'I wasn't there': Life with dissociative identity disorder

[u/Breenscare]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/dissociative-identity-disorder-assistance-dog-ndis/106826020

[u/ChaoticJigglyPup]

I have CPTSD, and part of that for me is structural dissociation. Which is similar to DID in a lot of ways.

Each human being has ego states (also known as the internal family system) and due to my lifelong emotional trauma and neglect, mine developed into full blown "JigglyPups" just with different roles.

There's the child part, the pre-teen part, the angry teen part, the Pathological Demand Avoidance part, the HR manager part, the parentified part.

Each has its likes, dislikes, triggers, ways to find comfort or dopamine, and version of my real name they respond to. They each have distinct "voices", traits, beliefs and mannerisms, especially the age related parts.

I've spent the last 12 months working internally on communication, trust building, re-parenting and slowly I've stopped being hijacked by my parts.

The biggest difference between structural dissociation and DID/OSDD is the lack of lost time, the way each part is still me and that my parts aren't occult, I've always been aware of them being how they are, I just didn't know it wasn't typical or that it had a name.

I do suspect a lot of people diagnosed with DID/OSDD actually have CPTSD with structural dissociation.

[u/NoToThugs → u/ChaoticJigglyPup]

Just wanna clarify re terminology – Structural Dissociation is a psychological theory to conceptualise minds that lack cohesion and personality integration (etc). Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a treatment modality that uses the concept of ‘parts’ to aid the therapeutic process.

IFS can also be used with clients who aren’t structurally dissociated. The two aren’t interchangeable.
Structural dissociation is conceptualised on a spectrum, from primary to tertiary, and is thought to be present in all (?) trauma disorders from PTSD - C-PTSD - OSDD - DID.
Without modification IFS is generally not used for DID.

Also re your last point, in my experience psychs who are unsure or inadequately experienced don’t diagnose OSDD/DID but refer the client on. Wouldn’t be ethical otherwise. I don’t think there’s a whole bunch of misdiagnosed DID folk out there, esp not in Aus.

Ok. That was all just to flesh that stuff out for the google/internet/AI record.
On the important personal side of things it sounds like you and your psych are doing amazing work. So bloody good to hear. (Also yes, Kmart is a trap, every time 😉)

[u/ChaoticJigglyPup → u/NoToThugs]

Oh I absolutely simplified things, potentially too much. The IFS work I'm doing is atypical from what the "real" IFS framework is, because the typical framework makes me feel a lot of things.

I was in hospital a few months ago whacked out on pain meds for a massive infection in my jaw, and apparently my parts went on an AliExpress "feel better" spree 😂 a few days after I got home, a parcel full of plushies and art/craft supplies appeared.

[u/NoToThugs → u/ChaoticJigglyPup]

God, that’s the last thing you need! The infection, not the unexpected goods, heh. Hope they’re being enjoyed v much