About this forum- things you need to know

Please make sure you take a look at the forum rules page for a complete list of the rules and what is expected here. I thought I'd just take this thread as an opportunity to explain a few things that are specifically relevant to the DID forum.

About Trigger Warnings

Triggers are things that may suddenly cause strong unpleasant feelings in people such as sudden anger, saddness, flashbacks, panic, or urges to self harm etc Try to be aware of what you are feeling in order to determine what topics you find triggering, as you may notice feelings other than those listed. There are a variety of different things that can trigger people and everyone can be a bit different in what may be triggering to them. Although everyone can be a bit different in what triggers them, there are some topics that are likely to trigger members of the forum and we want to try to warn other member and readers about these in order for them to be able to skip reading things that may trigger them personally so they are able to keep safe and look after their well-being.

Some potential triggers that need a trigger warning here include: abuse, sexual abuse, explicit abuse (meaning here detailed), religious, sexuality, self-harm, harm of others/thoughts of such things, defined roles (which you can read about here ), substance abuse and extremely heavy language use. So things that are inherently abusive or harmful in nature would deserve a trigger warning.

In order to write our trigger warning, it should be presented in the following format:

***Trigger warning - (insert detail about what type of trigger here eg abuse)***

Triggering content goes here.

***End trigger warning***

Structuring the warning in the above format makes it really clear to people where and what the triggering content is and hence can help them skip it if they need to. It is really important to write your trigger warnings with the full words "trigger warning" as opposed to abbreviating it to "TW" as new readers here won't know what "TW" stands for and hence aren't as safe reading as if you give them the warning in the full words.

If you are really unsure of if your writing needs a trigger warning, feel free to ask a moderator or to even pose the question in your post and you will get some feedback on what may or may not need a warning. You will start to get a feel of what needs a warning here as you read more people's posts and post more of your own. Moderators can edit your post to include a trigger warning if it turns out you needed one so please contact one of us by PM in order to add one if needed. Try to give it your best go to work out if you need a trigger warning from the above information provided. Please also contact a moderator if you see a post that you believe may need a trigger warning and one hasn't been provided.

About Accounts

Only one account is permitted for DID members. In other words one outside physical body= one account. It is against forum rules to have more than one account on the forum. This is mostly for a bunch of technical reasons as well as to reduce confusion for other members. If any member is discovered to have more than one account, this may result in a ban of one or all of your accounts. If you have made a mistake and created more than one account, please contact a moderator by PM as soon as possible with which account you would prefer to have deactivated (please contact using the account you want deactivated, not the one you wish to be left open).

Some members may want to add a signature with everyone listed in order to help others identify who is writing here. New members need to post a certain number of minimum times in order to create a signature, so if you aren't able to create a signature yet, please just keep posting a few more times until the computer system will eventually let you. Of course, if you don't want to create a signature detailing who might write here, or your others don't have names, that is completely fine too. I just wanted to write about this because I get a lot of questions from people asking why they can't seem to add a signature right away.

On diagnosing and obtaining a diagnosis

Please remember that no one here can diagnose you. PsychForums is a peer support forum, which means that the users and moderators you see on here likely struggle or have struggled with their own mental health issues. No one is here in a professional capacity and remembering this both as a poster and a reader is important. Some things to keep in mind are that no one here has anyone's full story, and our stories help shape our diagnosis and symptoms. Remember that as non-professionals it's good to use statements such as "if", "maybe" and "can" when referring to someone symptoms.

Here in the DID forum there is the added complexity that many people with DID are incapable of receiving a proper diagnosis due to misconceptions, little knowledge and few experts (or even competent therapists) available. We realize this and therefore are cognizant of the needs of those without a diagnosis and/or people who wish to receive one in the future.

A diagnosis is often made by a psychotherapist using the SCID-D. The SCID-D is a questionnaire based screening tool that goes into the topic of symptoms. The MID is also readily used and we even have a "check-in" thread for it here where people have posted their own, at-home scores for discussion, as well as for the DES here.

This is all to keep this a safe and healthy place where all of us, DID or not, can thrive and get the support we need.

On meanings & common acronyms

Here in the DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) forum there are quite a few commonly used acronyms. To avoid confusion this list has been compiled. If you would like to add something to the list or have further questions please PM a moderator or ask on the open forum. A big thank you to pheonixrise as well is due for their work on the previously compiled list.

DID = Dissociative Identity Disorder (the diagnostic name used in the DSM)
MPD = Multiple Personality Disorder (the diagnostic name used in the ICD and previously in the DSM)
T = Therapist/therapy
EP = Emotional Part (used in the Theory of Structural Dissociation)
ANP = Apparently Normal Part (used in the Theory of Structural Dissocation)

Co-consciousness = can include a varied set of subjective experiences that includes two or more alters being aware of what the other is doing at one time.
Co-present = can include a varied set of subjective experiences that includes two or more alters being present in the body, though with little ability to communicate between each part or at times not know the other(s) is even present.
Host = the alter that handles most of daily life/is in the body the most.
Co-host(ing) = the sharing of host duties with 2 or more alters.
Inside/Inner world = a place inside oneself where one resides when one is not currently conscious/present in the body.
Fronting/out = being in control of the body.
Splitting = the creation of another alter.
System = the total of alters within one person.
Sub-system = a system within one alter (a system-within-a-system, in ways).
Part = an alter/a person within the system.
Singleton/Singlet/Single Personality Disorder (SPD) = a person with a cohesive personality/someone without DID/MPD.
Polyfragmented = a system with a complex nesting structure (such as subsystems) and/or 100+ alters/parts.
Multiple = someone who has DID is considered a multiple, due to having multiple parts to their personality.
Switching = the process in which one part of the personality takes over control of the body from another.

Some common alters
Fragment = a part who has a limited range of emotions or tasks or in incomplete alter.
Core = some systems identify with having a part who was first present in the body from whom the others split, this part can also be called “the original” or by other similar names.
Introject = an alter that represents or has the characteristics of an outside person.
Gatekeeper = an alter who has the task or regulating which part is forward.
ISH/Inner Self Helper = an alter who helps and has knowledge of the system and often acts as a sort of leader of the system(s).
Opposite gender = simply an alter who has the opposite gender of the body and while not a distinct type of alter, is very common to have.
Littles = a child alter.
Protector = an alter who has the job of protecting the system(s) emotionally, physically, sexually or otherwise. The protecting can take form in many different ways depending upon each individual situation or previous/present need(s).
Age slider = an alter who’s age “slides” between ages instead of staying one age at all times.
Animal alter = an alter who acts, looks and/or behaves like an animal.

A good list to read if you would like to read more about this topic can be found here.

Resources
If you would like to add something to this list of resources feel free to PM a moderator so that your links may be checked. A link cannot be to a commercial site.

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation
Hearing Voices Network
Dissociative Identity Disorder.org
Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Stressor-Related Disorders
The Center for Self Leadership
Sidran Institute

Here are some links to resource threads on here:
Dissociative Experiences Scale
Check in: Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation
DDNOS/DID resources: symptoms, common questions, etc
For all those who question how they have DID/think their's is odd

About Ages
As per PsychForum rules, people who are underage (body age 15 and under), are not allowed to state this on the open forum. While this is complicated here in this part of the forum, this rule has to be followed as it is here to keep everyone safe. If you are underage, please do not write the age of your body (or the hosts age if the same as the body).

PsychForums has a lot of users and keeping everyone safe is top priority. DID is a disorder that one acquires in early childhood and while this rule may seem constricting for those of a younger age, we find this to be the best way to both offer support and safety to all users.

If you experience anything uncomfortable on here or receive PM's you are not comfortable with (underage or not) please do not hesitate to contact a moderator or click to report (click the exclamation mark triangle at the top of a post or PM). All reports are handled confidentially.

On the use of colors in posts

The PsychForums Rules say-

Do not use nonstandard font sizes or font colors except for emphasis (i.e., don´t use a nonstandard font size or font color for your entire post).

There is an exception to this rule for those with DID within the DID forum. This exception is made to allow alters to better express and distinguish themselves in lieu of having their own accounts. We do ask that everyone sticks to darker colors in order to maintain the readability of posts. A good rule of thumb is that if you have to highlight it to read it, you should use a different color. If you have any questions whether a particular color is acceptable please feel free to contact a moderator to ask. Please use black for all posts outside the DID forum.

Family, Friends and Loved Ones

This is primarily a support forum for DID. You definitely don't have to have DID to use this forum but the focus of the DID forum is on learning about and supporting people with DID both on and off the forum.

If you are looking specifically for your own support please consider whether your post might be better suited in the Significant Others, Family and Friends Forum or the Relationship Forum.

Examples may include when you are experiencing abuse from an alter or when you feel compelled to try specifically to change the dynamic of the system of someone you know because you have a goal of who you want to talk to- those types of topics may be better suited to one of the previously mentioned forums.

About Stickies

This is in response to the frequent comments and questions that come up about stickies...

We try to keep stickies on the forum to an absolute minimum. There are a number of reasons for this (don't feel you need to read these unless you are interested):

- many people feel that stickies are required reading before they start posting so we don't want the new people to feel overwhelmed with numerous amounts of stickies if their reading style is very thorough in that way

- having numerous stickies takes the focus away from the threads that definitely require reading, such as this thread that contains some information/rules about using the forum. Less stickies makes the important information stand out more to people who are inclined to skim read the forum, so they are more likely to see what is necessary

- stickies of discussions can sometimes encourage members to post on an ongoing thread rather than creating their own topic. This can mean their writing in a long thread might get missed by other members and conversations can get confusing if people go into depth about something which may have needed to be it's own topic

- stickies can stagnate discussion because people can be less inclined to scroll down to the various other active topics in the forum and instead jump straight into the sticky

- people have many different views about what should be stickied on the forum and as a result, either some people will feel bad that their request is turned down or, if all requests were approved, then the list of stickies would be so long it would take a huge amount of time and space to scroll down to any current new topics

For these numerous reasons, stickies here are kept to an absolute minimum. We have the information you may need specifically about this forum and the sticky for the littles. The sticky for the littles is because they might be a little bit less technologically able than others.

Instead of stickies, here are some links to a few highly used (840+ responses) threads you may want quick reference to:
For the teenagers!
Fun: You know you're DID when...
How are you today thread (trigger warning)

Please consider creating a new thread for yourself if you feel you like feedback on what you want to say, so that it is easily noticed by others....

Take care

Here are links to popular threads on the site:

How are you today?: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative ... 09881.html

For the Teenagers: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative ... 41581.html

For the Helpers: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative ... 78029.html

For the Protectors (venting and advice): dissociative-identity/topic170737.html

For little to talk about difficult topics: dissociative-identity/topic212363.html

Fun: You Know You're DID When...: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative ... 02849.html

Positivity Thread: dissociative-identity/topic211224.html

Animal Alters Welcome: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative ... 93567.html

Salute of the Day (Snarky Vents): dissociative-identity/topic182656.html

Dissociative Experiences Scale: dissociative-identity/topic65082.html