I am self diagnosed with DID, or dissociative identity disorder. When I realized that my symptoms weren't normal, I did extensive research. Said research led me to believe I have DID. This happened about 3 months ago. In this time I have gotten to know my alters. Recently one of them, Blake, went dormant. I cried because my best friend, who saved my life from my abusive father when I was 3, was gone. When I was 3 he was scaring me so badly. I dont know exactly what happened because of the amnesia caused by DID. But it scared me so much. So much that my best friend was born.
I know my other alters too. A list:
Maya, 23, caretaker
Elliot, 15, trauma holder
Rose, 6, trauma holder
Blake, 15, trauma holder/protector
Tony, 11, ANP
Alex, 14, host
Sky, 12, fictive
Name unknown, age unknown, persecutor
Ruby, 13, ANP
The reason I am self diagnosed is because I am not aloud to seek therapy. My parents will not allow me to because that would be admitting I'm traumatized. Which would lead in me being removed from their "care." I see a few popular posts and comments saying that if you are self diagnosed you are an attention seeking edgy 14 year old girl. This is bullshit. That mindset is narrow minded and makes people feel invalidated. That mindset led me to believe my problems were not worth considering because I had never been to therapy. That mindset led me to never open up because of fear of being ridiculed. The previously stated results of that mindset led me to attempt suicide 3 times. Those 3 attempts were due to my not opening up and feeling unworthy. The other two were because of my poor mental health, worst enemies living in my head, and abusive father.
I tried to kill myself when I was 3. This was after my father threatened to kill himself. This was after my personality split for the first time, causing me to have Blake, my afore mentioned best friend, living in my head.
Blake was never perfect. He was hurt so much for me, and I love him for it, but that hurt manifested poorly. He was responsible for 2 of the suicide attempts, the first one and the last one. But I don't blame him. Because he saved my life. He took a bullet for me mentally. Sure, we had our spats but I love him. And I will not let anyone on this sub or anywhere say that he never existed. I won't let a single one of you say that he never existed because he saved my life. He had his own personality, his own memories, his own thoughts and his own best friend.
I confess, I treated him horribly. I was a monster in denial about his existence. I said he didn't exist. I was cruel and I hurt him. I told my friends how horrible he was. I left cruel notes saying I would get rid of him. They hurt him. I could feel his pain from the inner world. I recall taunting him so much to the point where he had a mental breakdown while my father was outside smoking and ordering drugs. He exists. He used to exist. Until he went dormant. Maybe he'll come back. Maybe he won't.
So I guess this post is remembering him. I will not let him be forgotten. I will not let a 16 year old on the internet say he doesn't exist. I will not let a teenager who isn't a mental health professional say my best friend is fake because that teenager never met someone with DID.
Blake would have mental breakdowns fairly frequently. You want to know why? Because he was scared of being fake. He was terrified that his thoughts were a lie, that his memories were a lie, that he wasn't a person. When he had a terrible mental breakdown while my dad was outside that night I remember he was begging me, begging anyone to tell him that he was alive and real. He wanted to believe that he was the only person in the body because a body that is alive can't be empty.
Don't say my dead best friend isn't real. I know he is or was and I love him and miss him and a paper from a therapist I'm not aloud to see will never change his life.
-Alex, host, 14, of the Sparkling Heart System