first published October 27, 2014 - edited a bit since
A few weeks ago, one of those ribbon pictures (this one was green) went around Facebook. It said:
Mental Illness Awareness Week is October 5-11.
1 in 4 people live with mental illness.
Speak out and end the stigma.
Many people I know reposted the ribbon, and declared the mental illness they are living with. I did too:
I have Dissociative Identity Disorder. With the help of my friends and family, I am living healthily within my condition.
I had very mixed feelings about declaring my condition. There was a lot of fear. Posting that meant admitting it publicly, in writing. Most of the people I know already know that I'm a multiple. But not all of them. And it's Facebook; most people didn't even read what I wrote, and those who did were already friends, at least to the extent that I am friends with them on Facebook. But putting it out there in writing, where I couldn't control face-to-face who I'm telling, that was scary. So what was the backlash? Two friends 'liked' the post, both of whom already knew, and one of whom is a multiple herself. That was it.
I've thought about this for a couple of weeks, and I've decided I am ready to be more public about being a multiple. I've told everyone close to me, everyone important to me. Some of my extended family don't know; my coworkers don't know. Of course, I don't have coworkers on my Facebook, except those I am friends with separate from work.
So this may be a surprise to some of you reading this. Like everything else in my life, I'm happy to answer any questions you're ready to ask me. If you don't ask any, I'll try to respect your choice and not bring the subject up. I'm going to answer a few basic questions about DID - and my experience of it - here. If there are questions you think I should answer, please comment them and I'll do my best with them.
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