Author: Cherie

Integration in DID may not mean the complete coming together of all alter egos into one personality. Partial Integration or Functional Multiplicity is another option. I will be using information from the site given in my last blog. This is a comprehensive scholarly research article on integration. Again, it is found on http://did-research.org (On the… Continue reading Integration

Integration in DID is often the “end goal” for those who are healing from DID. For the next few blogs I am going to combine my own personal experience of integration with some professional and research information from other sources. Let the Journey Begin Everyone’s journey toward healing with DID is unique. The self system… Continue reading Integration in DID

Dissociation can range from normal dissociation, (a common and temporary response to trauma) to increasing degrees of dissociative disorders. DID is considered on the extreme end of this spectrum (Van Der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score, 2015). Defining Dissociation Dissociation may be defined as the failure of integration. Ingetration is what we do as… Continue reading Dissociation

Forgiveness is an important step in healing from DID since it results from trauma, abuse, and betrayal. However, forgiving too quickly will foreclose the processing of grief and pain that is needed to heal. First, one needs to acknowlege the abuse and trauma that was severe enough to require the young mind to fracture into… Continue reading Forgiveness

Most people who suffer from DID experienced abuse or trauma as a young child while in the care of someone they were supposed to trust. If this is you, remember that you were innocent, even if guilt and fear was used to keep you quiet. When the abuse comes from a parent who is supposed… Continue reading Innocent

What are alter ego and how do they function. In the last blog I talked about “the self” from an academic as well as spiritual point of view. In the first blog I covered why the self fractures to create alter egos. In this blog I would like to just describe what alter egos are… Continue reading Alters

As a PhD in Human Development, I am aware that self development is complex subject. Many viable theories exist about the self and its development. As a Christian, however, I believe that we come from Heaven with a unique spirit that has choice and challenge. I reflect upon the words of Henry David Thoreau: “Our… Continue reading The Self

Learning about Myself by Listening to My Body. Sometimes the mind dissociates away present and/or past traumatic realities. However, the body holds onto the pain and confusion it has perceived and requires processing. Our body can “talk” to us by our listening to how it feels. Migraines I had my first migraine at girls camp… Continue reading The Body Knows

Today is Easter. As I watch the Earth come alive with greenery, flowers, and sunshine once again, I remember the One Who figuratively “raised me from the dead” as the core alter ego. For many years I existed only in limited safe places. Otherwise I was just watching what my alter egos were doing. Sometimes… Continue reading Jesus Heals

In this blog I will describe my second DID split. I was four-year-old and my mind was overwhelmmed, confused, and terrified. My therapist said that this was emotional abuse and can create a situation where the nervous system must either split or die. As I continued to make sense of my life, I never felt… Continue reading Split Again