OSDD: When Alters Influence (and how diagnosis can get confused)

[@Lenergyiskey358]

Thankyou Dr. Mike. When I first spoke to my therapist about my dissociation after a week or so of blackouts, she diagnosed me Bipolar. My GP said, no way (she had known me 30 years), and after 8 months of rigorous assessments it was actually DID. My therapist did not recognise the blackouts as important and focused more on the confusion I was experiencing and believed it to be Bipolar Psychosis. DID/OSDD is very easily misdiagnosed, and the diagnostic process is grueling, but worth getting the correct diagnosis in the end.

[@thectadclinic]

Agreed, it is sad how long it can take to get right though. All that time and effort!

[@AmandainChrist88]

I was told I had bipolar meds made things worse than the settles in cptsd but meds make me worse . Just recently I looked at past photos medical records and didn’t recall it myself or even my handwriting than I lost touch for three weeks in dissociation states several times through out the day. I think I have DID and drs mistook the personalities for Mood swings .

[@celinesoucy9297]

I was misdiagnosed bipolar as well because I could not recall trauma, and yet to know the phenomena I experienced prior was the start of body memories and parts surfacing. I was extremely depressed from a recent loss of a cousin to suicide and so I thought it was due to that, it was what triggered my cptsd to surface but not enough to notice parts. 12 years later parts have started yo reveal themselves and body memories.

[@ichi_san]

thanks for this explanation of OSDD. What's so sad is that the mental health specialists I have seen so far only see dissociation as DID and dont consider OSDD. I wish one day more of them will learn about this condition.

[@butterbee_bb]

We only realized we were a system when we met a system and were introduced to vocabulary related to multiplicity and the challenges people with DID experience. I think something to remember is that the onset of the disorder itself is when we were very very young, so for us there has never been anything different. DID has always been our normal and it’s always difficult to come up with a description of something normal especially without knowing what to contrast it to. In hindsight a lot of what we experienced was clearly related to DID. Little “clues” I had dropped to therapists that no one picked up on. For example me saying I have really bad autobiographical memory or that the “voices” were very critical. I had also described some experiences as if “someone else took control of the body” in a situation of self-harm. I had no idea most people don’t have voices to debate with or be criticized by, nor that people generally remember most of the big events of their lives and don’t have whole chunks of it missing. If I don’t know it’s abnormal I wouldn’t bring it up in a session, so there’s that aspect of DID that also makes it challenging in my opinion. Btw, I would love to see a video contrasting DD diagnosis with ADHD and also related to the general criteria for personality disorders. One of the DSM criteria that I really like (and dislike at the same time) is that the “symptoms cannot be better explained by another condition” or something like that. On my diagnostic report, the doctor listed the other diagnoses I had been given and said that all of them were in question because they could all be fully explained by DID. And that has changed my life, our lives, for the better.

[@Elizabethpepper8]

Excellent points! This is what makes the doubt amd confision so powerful. Iwas just going over this in my head actually. I regularly get lost in my mind having discussions with myself (I think) for long periods. For example, going over a situation im havsibg with someone and deciding on how to communicate it. I will create e perfect transcript, sorta like im... auditioning? whenevet I go to write it down I can't remember much of it though- jusy like conversations I have with others in real life.. They're intense. Im super into it, but tthen i lose memory of the details directly afterwards. Itt triggers my overwhelm, frustration, and OCD throwing my day off. Just realizing im pretty sure that isn't normal 😅

[@sad_doggo2504]

I agree and would also love to see a comparison with ADHD, we struggle with that and the overstimulation / sensory issues add an interesting dimension to existing CPTSD symptoms.

[@sad_doggo2504]

During stress, our system has a nasty habit of sucking us into internal "political dramas" that completely block us from dealing with real world problems. It's been extremely hard to learn how NOT to do this -- it's classic dissociation! But I can see how it could easily be mistaken for severe depression or generalized anxiety. I actually figured out the pattern by reading about anticipatory anxiety, so fair enough!

[@helleslente8361]

My husband has several personalities, but in therapy they have given him the diagnosis of Severe Personality Disorder. We’ve been dealing with a hostile alter for 3 years, because he doesn’t want me around. My husband adores me, like 2 of the other parts do. But now the hostile personality has taken completely over, has served me divorce papers, and no one suspects foul play! He therapist thinks it my husband, at work they believe him when he’s slandering me, and I’m forced to leave my loving husband 🙈 It’s excruciating and I feel totally abandoned. I’ve been their primary support for more than 3 years, while they treated their childhood trauma - now he can’t get rid of me fast enough. I’m devastated 💔

[@kellyschroeder7437]

Hope you will speak of ASD again and how that presents as dissociation in high masking folks who are horribly misunderstood and want and need appropriate help. Thanks 💙👊

[@thectadclinic]

We have ASD lined up soon!

[@binarystar11235]

Thank you for your work en for creating these videos for everyone to watch and learn from for free!

[@thectadclinic]

Glad you like them!

[@Jennifer-oq4zj]

Thank you Dr Mike, your videos are immensely thought provoking. I always look forward to the next one and frequently rewatch previous ones. It’s almost impossible to get NHS treatment for DID, living on benefits rules out private treatment. That’s why your videos are SO important to me. 🙏

[@ronibaker9262]

This was so informative. I have DID and my partner was diagnosed OSDD but previous diagnosis was bipolar. This is clearly what he goes through, like a hamster wheel and trauma triggers the anger or hopelessness and inability to believe new information. I think this video will make an impression.

[@fie4426]

I will never ever in my life mention this to a psychologist or anyone ever. Omg and i almost throught i had ADHD for how distracted i sometimes become. I love this video, im not imagining this

[@enoch4499]

This is an excellent presentation!!! Thank you! This will be tremendously helpful in my OSDD1b treatment and helping people in my life gain a better understanding.

[@thectadclinic]

That sounds great!

[@ShyMusicPanda]

Thank you for making this channel Dr. Mike. When I first started out on my trauma therapy back in around 2007/2008, my therapist mentioned she would refer me to your clinic which was just being set up. However, I think there was a misunderstanding and unfortunately this never happened. Luckily because she'd mentioned dissociative disorders in passing I was able to ask subsequent therapists about this aspect of my trauma experience, but there's not been much support and understanding since therapists don't seem to know a lot about the dissociative experience. However, unfortunately because the NHS Mental Health services are quite broken up, it's been really hard in therapy with some therapists telling me that dissociative disorders don't exist, other therapists telling me it's BPD or Bipolar traits and other therapists forcing through dissociative barriers believing this is the correct treatment. Throughout all of this I've been left very confused and have been expected to be able to complete therapeutic treatments which haven't addressed any of the internal struggles I've faced which has led to a lot of pain and misunderstanding. Whilst 5 independent therapists have given me informal diagnoses for OSDD-1, I've been discouraged and denied the opportunity for a formal assessment due to the stigma and this not being considered to be as severe as DID, some therapists also believing in the iatrogenic theory. I have improved significantly overall throughout the years of going back and forth to therapy, but it's been a huge struggle with over a decade of anxiety about understanding what is really going on and how this works. I'm pretty much relying on your channel to help answer the questions I've not had answers to at this point, to help fill in the gaps. I can't imagine how hard it must be for someone who was misdiagnosed from the start and less aware of their parts, and I can't thank you enough for helping.

[@human_creature]

Thanks for the videos, Dr Mike. Would you be able to you explain how intrusions of dissociative parts in C-PTSD could be mistaken for other conditions, and how it tends to differ from intrusions of OSDD alters?

[@thectadclinic]

What would be the parts in CPTSD if not dissociative?

[@nef97]

​​@@thectadclinicFrom my understanding, both are dissociative, the question is the difference in CPTSD and OSDD. It'd really be helpful to me to know the answer, too.

[@imjustjules]

This has been us as long as we can remember, constantly lost in our internal world and especially also with autism, and the external world is too much on top of that. Our system came out from reading a Janina fisher book in may 2023. We got into IFS before that and felt confused because apparently parts work is metaphorical and not literal for some folks. We heard people talking to us and thought that’s how it was for others. But Janina’s book.. that was overwhelming and our parts kept making us dissociate because they were afraid for us to learn they were there as quickly as we did. Whenever we read books now on dissociation, our parts have that response. We learned it’s because they fear we’ll pursue fusion. We also think providers missed our dissociation because we have severe anxiety so we’re often in mixed states. We do experience dorsal vagal responses but if we’re in front of a provider, it’s always mixed states due to social anxiety / relational trauma. This is making us process a lot, hence gigantic internal world in here. These videos are amazing!! Super excited for more.

[@dartcree8185]

Why are do we care? Bipolar. BDD. OSDD. DID. What difference does it make for treatment? How do I leave this all behind and become a people?

[@DIDBooks-n-Research]

I would love to see a video on how researching into a persons past history can help make better assessments for the patient. As so many specialists I work with talk about how vital it is to dig into past records and medical reports, sometimes even school records or photos, etc. to make a better analysis and better understanding for treatement and the patient. It did for me to understand my past and memories I forgot. 😊

[@thectadclinic]

We definitely don’t do that! The dissociative past has to be managed very carefully.

[@DIDBooks-n-Research]

@@thectadclinic mine was through disability, and two psychologist's to assess what was my disabilities and mental health issues. Even neurological was brought in. Then over the yrs for research I allowed my medical history to be used and past records to understand the disorder more and to get my memory back. It helped my process a lot. Course Im US based.

[@DIDBooks-n-Research]

@@thectadclinic also mine is managed very carefully and monitored for over 10 years. And if you dont learn about a patients past or there history, how do you learn about them or there alternative states? I feel this comment is a bit out of contexted or misunderstood. Isnt it a psychologist or therapist job to help the patient remember and process slowly there own history and what they have forgotten or emtions they felt they could not have or regulate? Course maybe this comment will be be takem down and ignored as well. My work is also used in research and iv made great progress over the yrs. Just because I choose to allow my work to be used is that wrong?

[@thectadclinic]

@@DIDBooks-n-Research may be a misunderstanding. We can do all those things, but slowly and if needed. I have on,y needed to go into deeper medical records once in 15 years, for example, and there was good reason for it. Photos and school things are usually shared when felt appropriate, not ‘dug’ for. That’s why I answered, we don’t do that as standard, only if applicable. Glad it worked for you, I know people for whom that process would be traumatic, Words and memory are often enough.

[@DIDBooks-n-Research]

@@thectadclinic Yes, because SSDI for disabilty for CPTSD / DID needed all info to allow benefits and help from the state. They even dug into by job history, as went through about 25 jobs before the age of 28. Because of the forgetting or mishaps due to switching. I lost work and income and I was not able to work anymore, even though I love to do so. So now I study, and I study very hard on this disorder and am glad to be a part of them studies for the research. It has given many clinicians a understanding of what DID is and Isn't. It has also given me meaning and respect for myself and others like me. Many people today mimic or mock what isn't DID and pretend to have it to use it for glamor or income or fame. And the clinicians here in the US even are finding new assessments need to be done in order to stop people from taking away from those who really have these ailments. Maybe you dont have the issue there, and maybe it dont matter to you, but it does to those who have put there lives on the line trying to survive and doing the work. I respect that you understand all this. But also feel that not enough is being done to support those who have done the work to heal from this, and have put yrs and yrs into fighting battles no one can emagine. Yes maybe some cases are less severe then others and some are capable of work or functioning better without the need of such assessments. But again, why not the brain scans to see if the patient is telling the truth or not? Why not more assessments to rule out BPD or other mental illnesses before giving them a diagnosis they all seem to want for some odd reason? Its been a long battle the last 2 yrs with young kids and people lieing to the ends of all time to all of sudden want this. In some way I wish they would rename my DID then, because it sure is heck ant like what some people are displaying on tiktok and Media apps. My clinician has worked for over 30 yrs in this field and she is disheartened by this new trend. Its making it harder for real sufferers to get the vital attention and care they need. And it is making a mockery of a severe disorder to the point of even almost having the license of a psychologist pulled for pointing this issue out. (Edited for spelling errors as fibro hands here.)

[@LittlePsyCrow]

Is it also possible that alters in DID or OSDD don’t make consistent or noticeable appearances (even to the host) until later on in life, or depending on the person/body’s age?

[@Elizabethpepper8]

Good question. I'm curious in hearing this answer too. Personal experience makes me believe that it can go unrecognized for decades until an extreme trauma occurs shaking the person's awareness amd worsening symptoms.

[@thectadclinic]

Yes, that is exactly how it can happen for some people.

[@LittlePsyCrow]

@@thectadclinic Thank you very much! 🤍

[@Elizabethpepper8]

@@thectadclinic I've struggled with numerous issues all my life. Almost always in attempts to cope wirh trauma. A couple years ago before I turned 30, I endure a wide range of abuse that I also experienced as a child and it was my family's reaction that impacted me the most. They ignored my pleads for help, amd just watched the abuse occur while abandoning me and enabling thr abuse. Exactly what happened as a child. I recall much of what happened in childhood, but i didnt realize the emotioms of the trauma werent there. It wasn't until I went through it a couple of years ago that i finally realized how detached i was from trauma due to those missing emotions. It was like looking at pictures in the way it brought things to the surface. So confusing, terrifying, and painful Im surprised i didn't die. DID never reasonated as its feels dramatized I always described my states as different versions of myself rather than different people. Its all me, but different moods, priorities, feelings, etc. I'm very adaptable; however, i feel like there is only one real version of myself and she never got to fully develop due to what happened to me. I just started areading up on OSDD1a and it's feels like it explains the internal insanity I try to describe. Does it sound like it could be a possibility?

[@progressnotperfection1839]

@@thectadclinicIt happened for me! Operated just fine until more multiple traumas hit me.

[@angelwild5665]

Thank you, again. Straitforward and understandable.

[@boopboopscoop]

These are really helpful--I understand why so many diagnoses seemed to somewhat apply now. I can see how my presentation would have been puzzling for clinicians, too. Glad to have more clarity. Thanks for posting!

[@kellyschroeder7437]

Thank you Dr. Mike 💙👊

[@thectadclinic]

My pleasure!

[@glitterycorpse]

Thank you so much, your videos are always very enlightening.

[@Roseyla]

I feel like neither DID or OSDD are quite right for me, but both videos match experiences I've had. What about Partial DID, or a discussion about how dissociation is very likely a spectrum, and thus we may see variations? I can get trapped in my head for long periods, and often felt like I would reset, and struggled with identity. Ever since coming into seeing parts, I can see myself as a whole, and connecting to myself through that feels very familiar. It's helped me to understand my gender as fluid, too, as parts of myself feel differently. Sometimes, it can be like parts battle for control, influence over the body, and I can't tell if I'm doing it myself, like all I have to do is choose differently. I've struggled with self-destructive behavior, where a part takes over and silences the side that doesn't want to be that, but from my personal perspective... it's all me. I ask, if it's me, then why don't I choose differently? It's very confusing, and therapists here don't seem very supportive, so I have no diagnosis. They tell me it's just me, when I'm saying there is more than what is on the surface. I'll take what I can get, though, and use the Internal Family Systems model to make sense of who I am and take control of my life. It's helped a lot - so has this channel, even if I don't always see myself here.

[@princessodonata2729]

This video is so helpful! Thank you!! Really looking forward to discussing this with our therapist.

[@rugdealer1729]

there's this thing in math called a fractal, it's why roots, trees, veins, and lighting all look similar (among many other things). it's not quite 2 dimensional and not quite 3 dimensional, it exists somewhere in-between. So in that case comparing a singular person as 2D and a group of people 3D would a fractal be an appropriate analogy for DID or OSDD?

[@alittlespacetime]

Finished the other video just in time for this one. Thank you, as always. 😊❤

[@thectadclinic]

You did well!

[@alittlespacetime]

@@thectadclinic ☆♡ hope you have a splendid weekend!

[@LiEnby]

Hm Doesn't BPD also have dissociation as a symptom? Can that make it harder still?

[@dr.alphys8650]

how does one differentiate between thoughts and a voice?

[@thectadclinic]

If you ask that to people who hear voices, they will share their experience of it!

[@derks0]

i’m pretty sure i have osdd, but i’m scared of bringing it up to my therapist

[@thectadclinic]

Always worth doing the DES questionnaire and using that to start a conversation.

[@derks0]

@@thectadclinic that’s a really good idea thank you :D

[@experiFilm]

15 years misdiagnosed for me!!! 😀😀😀😀😀😀

[@experiFilm]

Reoccurring depression, mood disorder NOS, psychosis, borderline personality disorder!! Nobody knew anything!! So many pills that never helped me!!

[@thectadclinic]

So sad to her that

[@EssleyGomez]

❤❤❤

[@laraparks7018]

My nephew was just murdered after a 2 year tour in Ukraine and they let his killer go. My immigrant neighbors are parking their SUV in the alley way garden I created and they borrow seat cushions without permission. They tell me what I'm allowed to put in the garden, like no gnomes, but budas are ok and they keep moving my plants into walkways and staircases. They're daughters sit in the garden area that I created and financed and don't say hello when I go to water plants They told my landlord they're afraid of me when I confront them about their behavior My landlord keeps getting tickets from sanitation and sanitation refuses to pick up trash because it's not put out properly 😮 I have a mental health diagnosis and I'm being blamed What can I do?

[@Grace.allovertheplace]

🙏

[@jacobmckee8593]

I don't have identity!

[@lindadunn8787]

Bingo. Boom.

[@GallacherKelly-o6e]

Martin Lisa Moore Timothy Lewis Kimberly

[@DustinAkhtar-r2i]

Genevieve Mountains

[@A_Me_Amy]

hmm i think osdd makes a lot of sense, i argue with me all the time, and all of reality it seems often as well... its sooooooooooo annooyginh

[@Sophie-ur2qb]

Thank you 🙏 i don't always understand everything. But your videos have helped me be less scared to speak about this stuff. I'm not really sure how to talk about dissociation with my new therapist. When im in there, my mind blocks things. It goes blank.. i can't access them. This has been a big struggle for me with therapy and drs. I feel embarrassed when it happens. And then i dont know what to say😅 hopefully this will improve in time🙏

[@thectadclinic]

Sometimes it’s helpful filling in the DES questionnaire, taking it into therapy and just popping it on the (obligatory) coffee table for discussion!

[@LittlePsyCrow]

Thank you Dr. Mike!! Your videos are always so helpful and I can’t wait to watch this one now! 🤍

[@thectadclinic]

Hope you like it!

[@lilith.d.lazarine]

Hey I do to court order psychiatric help as a teenager (I stole a first aid kit it’s nothing crazy my probation officer just had to talk to me for 5 minutes) have been diagnosed with autism, depression, o.d.d, and cptsd but I do hear voices regularly and dissociate regularly also have had people throughout my entire life tell me about interactions and conversations I have no memory of it’s never been anything crazy but it also doesn’t sound like me how can I move forward finding any missing diagnosis as someone who just recently got out of homelessness and does not have insurance atm