Posted by terra miller on August 5, 2002, at 17:10:34
In reply to Re: May I interrupt? » judy1, posted by Dinah on August 3, 2002, at 12:20:41
one of the qualifications/requirements/whatever for DID is that some extreme trauma happened to a child 7 years or younger. before the age of 7, the brain is able to pull it off. after the age of 7, the brain/ego/whatever is more permanently formed. that is why adults can dissociate but they can't "create" DID. it's not possible. someone creates it as a kid in order to survive some terrible trauma because it's all you thought you had left to do (felt no way out).
about lost time: this feels different to different people. generally speaking, it feels more like just not being able to remember something. it's very common to hear someone say that they can't recall anything from their childhood at all. or they can't recall two entire years. usually the dissociating functions at such a high level that you aren't aware of it (which is the entire purpose.) it's not until you get into therapy, or enter it because you think you are going crazy, that you begin to recognize "waking up" in the middle of your day and stuff like that. before starting to catch on, you have absolutely no clue that anything out of the ordinary is happening. after all, this is ordinary to you because it's what you've known your whole life. it's just that eventually it starts to break down because it's not needed anymore, and then you march into therapy.
fwiw.
terra
poster:terra miller
thread:730
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/831.html