having a "fragmented" memory?

I wonder if this is common with DID:
my system has had a total of 11 alters (7 atm), and none of us have a clear idea of how our past really was.

for example none of us had any idea about the abuses. we all thought that my littles are suffering from chronic depression.
but that was before our therapist helped us to put the "fragments" together and figure it out.
now we know that the depression of the littles is their emotional "fragment" of the memory. one of my alters who kept seeing a bedroom in his head/dreams but he had no idea what happened in that bedroom. I personally kept seeing a window in my head/dreams (that I had no idea what it was all about). others used to see a little kid who was hurt physically and emotionally (but they didn't know who that was)....(and many other fragments)
those were examples of "memory fragments" about the abuses (just to show you what I'm talking about).
however there are still several tens of these fragments that we are yet to understand.

is this common with DID?

you mean with different parts of the same memories spread out across different alters? i dont know enough about DID to know if its common, but i think its very common for alters to have memories of things you don't. maybe someone else here might be able to help on that one...?

This is common for more then one alter to know pieces of a memory. Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle you have to put together gathering parts from your alters and parts hidden where you wouldn't think to look. Just remember d.I.d. is there to keep you from remembering something that could be damaging so your mind hid the answers in the hardest to find spots and deep corners of your mind the possibly created alters to scare anyone from telling or finding out where these are hidden. Don't be discouraged you just have to keep looking. Journaling and writing help lots. Ask your alters to write and draw anything they can and hopefully soon your pieces will fall together. Keeping track of new alters or memories is very important in this journey so good luck.

katana wrote:you mean with different parts of the same memories spread out across different alters?

yes. not only the "bad" memories, but also the better memories. for example it's common that different alters come out to "fill in the parts" when I'm talking to my T

chibixal wrote:This is common for more then one alter to know pieces of a memory. Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle you have to put together gathering parts from your alters and parts hidden where you wouldn't think to look. Just remember d.I.d. is there to keep you from remembering something that could be damaging so your mind hid the answers in the hardest to find spots and deep corners of your mind the possibly created alters to scare anyone from telling or finding out where these are hidden. Don't be discouraged you just have to keep looking. Journaling and writing help lots. Ask your alters to write and draw anything they can and hopefully soon your pieces will fall together. Keeping track of new alters or memories is very important in this journey so good luck.

it's exactly as you called it. a jigsaw puzzle. and to complicate things up, many pieces are hidden and don't appear unless they are triggered by certain circumstances.
thanks alot, I'll try to keep a journal and see how it goes

everyone has "fragmented" memory- that is the nature of memory.