[Traditional Enneagram] Typing someone with dissociative identity disorder (DID)

[TheEndIsNotTheEnd]

This is really more of a question that could be applied to any typology system but I decided to start with Enneagram....

How do you type someone with DID?

As someone who has different parts/alters, I am intrigued to understand how I can be typed because I always seem to break the system.

 

[Little_Sticks]

I think it depends on how you integrate them into a whole. That should tell you something meaningful to who you are, even if it's not necessarily simple enough for typology.

 

[TheEndIsNotTheEnd]

I think it depends on how you integrate them into a whole. That should tell you something meaningful to who you are, even if it's not necessarily simple enough for typology.

yeah, I don't think it's simple enough for typology.

Also, integration isn't always the ideal. For a lot of people it's about managing different states/alters so that they all work harmoniously. I think for parts of me, integration feels invalidating, if that makes sense.

 

[Ambrose]

That's another topic that fascinates me in general, when you have a mental disorder, does any kind of typology work? I've been wondering about that for awhile.

 

[magpie]

Also, integration isn't always the ideal. For a lot of people it's about managing different states/alters so that they all work harmoniously. I think for parts of me, integration feels invalidating, if that makes sense.

Integration isn't about getting rid of your altars, it's about fully accepting them. It's about harmoniously allowing them to exist all together at once, or rather, to let all aspects of your personality exist in you. It's about figuring out what "you" is.

I get how it can feel invalidating if you've been pressured to get rid of parts of yourself as a form of integration, but that's the opposite of integration and will only make DID worse.

 

[TheEndIsNotTheEnd]

Integration isn't about getting rid of your altars, it's about fully accepting them. It's about harmoniously allowing them to exist all together at once, or rather, to let all aspects of your personality exist in you. It's about figuring out what "you" is.

I get how it can feel invalidating if you've been pressured to get rid of parts of yourself as a form of integration, but that's the opposite of integration and will only make DID worse.

I'm new to this, sorry. I only just had this diagnosis suggested >_>

I understand what you say but what about the part of me that broke my arm and smashed my front teeth? She scares me. I can't predict or control what happens when she's given the reigns.

 

[magpie]

I'm new to this, sorry. I only just had this diagnosis suggested >_>

I understand what you say but what about the part of me that broke my arm and smashed my front teeth? She scares me. I can't predict or control what happens when she's given the reigns.

Forgive me if this is too personal, but is your DID trauma based? If it is, your therapist should be working through the trauma with you via talk therapy and/or EMDR. Your therapist can also work with your alters and ask them about their memories in order to weave together a cohesive memory narrative. This is really important if you are missing a lot of memories from your childhood, or don't remember any of it at all. Or if you have memory gaps when you go between alters. It's possible that different alters hold onto different memories, as what an alter is is just a different state of consciousness.

If an alter is actively trying to harm you, you need to figure out why. Is the alter copying the behaviour of an abuser? Are they afraid or do they want attention? Are you angry at yourself? Do you hate yourself? And why? This is stuff you need to do with a good therapist. Ideally you'll eventually get to a point where your alter no longer feels the need to hurt you. Where you can forgive, understand, and love this part of you and ask it to be part of you with the knowledge that it will treat you with respect and you will treat it with respect in turn. It'll take a lot of work to get here though and it's okay to take your time, not push it, and only do what you feel ready for. Also, you should work out a plan with a therapist to help keep you safe.

If you're interested in some reading, this helped me: Understanding Integration | Sidran.org

 

[TheEndIsNotTheEnd]

Forgive me if this is too personal, but is your DID trauma based? If it is, your therapist should be working through the trauma with you via talk therapy and/or EMDR. Your therapist can also work with your alters and ask them about their memories in order to weave together a cohesive memory narrative. This is really important if you are missing a lot of memories from your childhood, or don't remember any of it at all. Or if you have memory gaps when you go between alters. It's possible that different alters hold onto different memories, as what an alter is is just a different state of consciousness.

If an alter is actively trying to harm you, you need to figure out why. Is the alter copying the behaviour of an abuser? Are they afraid or do they want attention? Are you angry at yourself? Do you hate yourself? And why? This is stuff you need to do with a good therapist. Ideally you'll eventually get to a point where your alter no longer feels the need to hurt you. Where you can forgive, understand, and love this part of you and ask it to be part of you with the knowledge that it will treat you with respect and you will treat it with respect in turn. It'll take a lot of work to get here though and it's okay to take your time, not push it, and only do what you feel ready for. Also, you should work out a plan with a therapist to help keep you safe.

If you're interested in some reading, this helped me: Understanding Integration | Sidran.org

Thank you for your kindness.

I'm so confused, I don't even know what an "alter" is. I read these crazy stories and I can't relate to them.

What is "losing" time?

It's just so confusing...

Sorry.

I know I don't make sense >_>

 

[TheEndIsNotTheEnd]

I feel like I'm going mad in a way. But it's really irritating and disrespectful, lol. How dare my carefully balanced life be under scrutiny.

Apparently "this" is not normal.

 

[Little_Sticks]

What's normal though? People usually try to fall in line with what's expected of them because it's easier than going against the current. They restrict themselves and have to learn to give their instincts a voice. I guess maybe you have the opposite problem? Instincts have too much of a voice...

I don't know about DID, but I can relate to a split in personality where trauma causes instincts to take over. For some time, felt like someone else was trying to take over, but it was just my soul screaming out against the suffocating and crushing walls of the darkness in my life. My solution eventually was to accept it and let my soul become a relentless flame so that it could never truly crush me. I'm sure this sounds insane, but it's the only way to really explain it. Maybe it would help to understand your soul's voices then? Is that the idea? Or...I don't know. I guess it is for me.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Wasn't it said that typology doesn't apply to people with obvious mental disorders ?

 

[dougvincent1138]

I just wanted to say that I/we have DID, and we have been able to type several of us, pretty accurately, with the Myers Briggs system (or at least, a simplified online version of it.) The trick is to have each part/alter take the test individually, and answer the questions only for their own self. In other words, imagine how YOU would answer the questions if you were the only person in your body. I know this may be difficult to imagine at times, but if you try to answer it for all of you at once, it will fail every time. That is because the "whole" you is only an illusion that is created by the combination of all of the individual "you"s. You are correct in saying that integration, in terms of merging all of the identities into one whole identity, is not always the best option. We tried that for nine long, torturous years, and it never worked. But now that we are learning to work together and not being concerned about merging, we find that we are making a lot more real progress.

Yes, it is true that personality type tests are more geared toward "normal" people who do not have any mental disorders. But if you keep that in mind when taking the test, and focus on the individual "you" that is out in the body at the moment, you will find that you can type your selves pretty accurately, usually. You will also find that it opens up a whole new world of being able to understand your selves better, and being able to find new and exciting ways to work together and help each other.

I hope you will find this to be as helpful as we have.

Take care!

Leyna Vincent (INFJ) of the Doug Vincent system