One of the most important components of any healing journey is finding the right therapist, and this is especially true when you have dissociative identity disorder (DID). That being said, it is critical to find a therapist who can work with you and your specific needs to set you on the right path toward recovery.

One of the most fear-inducing symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (DID) is dissociative amnesia. When the mind is elsewhere and split off from the conscious body, it can be easy to lose track of everything from time to conversations with other people. It took me years before I understood this commonly overlooked symptom of DID, and just as long to gain control over it and my everyday life.

There is nothing worse than thinking you're going to get a good night's rest, only to find yourself tossing and turning for hours until your alarm goes off. A poor night’s sleep can impact the following day, leading to a loss in productivity and low energy levels across the board. When you have a mental health condition such as dissociative identity disorder (DID), these types of nights are common, but they don’t have to have a lasting negative impact on your overall quality of life.

When you are living with a mental health condition such as dissociative identity disorder (DID), therapy is often a part of the treatment plan. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be an effective launching point, but in my personal experience, it’s been specialized therapy for DID that has helped me grow by leaps and bounds.

Having community support when living with dissociative identity disorder (DID) is an important part of dealing with the disorder. Dissociative identity disorder can feel like a burden in more ways than one. In addition to dealing with the multiple conversations happening in your mind, you need to maintain your “outer shell,” or the parts that other people interact with the most. What do you do when the people around you are unaware of your condition?

Can a pet relieve the depression and anxiety of dissociative identity disorder (DID)? Let's imagine this: picture yourself in the middle of a panic attack. Your heart is racing, your mind is juggling a million thoughts, and no one can calm you down. Then, you reach for something soft, cuddly, and receptive to your need for comfort. This is what it feels like to turn to a pet for the anxiety and depression associated with DID.

Getting the dissociative identity disorder (DID) support you need is challenging, to say the least. Living with DID, I hear a constant internal dialogue and must manage the wants and needs of all of my individual personalities, which can be downright exhausting. Needless to say, not everyone on the outside can see what’s happening on the inside, which can make it difficult for me to express how I’m feeling on a regular basis. How do you communicate your own needs to the ones you love to get the DID support you need?

How does dissociative identity disorder (DID) affect self-care? When you hear self-care, you might think of a person practicing yoga, meditating or taking a bubble bath to relax and unwind. While it’s true that all of these activities can fall under the umbrella of self-care, it’s also worth going beyond the run-of-the-mill bubble bath once in a while to make sure everything is in check.

One of the most important tactics you can learn as a person living with dissociative identity disorder (DID) is journaling. Although it may seem like a relatively easy concept, many people take journaling for granted amidst the other options to manage the condition, such as meditation and exercise.

Does exercise help dissociative identity disorder (DID)? Exercise helps me live with DID by reducing anxiety and depression at least, so maybe it can help you, too.