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amandalouise
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Member Since: Mar 2009
Location: 8CS / NYS / USA
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Default Jan 20, 2019 at 12:06 PM
 
I was worried about this too right after I received my diagnosis of DID. I told my therapist I had then. their reply was spot on for me... I was told ....

getting the diagnosis doesnt change anything. it just puts a name on what has already been happening. That mean every time I participated in any group activities.....

example being in a school classroom is being in a group of people, going outside on the playground is being in a group of people, participating in sports or other school events is being in groups, going shopping is being in groups of people, ....groups are not just for therapy, every day life is full of having to participate in groups. And every day life is full of triggers...

then the therapist had me look back in my journals and calendar for the past month and count all the different group settings I have been in and have participated in...and whether I was so triggered during those events that I dissociated and my alters said or did something. then look back on my whole life time since before I was 5 and see how what I was afraid of was and has been happening all my life time and for me that was my normal.

No one in those events and situations in my whole life time of being DID suddenly got scared of me, showed any fear of me and I was never embarrassed because of what was my life time of what was my normal.

Heck I made it all the way to my twenties and even then no one would have been the wiser if I hadnt taken that class that required the students to take a psych eval and attend therapy for one semester to show the students not only what it was like to be a treatment provider and a client.

in all that lifetime of alters taking control, saying and doing what was their sense of agency no one knew it wasnt me, no one was afraid / scared or reacted with any fear of me, and I was never embarrassed, ..... because that was my normal.

after that I went to the groups and lived my life just like I had before I got the diagnosis, just like I normally would have. I went to my yoga groups, my swim groups, my DBT/CBT/PTSD and other therapy groups, my church groups, I went to parties, and broadway shows, work related events.....

my suggestion is look back on your posts here on psych central, notice all the different things you have done in your life since joining psych central. Did having DID, the alters taking control, doing and saying their sense of agency prevent you from participating in your life time of events and being in group settings.

then look back on your whole life time from before you were 5 on to the present....did having alters take control doing and saying their sense of agency prevent you from going to school, joining in on school events, sports/ chorus, band what ever was happening with your school events... did and does having DID prevent you from going to family functions, work, grocery and other shopping, planning for holidays, church, church and church events and well you get the picture... in every day life there are many "groups" and group settings that we are apart of / attend or encounter just by living out lives.... in all those life time things did any one actually shrink back in fear of you just because you dissociated and said something funny or obnoxious or off track of the discussion.....

taking a guess here when you look at your life time of being DID you may see many, so many you probably cant count when you have had to be in group settings and groups of people and no one reacted in fear of you,

I really think you can relax, and be your self in the DBT group and if you still have this worry talk with your treatment provider, they can help you set up plans that will work for you.
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