Are inner voices related to DID?

Hi all,

I had a question, In one of the forums I moderate, bipolar, there are alot of posts regarding voices. These voices are not voices outside the head, like in psychosis, and are not related to this dx.

One member mentioned that she was diagnosed with ptsd w/ dissociative features, in response to the above posts.

Is this a feature that is common with DID?

I am also dx'd with ptsd, bipolar, BUT not ocd as the member was that related to these kinds of voices.

I'm trying to narrow this down. We know it is not psychosis.

Can anyone relate to this with DID? And with my background of abuse, why does one develope bpd rather than DID?

Thank you in advance, ddee

I think I replied to the same person,(Stolen was the name) but on another site, NeeDIDExchange.

It is common to have varying degrees of dissociation with PTSD.
I think that voices in your head, vs outside your head is one of the features of dissociation. If the voices in the person's head see themselves as separate from one another, then this would probably suggest a more severe form of dissociation - DID. Dissociation can be looked as being on a continuum. A small degree of dissociation would be driving to work in a robotic routine way. You don't really remember consciously driving to work you kindof just arrive there. At the other end of the spectrum would be where the person sees another part of themselves (an alter)as quite distinct from another alter or host.

It is not uncommon for people who have DID to be misdiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. A switch to another alter can appear to be a change in mood. (I think) if a person is bipolar, antidepressants can cause a bipolar to become manic.

Now, of course, it is possible for someone to be DID and Bipolar, but I bet it's rare.

Alot of research has shown that Bipolar runs in families. There's a big genetic component to it. However, the thought is that there are other factors like environmental stresses that when combined with one's genetic makeup results in bipolar.

I don't know if this helps to clarify your questions.

Regards, s

Thank you,

When I referred to bpd, I was referring to Borderline Personality disorder, tho I also have bipolar.

I was just wondering why one develops DiD, related to childhood trauma, while others like myself develope BPD as a result.


Thank you for your post, it is much appreciated.

I think you know the post I was referring to in the bipolar forum, I have alot to learn about DID, and this post that you and I responded to in Bipolar forum, was a reason for this post. I never knew that voices INSIDE the head were associated with DID,

I can see why a pdoc could see interchanging personalities with bipolar because of moods, but not alters. Now BPD(borderline) can have some really major moods too, but not highs and lows, but rather, anger vs. submission, ie. passive / aggressive behavior associated with triggers.

ttyl, ddee ,8

ddee and shrinkrapper,

It's me Stolen. Bp does run in my family (I bet that is why the pdoc was so fast to dx). Although, I think I do have it.

And, shrinkrapper. I responded back on the other forum. The voices and presences I hear and feel within view themselves as seperate from me and visa versa

I don't know why I would develop DID and not BPD. Along with the abuse, I also got carted off to live with so many relatives and in foster homes while I was growing up that I had to constantly change who I was to fit in - and never felt like I did - not sure if this would contribute to the development of alters or not.

It's more than interchangeable personality states. Some of my alters are males. I'm female. I'm not gay or attracted to girls, yet my strongest alter is a male.

Anyway, best wishes to you both,
Stolen

ddee and shrinkrapper,

It's me Stolen. Bp does run in my family (I bet that is why the pdoc was so fast to dx). Although, I think I do have it.

And, shrinkrapper. I responded back on the other forum. The voices and presences I hear and feel within view themselves as seperate from me and visa versa

I don't know why I would develop DID and not BPD. Along with the abuse, I also got carted off to live with so many relatives and in foster homes while I was growing up that I had to constantly change who I was to fit in - and never felt like I did - not sure if this would contribute to the development of alters or not.

It's more than interchangeable personality states. Some of my alters are males. I'm female. I'm not gay or attracted to girls, yet my strongest alter is a male.

Anyway, best wishes to you both,
Stolen

Stolen, I'm so glad that you replied. I was going to ask you more about your voices. Sure sounds to me like DID. After all, YOU would know better than the T.

In PTSD you can often re-live things and you can hear voices and have hallucinations (You will see or feel like you're right back in a traumatic situation. These are features of PTSD.

As to one person develops borderline vs did? Who really knows? I'm by no means an expert, but I think one can safely say that one's genetic makeup plays a part. From what I've read people with borderlines have had more boundary violations growing up, less mirroring, etc which hinders the development of a stronger ego or sense of self. But, I don't know if I'd put any money on this idea. The psyche is a complex thing.

Hope this helps ddee

All the best, s

It helps alot.

When I was a kid, I used to try to be others, but not the way that one might imagine, I think I was just trying to find a ME. I did have alot of ME taken away, as I was not good enough.

I wanted a protector tho. My dad left, and my stepdad and mom were both abusive, tho I could somehow forgive my mom, as she was also abused as a kid and by my stepdad.

She also had bpd.

It is ironic and maybe just a connective thinking thing for me that you mention mirroring. I used to stand in front of it for hours and do things like try to see my real dad in me. pretend I was on lsd, and I was 10, , things that were not what "normal" 10 year olds should be doing, and what was up with being in my room all the time anyway? now that I think about it?

I hated myself. I was r@ped @ 4, and molested from 5-7 by relatives, I didn't want to be me. I was also r@ped several times as an adult. This is what all caused my ptsd. And you can see why I wonder about the borderline vs DID> I was a perfect candidate to develope it.

As I watch "The three faces of Eve" one day, the first documented case of DID, or what was known then as MPD, I learned it was not a mental disorder. whether this still holds true I don't know. Borderline has controlled my life and ruined so many of my past relationships. I finally went to DBT classes and learned boundaries and how to accept myself, but it has not helped my ptsd, only the bpd.

I want to thank you all so much for sharing with me. It means so much to me.

Gentle hugs( if I may?), ddee

ddee,

More thoughts on DID and BPD (borderline). I don't know if you are aware of this but, it is not unusual to have DID and BPD together.

Warmly,

shrinkrapper

I found the connection between the two. There is one criteria that overlaps the two.
In BPD:
transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

That sums it up for me. I knew there had to be a similiar outcome of the same stimuli, and trauma. The dissociative features, because of the first part of that criteria, many of us are dx'd SZ to begin with, such as myself. But that has long been dc'd. They have linked my periodic psychosis to stress related bipolar and BPD.
I took a test that a member showed us in the living with... section, and my results astonished me and hit the nail right on the head. That is where I got this . It is not a self diagnostic tool.

Here is the link to the test.

First I took this one

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

Then entered the letters of that test here and started this one
http://similarminds.com/jung.html

for your results, substitute the ESFP below for your personality lettertype, ie. isfg, or whatever it shows. Just delete the esfp below and enter your personality results, and see how close it it. It was right on the money for me as you can see.

http://www.the16types.info/types-ESFP.php

If you have trouble let me know your personality letters and I will give you the link.

ddee,7

To find the results like the one I showed on me above let me know what your personality type is and I will give you a link to your result explaination page.

Hi ddee,

Thanks so much for the links to the sites.

Do you know there are books written about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I have one called, Type Talk, the l6 Personality types that determine how we live, love and work by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen

All the best

s