Most,
if not all, people with MPD/DID who have suffered trauma in early childhood
also have PTSD
Someone
with PTSD may
- feel emotionally numb, cut off from others;
- have intense and often inappropriate, or what seems exaggerated,
intense emotional responses to situations;
- feel overwhelmed by normal, daily events;
- cry uncontrollably;
- have a diminished interest in doing things (a
sign of
depression);
- tend to withdraw from social situations, and
isolate
themselves;
- rely on drugs and/or alcohol to cope;
- be quite moody, irritable, angry, or suspicious;
- have difficulty sleeping;
- have survivor guilt, wondering why others died during the trauma
and she didn’t;
- be very pessimistic about their future;
- have intrusive flashbacks
(see GLOSSARY) of the trauma either
during recurring nightmares or when awake;
- avoid all kinds of situations that remind them of the trauma –
including places, people, thoughts or other activities;
- seem very jumpy and easily startled. This is called hyperarousal
where they are overly alert in their surroundings and seem on guard all the
time.
People
who have PTSD continue to respond to situations as if still in danger even when
they no longer are.
