This is my favourite video so far, a lot of my DID friends resist treatment for fear of ‘killing off their parts’ so I know this information will really help.

@luticia

6 ай бұрын

Me, TOO !! At the moment having exactly this fear.

@Yuna264

6 ай бұрын

This is still the desired/enforced goal of treatment for DID in the Netherlands, sadly, since psychologists here still tend to view it as a person having "one TRUE identity with extra parts that must disappear, once the supposed true person processes their trauma" (I've witnessed this multiple times with my own paychologists).

@luticia

6 ай бұрын

@@Yuna264 Woaaah 😱😱😱😭😭😭 That would kill us.

Very helpful video! I say this both as a person with DID and psychologist in training. Coincidentally my therapist asked me what 'recovery' would look like for me and I didn't know how to answer as it does not feel like 'recovering' from DID is really a thing. There is no before, just an after. I couldn't really put it into words as I have no idea what it can feel like to have a fully integrated sense of self. I myself have just existed as a part, not as a complete person. This video really helped me understand the goal of the process and also the importance of parts being on the same page about goals. Will definitely share this with my team. Thank you for sharing such high quality and reliable information!

When first diagnosed, my parts protested against integration or fusion, and the thought of it horrified many of us. That was about a decade ago. My guess is that several child parts have fused spontaneously; although I'm not sure, I have a sense of it. During one EMDR season, several parts fronted at once. It was very chaotic, and my body and mind went through a rough time during it. I'm not sure if those parts merged or not, but I think after countless hours (years) of EMDR, as I mentioned, several child parts fused (I call it merging) naturally. It's almost like once the trauma energy is released and worked through, the fusion happens. As always, thanks, Dr. Mark, for this informative video. You're the best.

I wish my therapist even knew the basics of disassociation. She is not a bad trauma therapist, however she is severely lacking in the DID aspect of things. She is one of those who don't believe in it. My psychiatrist does and is the one who diagnosed me with it, however my therapist has other ideas. Which is extremely sad because I live in a small town and there's really not many therapists here. It's really not safe to address anything other than the PTSD and trauma issues on a surface level. AKA, no progress and I need to keep myself subdued. I feel anyway. Your videos really help allot. Thank you for making them.

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Thank you, and I really hope things in therapy improve for you.

I would be very interested in a video about how a person can help integration happen on their own, but also with a therapist. Your videos give great insight into this and you offer information that I don't know often, but a lot of the things you say are things I've read or heard before. Of course you need to make videos for people that are starting therapy or don't have much knowledge on DID, but I would be very happy to see a video eventually that discusses lesser known symptoms, healthy coping mechanisms, grounding techniques, and perhaps some anecdotal experiences that have helped your clients or clients of people you know (I understand if the last part is against therapy guidelines, I'm not quite sure how they work/if that's possible).

Great video. Really made a lot of sense, that lack of integration and formation of a sense of self. The definition near the beginning says a lot. I was okay if all my external environment as an adult was okay, however as we know the external as an adult can at times be stressful, uncertain and people we may rely on for our connection and ‘sense of self’ mirrored back can leave or we leave them. It was during periods as an adult of major stress where I struggled. Now I am more connected to myself and it’s been so strange ‘feeling’ myself , having a sense of myself . I have felt much more anchored though. However ‘feeling’ has been not an easy journey. I take comfort that a lot of people in life find feelings your feelings not easy, that I am not alone in that. People who have a sense of self and hear aspects of themsleves / do self talk it seems do not get alarmed ( or as alarmed ) by it or feel it is part of an illness, that is because they have a sense of self. If you don’t no wonder you get anxious by it when you become more aware of aspects of yourself and hear thoughts and feel feelings, especially if contradict other thoughts/feelings or don’t feel like your own . I don’t use words like fusion though, or final fusion, it is connection and communication of neurones in the brain. To my knowledge they don’t fuse, just communicate by firing off signals. Neurones like to 'talk' / communicate. I also didn’t considered myself to have ‘multiple identities’ , I just had one identity like everyone else which comprises of many aspects. I just had little awareness of the totality of myself because of disconnection/dissociation. If there has been compartmentalisation for survival than I think new neural pathways will need to be formed for that sense of self to develop. If you are still in ‘survival mode’ due to external being chaotic then the brain may resist that due to past behaviours working in chaotic environment. Hence and you have mentioned it the safety and stabilisation needed. I think with most people ‘self’ is not a fixed rigid thing, it evolves with reflection, new experiences, self talk and talking to others. If people stay as an adult in same group, echo chambers, don’t do much reflection, keep same habits, then a person’s ‘self’ tends to be more rigid in my view, and may not change much as an adult. So through this communication we can change, this is probably what people mean by ‘fusion’ where say two aspects/parts of yourself differ on a view, communicate on it and then come to a shared understanding, there is no longer two opposing viewpoints due to differing experiences. No Neurones in my view would die, if anything connection and communication makes that less likely, it is just probably they are firing together on an issue so probably seem as one. If this keeps happening there is just less opposing internal views so actually more harmony. Through internal communication can decide as a whole rather than an aspect of yourself ‘ruling the roost’ so to speak. Taking in all information and thinking about values and having the safety to be able to explore who do I want to be in the world, what’s important to me etc. It is a development stage/s and it can be started again I think at any age. I do think if faced later on with major trauma then our brain could resort back to a templated pattern of using compartmentalisation and disconnection from aspects to cope, however it will only be to survive psychologically if the stresses are too great. Sorry rather lengthy. Thanks for reading if you got this far! And just my personal views and could be wrong!.

Thank you for a great video. I like the clear distinction between fusion and integration. If fusion happens in our system, then it will be a natural process. It is not a goal. Our goal is inner and outer cooperation. And to improve internal communication and understanding of what is going on. Years ago a splendid therapist explained to me, that maybe we never had a chance to establish and develop a sense of "I"

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Yes, exactly

Very well defined and explained.

Great video thanks for taking the time to explain this so carefully Dr Mike. I’ve been trying to engage with NICAM about their upcoming training as they appear to be using the word ‘integration’ but their prospectus is describing what we think of ‘fusion’. They are promoting the training IMO as fusion being the only desirable outcome. We are getting really distressed about it as on social media they aren’t engaging with polite questions MeWe are asking. Thanks again Mike.

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

A pleasure, Amanda, glad this came across in the right way!

@angelwild5665

6 ай бұрын

I feel relieved and validated that final fusion doesn't have to be the goal. I am not sure I understand integration, but it seems to explain a lot.

I/we were always trying to say ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been a full vase’ in whatever words we had over the years to counsellors even before we knew we had parts. Thankfully we have more words and understanding than we used to. And thank you - yet another amazing videos. Adding more and more layers to the information you share on the channel. And hearing you in this video I/we had this moment of ‘that’s it’! That’s what it feels like! You had put it into words, you had given it background, explanation, it made sense - it isn’t stupid, it isn’t dumb, it makes sense. And if something makes sense, then surely there’s a way for things to change/improve for a person in a way that is helpful to them. Thank you so much for your videos.

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

So glad this helped explain things, Jessie. You’re right, having something suddenly make sense is a revelation when we need it to be. Thank you!

Thanks a lot for your great explanations . We are a system with a working neuropsychologist part. She really knows a lot about theory and brain function and now she is getting to know all of that at an phenomenal level, what ist quite interesting but a little bit scary as well. Its nice to see friendly people with a great expertise helping us unintegrated personalities to grow. Thank you!

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

You explained this so well. Thank you!

So grateful for your videos!

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Glad you like them!

This was so well explained and I had been trying to figure out why people from the UK talk a bout this completely differently - and something that was more what my doctor and i worked with - but were the rare exception here if that makes sense. I like the idea of co-consciousness and integration that way , but not fusion. In my situation and a few others that I know it makes sense to aim for this rather feeling that you will 'never get there' . I've known a few that spend so much time going through the hell of 'remembering' as such therapy models do - Rather than learning the stories from the 'numerous' you that exist within. For sure it's different for everyone. But with with a 'large system' i think it's better.

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Can you please explain what it means in regards to fusion and integration if an alter Is dormant- does this alter need to be explored for healing to occur? Thank you!

This is seriously good. Thank you.

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it!

Thank you much for this teaching 👊

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

We just had a fusion of 2 of our original protectors and a new alter came forward in its place. We haven’t started EMDR yet to process our trauma and this has left us feeling very discouraged. Do fusions like this constitute healing as the system is still actively in place? Does this make sense? Thank you for all of your wonderful information we greatly appreciate it. -Aurora/Jess

I feel like a broken vase, tossed in the bin, who should definitely not be reassembled. - Ugh! Thanks for an alternate perspective. I was so much more functional before I knew about the parts.

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

You are so welcome!

@araiq7005

2 ай бұрын

At what age did u discover ur parts

Can you do an episode about dormancy?

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

What do you mean by dormancy?

@InfinnacageMusic

6 ай бұрын

@@thectadclinic When an alter disappears completely for a long time, without fusing into another alter.

Hello! Thank you very much for the video. I don't understand what we mean by integration being disrupted in childhood ? Aren't we born "whole"?

This is very carefully and compassionately articulated. - trust of the practitioner and their genuineness is a key issue around this space. I have read some (maybe older) peer review academic papers by people associated with isst-d on proposed methods of treating with did/osdd which are really distressing. In which papers advocate giving the perception of choice to the client, while pursuing treatment methods designed to promote final fusion happening. - I feel there needs to be more transparency about the various strategies applied by practitioners (both regarding which approaches they will and will not use), outlining pros and cons. Stated another way, we need accessible videos reviewing key papers proposing treatment methodologies, with an analysis on things that are good, bad, and how they compare to other treatment strategies.

@Michael_X313

6 ай бұрын

I feel like most my parts want what's best for the whole and have matured a lot on our own and wouldn't fight something if it's explained honestly/reasonably and logically. Deception of any sort pisses me off

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

I think this comes down to individual therapists and their willingness and ability to share their treatment plan openly and honestly.

I'm still confused about how integration is achieved. I'd also like to learn about how fusion is achieved. I'd give those videos a listen if you made them!

Is it possible that a fusion of 2 alters is not a permanent state but more like a shorter/longer moment when they feel very close and almost one but then they separate again?

@Maria-qd7jl

6 ай бұрын

Not a professional, but I've heard about systems who's parts had all fused, un-fusing into the original parts during stressful event, while others stayed together, and even others splitting off new part(s) while keeping the fused identity. It all depends on the person's brain. Edit: also the fusion that gets split off into original parts, seems to be easier to fused back together since it was done before. (Just from what my understanding is)

@xx-sof-xx

6 ай бұрын

I've heard about this before! Sometimes it isn't a complete fusion, but more like being extremely close, always cofronting, but then one day it turns out it wasn't actually a fusion, it just looked/felt like it. Other times there is a fusion, but they're split into the original parts once again. I've heard that for some those parts are not identical to who they were before the fusion, since they got some memories and traits from the part they were fused with We dont remember experiencing this, but we are kinda new to system discovery and our self-awareness is not amazing yet 😅 did/osdd is very confusing!

@luticia

6 ай бұрын

Thank you very much both of you for helping me understanding myself better 😁🙏

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Great answers!

I'm trying to understand- does this mean that with integration, you can still have alters? They'll just be able to communicate?

@PlanetaryDID

6 ай бұрын

yes, integration is often referred to as "breaking down" the amnesia barriers between alters so that effective communication is much more easy and fluid. we hope this helps! ^u^ -ren

@brittanywilcox7377

6 ай бұрын

@@PlanetaryDID thank you! What is functional multiplicity then? Because I thought I was functioning as someone who obtained FM, but by these definitions I am learning, I have some integration instead.

@amandaball7116

6 ай бұрын

@@brittanywilcox7377 the way we see this is that ‘integration’ is all that Mike describes which then leads to ‘Functional Multiplicity’. So FM is about being able to function in daily life as someone with ‘parts’ ‘alters’ ‘selves’ or whatever is your chosen word. So FM is one way of describing the outcome - just terminology choices MeWe think. Multiplicity whilst can lead to some confusion with the old MPD term in our opinion also is quite a fitting word.

Am I the only person who panics when I see this in a title? I want to watch this one cause I trust the source but I've had this tab open all day and still can't click play on it.

@PlanetaryDID

6 ай бұрын

if it helps, the video is explaining the differences in what the terms "integration" and "fusion" mean because they're often confused for each other or used interchangeably. it isn't encouraging one over the other, and maintains that it's the individual right of each system to choose how they work through therapy. it's strictly an informational video to clear up any confusion between the two terms and what the process(es) look like in a therapeutic setting. we hope that eases some of your anxiety about watching it ♥ -ren

@thectadclinic

6 ай бұрын

Thank you, Ren, that was wonderfully explained!

@kevinbissinger

6 ай бұрын

@@PlanetaryDID Thank you, that does help!

Vase?

I really long for fusion, but I am not sure the other parts in our system are equally searching for that. Every system is different... and for me I feel sort of not complete. And will never be in this way. Someone else is sad, and someone else is keeping time, or whatever. From my perspective as it is in the moment... I would love us to come together as one - crying and laughing (and keeping time) as one person. If the others give me good (or any) reasons why they disagree... I will of course have to listen. Any other choice is not avaliable.