I detest labels

“Dissociative Identity Disorder, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a condition in which a single person displays multiple distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment. The diagnosis requires that at least two personalities routinely take control of the individual’s behavior with an associated memory loss that goes beyond normal forgetfulness; in addition, symptoms cannot be due to substance abuse or medical condition. The DSM is explicit about the controversy (roughly half of North American mental health professionals do not consider DID to be an actual condition) over the condition, identifying both the objective evidence of physical and sexual abuse in the history of individuals diagnosed with DID and that individuals accused of abuse are motivated to deny or distort past actions, but also points out that childhood memories may be distorted, and that individuals with DID are highly hypnotizable and unusually vulnerable to suggestion. Individuals with DID demonstrate a variety of symptoms with wide fluctuations across time; functioning can vary from severe impairment in daily functioning to normal or high abilities. Symptoms can include: multiple mannerisms, attitudes and beliefs that are dissimilar to each other, headaches and other body pains, distortion or loss of subjective time, depersonalization, amnesia, depression. Patients may experience an extremely broad array of other symptoms that resemble epilepsy, schizophrenia, anxiety, Mood disorders, posttraumatic stress, personality, and eating disorders.”

In my page “About Being a Multiple Personality” I talked about my experience from the time I began blogging in February 2006, to the emergence of Dewy Knickers on June 14th, 2006, to my realization on November 18th, 2006 that Dewy was a real woman, to the troll attacks the rest of the year, to my illness for the next five months, to the reordering of our mind into six different personalities. But what I didn’t make clear and what is confusing and to some very upsetting is the ‘label’ I placed on myself as a multiple personality.

1. I have never been tested for or diagnosed as having DID.
2. I do not have memory loss at this time.
3. I have never taken drugs or drank alcohol.
4. I was eleven years old in 5th grade and had no memories of 4th grade at that time and very few memories from 3rd grade back.
5. I have no memories of being sexually abused during this time.
6. I started wetting the bed when I was six years old and wore diapers in 1st grade.
7. I stuttered until I was 13 years old and saw a speech therapist.
8. There is a documented history of sexual abuse in our family going back several generations.
9. I was diagnosed with CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) in 1996/97.
10. We consider ourselves to be multiple personalities.

Number 10 is what some with DID take offense to and has resulted in some heated conversations. Number 10 does not mean I consider DID a joke or a condition created by therapists. Number 10 does not mean I am seeking attention. Number 10 does mean that I trust myself and my experiences over a clinical diagnosis.

11. I am frequently depressed and have been prescribed in the past with medication but not since I started blogging.
12. I have constant thoughts of death but have never attempted suicide.
13. I have not sought out a therapist since 1997-2000 when Little Brian and Pit Bull emerged.
14. My blog name is “Truth is Freedom” because the truth, my truth has changed my life for the better.
15. I began blogging because of what happened to Louise Ogborn and many other women and men who were caught up in the strip search madness. I have consistently and forcefully written out against abuse of all kinds.
16. I use my real and full name because we will no longer live in darkness and fear. I am proud to be a multiple personality and we will emphatically support anyone who seeks to heal from trauma of any kind.
17. I can talk and/or sense any of my others when they choose to be open.
18. Rose and I can coexist in any percentage from 1% up to 100%.
19. Rose Dewy Knickers is a real woman: end of discussion.

The story of my life is just that; my life, no one else. Whether you have been reading from the beginning of my blog or this is the first post you’ve ever read, the simple fact is, that I detest labels. What am I should have no bearing on who you are and who you are should be someone that is happy and healthy. If you are not happy and healthy then it is your right as a divine creation to have access to the help you require. The sad facts are that for many, too many, proper care is unavailable. The state of mental health care in the world and in America is a disgrace. A disgrace! Animals are treated better and with more kindness than most people with either mental or physical conditions.

Our reality is that children who are abused are often blamed for causing the abuse. They learn to hide, some fragment and some become multiple personalities. I will make this as clear as I can:
We are multiple personalities and

we
will
not
hide
any
longer.