Severe PTSD with Dissociative Amnesia

So, I asked my therapist for a concise diagnosis today, and she said that I have Severe PTSD with Dissociative Amnesia. I also took the DES and scored 46.8, and people with DID score in the 40s. I've no idea what to think about these mixed messages. Oh well, I guess I'll just concentrate on healing from now on.

Thanks so section I forgot the forum isn't used much. Your probably best sticking to the DID section regardless of your diagnosis.

The DESCRIPTION is an assessment tool now T a diagnostic one your can score outside of the typical range on it for your diagnosis.

You said before about your T not having other clients with symptoms as severe as yours it's possible she is giving you a diagnosis she is comfortable with and not one that would be most accurate. Have you asked them if they are trained to deal with DID? Or asked if they think DID might apply to you?

BethMae wrote:So, I asked my therapist for a concise diagnosis today, and she said that I have Severe PTSD with Dissociative Amnesia. I also took the DES and scored 46.8, and people with DID score in the 40s. I've no idea what to think about these mixed messages. Oh well, I guess I'll just concentrate on healing from now on.

Hi BethMae,

I’ll ask my therapist tomorrow, but I think my diagnosis is exactly yours, so you are not alone. I took the DES and only scored 23, so I don’t think I have DID (whew). But I do have severe PTSD from long-term severe childhood trauma (from 6 months until I left home at about age 22/23) and I must have dissociative amnesia because there is *so much* that I don’t remember. (And I do still dissociate under stress.) So many dates are fuzzy, so many chunks of my childhood are a blank, and most of the actual episodes of abuse I have no direct memory of (I will just have indirect memories of, such as the recovery afterwards or other references to the episodes, etc.).

So I don’t really feel like I fit in with the DID community, I don’t know where I fit in. But I want to get my memories back (slowly, as I’m able to handle it). It’s hard to have so much of my past be fuzzy and murky with dates and events so fuzzy.

I hope you’ve been having success working with your therapist, BethMae.

It's very possible to have parts and not be aware of them. In fact, that's very common. One doesn't need to find themselves in other places, or have clothes they don't remember buying, or people calling them by another name, etc. Much more common is parts working together out of the host's awareness and not seeming to anyone else like they are anything more than moody.

I'm not saying that you have DID, but what you've been told so far doesn't rule it out by any means. I think it's important to stay open to feelings and thoughts that come up in your mind. I was SURE that I didn't have parts, but when we started seeing a T who modeled how to be accepting of all feelings and thoughts, I started to discover them.

Who was there to experience that abuse that you have indirect memories of?

Anyway, you don't need a diagnosis to be on the DID forum. It's much more active than any of the others, and you may find useful information and ideas that can help you.