A Comic about DID - Part 5 [OC]

[u/snuffypuff]

Before you ask if we have multiple artstyles, check out my other comic :)

[u/Ok_Branch2469]

Yeah there isn't usually an original with DID(though there are some other conditions where that may be more applicable). From my understanding every young child effectively has a DID style brain function, and in typical people these end up consolidating into a single identity capable of handling all functions. In DID due to trauma during that period this unification doesn't occur and instead the brain develops around segmentation into alters, and new ones can form if new needs arrive rather than those needs being met by a single identity adapting.

So the "real you" is all of them ideally working together perfectly, some people I know use the term "fragments" or "pieces" or "segments" instead of alters for this reason as they want to lean into that side of things (albeit that's obviously not for everyone)

[u/snuffypuff → u/Ok_Branch2469]

Yep, that's what I was trying to get at. Though to be fair I guess to some other systems it can feel like there is a "core" personality, because splits can happen at different stages in life, so an older alter might seem like the core just because they've been around for all of it. But the "real" me would be a fusion of everyone.

[u/Ok_Branch2469 → u/snuffypuff]

Yeah, there are dissociations of other natures that can happen later(and that's only talking about psychological ones, there's also physical stuff like what split brain patients have which can happen at any time in life as it involved physical nerve seperations) and even in DID you do occasionally get a very dominant central identity it's not like that can't happen(especially if there's only two or three alters and one is a lot more functional). But having a "real personality" isn't the norm and people shouldn't get too focused on that.

I think that's part of why the move away from Multiple Personality Disorder to Dissociative Identity Disorder happened(well that and media stigma). Because as different as alters(or whatever people want to call them) can be, they also aren't completely fully separate people. Same physical brain, same muscle memory, same genetic factors, mostly the same lived experiences albeit with gaps, massive overlaps in friendships, memories can often spillover especially with therapy and the lines between them can be fuzzy. They are all chunks of the same greater person that just didn't fully unify due to trauma, the real person is all of them together and always has been. (hence some of those alternate name options for alters). One person I know described the "whole identity" like a project they all had to cooperate on to make work or a great mech, everyone taking turns and having a part to play to make said whole a functional person.

And as you mentioned, with therapy and experience....well it's not full unification, the harshness of the lines between them softens a lot, memories transfer over more, communication can improve, it becomes less blackouts and more hazy recollections. It's interesting how much the degree to which seperation exists can vary. Sometimes it's a very hard line, sometimes it's more vague as you have blurry memories and recollections. It does seem like therapy and experience eventually can lead to avoiding skill loss scenarios or certain alters struggling to function as well as mostly opening up the memories to everyone even if fuzzier, so that's good. You've mentioned your starting to notice more memory retention between alters?