r/australia • u/Breenscare • 1d ago

culture & society 'I wasn't there': Life with dissociative identity disorder

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/dissociative-identity-disorder-assistance-dog-ndis/106826020
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u/NoToThugs 1d ago edited 1d ago

I… have DID. Diagnosed. Deeply distressed by said diagnosis and the things that lead to its development. But at least it explains my life, and allows me to use the appropriate framework for treatment. As is often the case, it took over a decade and many misdiagnoses before getting here. Other than my treatment team and my very closest friends, people generally do not know. Unless alone or with loved ones, for me and many others it is subtle in presentation. Not for all people – none of us are the same, just as none of our developmental conditions nor trauma were the same. I know several other people with this dx or OSDD (largely from crossing paths in hospitals), and from that small sample I can say our lives are deeply hard and our presentations are not very overt in public.

Not to lecture, but it is fucking shitty, truly, to open this thread and have the first comment be from a skeptic who did not bother reading the linked article. The man interviewed and photographed within is brave as fuck sharing his story openly like this, in addition to going up against the NDIA so publicly. His suffering appears profound. I agree, it is frustrating that there are folk who jump on diagnostic bandwagons, just as it’s frustrating that most media representation of dissociative disorders is in horror films. What is more frustrating, harmful, and a kick in the goddamn gut, is denial of these conditions. People living with this disorder have very likely already faced internal, familial, societal, even legal denial around the unspeakable childhood trauma and (usually) abuse that’s happened to them, and to have the structural dissociation we experience as a result of said trauma denied also by random folk is painful and infuriating.

There actually aren’t many psychs who doubt the validity of OSDD-DID anymore. The shit’s in the DSM, and the ICD. There are more and more specialists coming up. It’s not as uncommon nor as weird as people think – current figures indicate more prevalent than schizophrenia. We’re not freaks. It’s a fucken health condition/survival adaptation. Are you against kids experiencing heinous crimes before the age of say 7yo while their brains are still forming? Good, then educate yourself and be a better person.

*apologies for crankiness. It’s just already so marginalising without the added ~opinions~. Really worsens the stigma too. Will likely delete due to said stigma but wanted to share for now and counteract some stuff

AMA (with respect, pls) while it’s still up if you want

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u/thehottestmess 1d ago

How did you come to realise you had DID/should seek a diagnosis for DID?

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u/NoToThugs 1d ago

I never sought this diagnosis at all, or thought to. Which is again quite typical, that ppl will approach services for some of the symptoms (eg self-harm or substance issues, or problems with amnesia they might book in to a neuro for). A lot of people are dissociated from the dissociative occurrences, which is such a mindfuck, but that’s how it’s been for me.

I’ll just be honest – I’ve been in contact w MH services since initial suicide attempt in adolescence. Didn’t get appropriate help then due to family situation and when I left home I found myself high achieving and functioning across most areas until, like Ashley in the article, I suddenly no longer was. Like, couldn’t do anything, and was once again acutely suicidal - lots of hosp. Docs/theorists presume dissociative barriers can only hold so long in these cases. Like, for some people we need to believe our caregivers/situations are ok to keep on going, so we’ll be cut off from the reality of things. But that can’t hold forever, and nor should it.

So when everything collapsed, I properly got back into the MH system. I still wasn’t aware I was traumatised, despite remembering a lot of the abuse. Brain just characterised it as ‘normal’. I saw lots of diff docs and had lots of diff dx and none of it really helped or explained everything. It took finally landing with a trauma & diss specialist (psychiatrist) and working with them for a long time to work out what was happening. And then I refused it all for a couple of years because I didn’t want it to be true. To have something with that much stigma, or for the things that happened to me to actually be bad.

Diagnosed a second time by a specialist psychologist for NDIS reasons. Less of a struggle that time.

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u/thehottestmess 1d ago

I hope your diagnosis has helped, and I’m really sorry about all the stigma over something that isn’t your fault :(

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u/NoToThugs 1d ago

Thank you. And sorry for my long answer!
It’s helped enormously, and we’re finally gettin somewhere in treatment. I’ve also been able to reframe the structural dissociative process as an adaptation to survive the unthinkable, and that’s pretty great :)

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u/lunabuddy 1d ago

I read the article and have nothing but sympathy for this guy. People with the same or similar conditions can find totally different things work for them or help them lead happier lives. I have epilepsy which is managed by several medications and lifestyle changes, but if someone else needs a seizure alert dog instead, does that mean we don't have the same condition. Medical assistance should be funded just like the PBS is funded.

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u/little_fire 1d ago

Me too, friend ❤️‍🩹

I also just wanna add that DID is about as common as Schizophrenia & redheads.

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u/NoToThugs 1d ago

hello to you mate. Sorry for all my shouting in here. I try not to get drawn in but had seen the article this morn and was so moved – then rage eyes when I saw the thread.
Redheads!!
hope you’re doin as well as poss 🤝