Journalling for those with Dissociative Identity Disorder

If you have Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), journaling is a really good wayt for you to begin and increase your internal communication with your parts. With increased internal communication, this aids you in learning more about your internal parts, and helps you all to have knowledge and insight about what each of you is experiencing. This can help you all work more effectively together. It will enable you to address ongoing issues and concerns and it potentially can help to avoid difficult situations from occuring. Being able to work more cooperatively with each other will help you to complete daily life tasks more effectively. The more your parts can be in tune with one another, the less likely they will be to split off or separate themselves from others.

If you are attending therapy for DID, your journal can be helpful to your therapist. First it can provide the therapist with a way for them to get to know all of your personalities, especially since some might not come to therapy as frequently or may even hate the idea of therapy all together, and perhaps even sabotage your attempts to remain in therapy. As therapy is time limited, it may not provide the necessary space for all your parts to get the attention they need. Secondly, the journal serves as a way for the therapist to make his/her own observations about what you and your alters might need to work on or address. Most importantly, the therapist can also use the journal to talk with your other alters. Even if an alter does not come frequently to therapy the therapist can still work with him/her in some way via the journal.

Tips for Journaling for people with a Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

1) Write Daily: As the host personality, make attempts to write daily. Ultimately you are in charge and it is important for you to set a good example. Even if you feel that there is nothing exciting or of interest to report, document the facts of the day. This will help get you into the habit of journaling. Also, it might be important to note what comes up for you when youre bored versus when youre busy or overwhelmed.

2) Alters Writing Needs: Encourage your alters to write at least two times per week in the journal. If thats too much to begin with for them, perhaps just get them to say whatever they want to, once a week, this can help them to keep track of what is happening in their life. Remember, each alter has something important to contribute that all the other alters can learn from. Some alters may need others to speak for them, spell for them. For those who can't write, perhaps allow the journal to be a place where they can draw, scribble and paint.

3) Record the Date & Time: Recording the date and time will help you simply keep track of what was happening when. This will help you determine if certain alters write at certain times. This will also enable you, the host, to have a better understanding of who is privy to what information.

4) Sign Off: Always leave your name at the end of an entry. This rule should apply to all alters and will help you keep track of who is writing what.

5) Write to An Alter: The journal is a good place for both you and your parts to write to one another. Perhaps you have a question that youd like to ask another part or want to address something that they have written in an entry. It can be hard sometimes when first starting out with learning to communicate to want to hear what your others have to say, but the only way to healing is to listen. For those of you who feel able and ready, and if appropriate, you can challenge a part whose behaviour perhaps is having a deterimental effort on your day to day life, or who is perhaps causing friction within your system. Get to know them, ask them whats wrong, what can be done to help meet their needs. But be sure to communicate what your intent is in challenging them. Are you trying to help them see a harmful pattern they have? Are you trying to inspire them to accomplish a goal you know they are capable of?

6) Encourage Everyone to Read: Encourage all of you to read each others entries so this enables you to learn about one another. You might be able to help each other more than you are aware of!

7. Have a rule that no one is allowed to be derogatory, or delete anyone elses entry. All entries must be respected

The journal is meant to be a safe space. There must be some ground rules for journalling for all of you. Everyone needs to feel safe enough to write in the journal. Post these rules in the front of your journal and have each part sign to indicate that they have read and understand the rules.

1. Be respectful of others. Each of you has your own values and opinions that have been informed by your life experiences. These differences are important and should be respected.

2. Offer constructive feedback. Criticism and verbal attacks have no place in the journal. If you need or want to offer feedback, it needs to be done in a respectful and constructive way.

3. Be supportive and empathic. Its important to demonstrate your support and empathy. Make sure to convey this when writing to another alter.

4. No advice giving. Definitive statements like, You should… or You must… are not helpful. Offer suggestions instead of advice. These statements could begin with, I wonder what it would be like for you to… or When I was in that situation I found it helpful to…

5. Journal entries should always include the three following things: date, time, and the author.

Besides the above rules, the journal can be used how you need it to be for your entire system. It can be used to address a range of topics. Encourage yourself and your alters to write about their daily life tasks, concerns or worries they might be experiencing, upcoming challenges, positive life events and negative life events. Ask each other to talk about what makes them feel angry, anxious, sad, mad jealous, happy, excited, etc. If you are going to therapy, journaling is an excellent way to reflect on your sessions. Your therapist can also leave specific reflection questions for yourself or your alters.

Your journal can provide you with a wealth of information about yourself and your other parts. Before looking for patterns make sure that you have been journaling for at least one month. Once you have got to grips with writing regularly, perhaps ask yourself the following questions below to learn more from your journal. As you continue to write in your journal make sure to return to these questions every three to four months. We all change, including parts of yourself. Its important to be able to track these changes over time. Doing an inventory of your journal using the questions below may help you be more aware of these changes.

1) Who writes the most? Is it you or one of your others?

a) When does this part typically write - any specific time of day?

b) What are the themes of the content?

c) What is this parts role or function in the system?

d) How aware is this part that they journal the most?

2) Who writes the least?

a) When does this part usually journal?

b) What does this part typically write about?

c) What is this part's role or function in the system?

d) How aware is this part that they journal the least?

3) Who writes the most about traumatic memories?

a) What is the content?

b) Are these particular to the part concerned or are they your (the hosts) real memories from a period in your life?

4) Who writes the most about happy memories?

a) What are the themes of these memories?

b) Do these memories belong to another part or are they your (the hosts) memories from your life?

5) For each emotion below, list which alter is able to express this emotion or feeling through writing:

a) happiness:

b) boredom:

c) playfulness:

d) anger:

e) sadness:

f) frustration:

g) fear:

h) joy:

i) hope:

j) love:

k) sympathy:

l) hate:

m) rage:

n) worry:

o) desire:

p) grief:

q) shame:

6) Who writes the most to your others?

7) Who writes the least to your others?

8) Who responds the least when others write to them?

9) Who is most likely to respond when written to?

10) Who is doing well right now?

11) Who is struggling right now?

12) What does each part do to make it safe for the others to co- exist and support growth?

Journaling can be an excellent way for you to learn about yourself, your alters and your system as a whole. Although it may be time consuming, it is one of the most effective ways to increase internal communication and manage your system.

#traumasupport

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