Just last week, someone asked me a bunch of questions so they could get more information before writing a character with dissociative identity disorder. Having lived with it since I was 5 (and having the unique perspective of going through final fusion/integration), I made a comprehensive video! It was way easier than writing it all out, and far more fun too.

Check it out & share so others can learn about this highly misunderstood condition, too!

Here are the 19 questions answered in the video:

1. Can you tell me a bit about the day to day life living with dissociative identity disorder (DID)?
2. It is said that DID occurs as a result of childhood trauma, is this true? Do you know if it is possible to split without suffering childhood trauma?
3. How many alters do you have?
4. Can you tell me about the process of “switching”?
5. How do you communicate with your alters? Are you able to hear them speak to you?
6. Do your alters have specific roles? I heard that there is a gatekeeper who decides which alter comes out and when.
7. What happens to the other alters when one is in control? Are they able to speak to each other?
8. How did you find out you had dissociative identity disorder? What were the main symptoms?
9. How does this impact any friendships and relationships you have built? Do you all have separate friendships and relationships?
10. Is there any common misconceptions about DID that you want to make me aware of?
11. Is it possible that one alter may insist on “taking over” and coming out full time? Is it possible to stop them?
12. Are other alters able to see what is going on when they aren’t in control? If so, is it possible to stop them?
13. Is there ever any jealousy between alters?
14. Do you all get along well? How do you handle disagreements?
15. Tell me a bit about the host personality. Is the host the ‘original’? Is it possible to change hosts over time?
16. Tell me about the different types of therapy? How does integration work? Have you considered it? Why/ why not?
17. Do you get headaches when you switch? Is there any other symptoms you get when switching?
18. Does switching occur when you are triggered? Can it happen for no reason?
19. How has your family coped with you having dissociative identity disorder?

What other questions do you have? Drop them in a comment below! Are you considering writing a character with dissociative identity disorder? Share a bit about them!