Living with DID

Sometimes I need a break from reality, sometimes life gets overwhelming, sometimes you need someone by your side to help keep you standing. With DID it's like having that someone by your side 24/7 ready and eager to jump in at the blink of an eye. Being a system is full of wonders and surprises but never is it easy. For one, you never truly get a moment of silence, someone is always talking in headspace. Another thing is you're never alone, now this has it's pros and cons, like most things in life, but my system has truly become my family and support.

Going about my everyday life is sometimes very tricky, You never get a moment of silence, sometimes that's helpful, other times it is not. Sometimes you don't get to chose when you switch, it can just happen on a whim, and navigating that is very difficult and it can get very unnerving. I've had a lot of people notice when I switch, it can be small shifts in body language, or even as big as an entire voice swap. Now this is when masking comes in handy. Most of my alters are very good at masking, which basically means they are good at pretending to be me, while they are, in fact, not me.

Overall at the end of the day, every system is different, every alter is different. Adjusting is a hard process, and even 4 years deep, I still have times where I need to adjust, it's just how my life is and will be. But I wouldn't change anything about myself.

(Learn more about DID at https://deconstructingstigma.org/guides/did)

-Kai