking sick.

(Disclaimer: I consider myself very left leaning. I’m not a conservative or a Trumpie.)

There is a particular brand of Holocaust denial one of my professors has called Universalism, which takes the atrocities committed against Jewish people and attempts to equalize them with the groups the Nazis also hurt.

The Nazis hurt gay people, disabled people, Romani people, and so many more groups. Do you know why that is?

Because they killed, displaced, and culturally scarred so many Jewish people and weren’t done with just the main group they hated.

Nazism and The Holocaust focused on Jewish people first and foremost, equalizing other hatred that carried over minimizes the cultural trauma that Jewish people carry.

It is a form of denial that people perpetuate for the sake of wanting to be part of an oppressed group. Antisemitism is not yours to minimize if you are not Jewish.

All I can do is uplift the voices of my friends and their community that are continuously silenced by a form of oppression that’s more subtle and just as insidious.

[sunrise-collective]

I don't typically experience a lot of amnesia, just depersonalization and dissociation when recalling memories from other parts. But lately, I've been having sporadic amnesia episodes, and it's making things really difficult.

Any tips from other plurals with dissociative amnesia? - Blue

[mildsys]

Make to-do lists. Write important things down. Journal.

Recently, one of my friends mentioned the app "remember the milk". I havent started using it regularly yet, but it seems really helpful and i like the layout.

I also find it helpful to track whether or not ive eaten a meal, because sometimes i cant tell if im hungry or not! I do this both in an app called "guava" (an app that lets me track physical symptoms and such) and in a little physical notebook, where i check off the meal i ate.

As for journaling, i use the website writelighthouse.com . It allows me to have a separate journal for any part that wants a separate journal, and it also has a collective journal section.

Good luck, and i hope you can figure out ways to manage your amnesia!

[marshcourse]

atp we need a word that exclusively refers to parts caused by dissociative barriers. I want to be able to decipher my parts from non-CDD alters/headmates/whatever

[mildsys]

"dissociative parts" is a mouthful but probably the closest thing weve got

[mildsys]

threaded with wire

and barbed with dread

i go to hell

and back again

i still bounce back,

i always do

im no different

from "me" or you

(idk where to put the title but its called "in time it will trickle through." another part of me wrote it and is urging me to post it here for some reason idek..)

[mildsys]

DID-related book overview — Cult and Ritual Abuse by James Randall Noblitt and Pamela Sue Perskin

Cult and Ritual Abuse is a non-fiction book about the discovery of ritual abuse and treatment of patients who report surviving such abuse. Noblitt mentions that most of his patients who report such experiences are either already diagnosed with DID, or are diagnosed over the course of their treatment, which is why I'm discussing the book here — it relates to DID!

The book is comprised of 18 chapters. The first few chapters introduce the concept of ritual abuse. Then, dissociation and DID are discussed in relation to ritual abuse. After that is a series of chapters that explore the history of ritual abuse, and the last few chapters focus on politics surrounding how ritual abuse was regarded at the time of the book being written.

I found the explanations about treatment of the patients with DID to be interesting, though the rest of the book's content didn't capture my attention quite as much. I also started reading the book before deciding I wanted to do book reviews/overviews on this account, so I didn't take any notes, and I don't have a great memory. Furthermore, I don't know much about the context surrounding what the book talked about, and I don't want to use a single work as my only frame of reference, so I can't comment very much on a lot of the details. Regardless, much of the phrasing in the book struck me as insensitive towards non-Christian religions despite not being from a Christian perspective, and the chapters on the history of the matter seemed almost xenophobic in their approach. Despite that, the authors cite sources, so if you're curious you can investigate their claims.

I think this is a book I will have to come back to when I have more knowledge on the topic, but overall, given the time at which it was written and the apparent bias against non-Christian religions, I would not recommend using this book as a primary source of information. Additionally, I found the structuring of the chapters to be a little confusing. If you wish to read this book, keep in mind that it discusses topics of various forms of abuse, primarily of children.

[julesnjian-deactivated20250129]

Singlet Vs. System

Warning: This title is a bait <3

In CDD spaces I often see a lot of questions surrounding differences between being a singlet vs being a system. These questions however need some serious reframing as both of these terms are community terms, meaning that there are no "system" or "singlet" disorders, rather it is up to the individual to determine whether or not they identify with either label.

So let's do some reframing: What actually are the differences between those without a dissociative disorder, those who have a dissociative disorder and/or other disorders identified as potentially experiencing primary/secondary dissociation, and those who experience complex dissociative disorders (CDDs)?

Let's establish the existing disorders:

CDDs: DID, OSDD, partial DID

Dissociative disorders: DP/DR, Dissociative amnesia with or without fugue, dissociative conversion disorders

Other disorders included in the structural theory of dissociation: PTSD, CPTSD, BPD

People without dissociative disorders or other related disorders

have a stable, functioning integrative capacity, meaning that all their memories and experiences are integrated into their overall identity, personality, and sense of self. This also allows them to distinguish between the past and the present quite easily.

have a flexible, coordinated personality that is able to adapt to different environments/situations without disrupting their identity or sense of self. Every experience they have regardless of the changes they naturally go through intrinsically belongs to them and their singular sense of self.

Will naturally not be able to recall most of their life prior to the age of 3, and may also not be able to recall most of their life before starting school.

Do not remember every detail of their lives and experience normal forgetfulness and natural memory distortion over time.

Overall, they are able to consistently reflect on and recall their lives and create a cohesive, flowing narrative of their lives.

Can experience dissociative symptoms due to stress, fatigue, or substances but these brief symptoms are not chronic, life-altering, diagnosable, and are not related to dissociative parts of the personality.

People with dissociative disorders

Have a diminished integrative capacity due to trauma.

Amnesia will vary between individuals. They may not remember all essential aspects of events, may describe their memory as containing holes, and may not remember large parts of their lives. Amnesia cannot be attributed to a dissociative part of the personality.

Experience depersonalization and derealization

People with complex dissociative disorders

Have distinct, separate identities with a unique sense of self separated via various different levels of amnesia, with DID being the most elaborate, separate and distinct.

have a greatly diminished integrative capacity due to early childhood trauma, contributing to their fractured sense of self and the disowning of their experiences. these dissociative parts of the personality are able to develop their own sense of self, personality, identity, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Amnesia varies and is as described for people with dissociative disorders except it can be contributed to dissociative parts of the personality. People with CDDs also experience time loss, meaning they will not remember present events, usually due to switches.

Experience time distortion relating to dissociative parts of the personality believing they are in the past.

Experience intrusions, which can manifest in ways such as flashbacks and passive influence.

Other disorders included in the structural theory of dissociation

Intrusions, amnesia, and time loss can occur due to dissociative parts, but these parts are not elaborate or as separate as those in CDDs and do not have an identity, sense of self, personality, beliefs, thoughts or behaviors beyond the trauma they carry. There is still a disowning of experiences but it is not as severe as CDDs.

And there you have it, those are all the differences based on the haunted self and Coping with trauma-related dissociation. If there is any misinformation please feel free to comment or DM! I can always edit as needed. sorry for the formatting errors, I'm lazy as fuck. Also note: if I say experience I do not mean everyone within that category experiences that symptom. I just mean that they can.

[mildsys]

Ive decided i might start posting overviews/reviews for books and sources relating to DID! Hopefully people will be interested in that cuz it sounds kinda fun. Im about 60% done my current read so maybe after that ill make a little post about it

[glagglepilled-deactivated202504]

If you are questioning whether you have DID or OSDD. DO NOT USE TUMBLR FOR INFORMATION.

Complex dissociative disorders are just that, complex; and nearly no one in this community is qualified to educate you on these things. If you seek information in this community you will find misinformation, and you will find people supporting unhealthy practices. Without the necessary knowledge on the disorder you wont be able to discern fact from false, and being misinformed on this disorder could be detrimental to you considering its severity and complexity. This could lead to worsening of symptoms due to unhealthy practices being picked up. Or you could end up aiding in the spread of misinformation, even unintentionally. Do not risk it. Community shouldn't be where you go for vital information. If you can in any way, it is STRONGLY advised you get in touch with specialists or doctors. If you cannot, Please seek information from sources made by qualified and educated professionals. As well as tumblr do not turn to discord, tiktok, reddit, or any social medias for your information. Also avoid carrds or ANY informational source not from a professional. Some alternative resources: CTAD Clinic - Youtube channel with informative videos, run by specialists. Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID) Shepphard Pratt - Great overview of DID, its causes, and it's treatment. ISSTD website - Has a lot of information on dissociative disorders, avoid their information on RAMCOA, they have a negative history with that. Their treatment guidelines are especially useful for people wanting to know what is good or bad practice in terms of treatment & healing. (Adult Guidelines, Child/Adolecent Guidelines) The ISSTD also produces the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, which contains peer-viewed scientific articles. Very helpful to find research! The DSM-V, - Book listing mental disorders, often used by professionals in the USA. Can be used for finding general information on disorders, also contains differential diagnoses which I recommend also researching if you suspect a CDD. The ICD-11, - List of diseases and disorders, used globally and has information on mental disorders. Can also be used for finding general information on disorders. May have different diagnoses & information than the DSM-V The Haunted Self - A great informational source about structural dissociation. Very long, but worth reading if you think you have a trauma-related disorder. Scientific studies/articles - Extremely important, It may seem daunting at first to read through these as they arent as disgestable as other sources, but they are usually full of good solid research. (Please inform me of any other useful resources! Also tell me if anything listed here may be unhelpful, thank you.) When finding & reading your own sources BE CRITICAL When you find a source or receive information consider these factors:

Is this made by a professional or someone qualified?

If its an experiment/study, is it valid? Has there been any controversy with this study? Who worked on it? Is it outdated? Are there any limitations that this experiment/study may have?

Is it relevant to the thing you want to know?

Does it contain references to other sources?

Final note: If you are questioning, DO NOT JUST RESEARCH CDDs. Research common alternative diagnoses, research other possible causes for your symptoms. Do not become fixated on solely DID or OSDD.