This survey is a follow-on to the previous post, What is your “cover diagnosis” for dissociative identity disorder? where I discuss possible discrimination based on diagnoses. Do you reveal one or more diagnoses to friends and family? This isn’t purely an “interesting” question, but one also driven by finances. I am now struggling with the idea of making claims to my medical insurance company (provided by my employer) for DID.
Am I paranoid to avoid doing this? I value your opinions. I hope you will participate in this short survey, and I will post the results on this website.
My deal
My background – I am 42, and I was diagnosed last year with dissociative identity disorder and PTSD secondary to child abuse and later an incident of sexual abuse. I am a rabid information gatherer and researcher. I am regularly accused of asking too many questions, of “thinking too much.” <Hello, that’s what one of us is REALLY GOOD AT.> And for a good reason.
Anyway, I personally don’t tell people I have DID – I think PTSD is an “easier” diagnosis for people to deal with. I have seen others also “hide” a dissociation diagnosis. So, I wanted to take a completely unscientific poll 
to see what other people think/do.
So here I/we are again thinking too much. But for curiosity’s-sake and also to help me decide what to do insurance-wise.
How to respond to this survey
I’d like this to be as anonymous as you need. Either post your responses here with your name/handle, post it here and put “anonymous”, or send it to me in email at emilylonelygirl@gmail.com. Email is probably easiest – just cut-and-paste these questions into an email. I’ll leave this open for a while and post the results later.
Thank you!
Survey for More than One Diagnosis
(Provide as much information as you like. If you don’t like a question, don’t answer it.)
1. What dissociative disorder were you diagnosed with? (dissociative amnesia/ fugue, DDNOS, DID, polyfragmented DID)
2. What is/are your other diagnosis(es)?
3. Do you share any of your diagnoses with friends and family? Yes/No
4. Please list which diagnoses do you share with friends/family (if any)
5. If you don’t share all diagnoses, which DON’T you share? Why not? Is it because one is more “acceptable” than the other?
6. If you have shared your dissociation diagnoses, how have people responded or treated you? Do you regret revealing?
7. If you revealed a dissociation diagnosis AND another diagnosis, was one better received than the other? Which? Why do you think?
8. How old are you?
9. Do you work?
10. Do you make medical claims for any/all of your diagnoses to an insurance plan offered by your employer?
11. Does your employer (not the insurance company) know any or all of your diagnoses? Which?
12. Have you ever been fired, or in any way been treated differently at work (e.g., job tasks changed) because they knew your diagnosis? How and for which diagnosis(es)?
13. Anything else you’d like to add or that I forgot to ask? Or advice you’d like to share? J
Thank you!
1) DID
2) PTSD and Major Depression
3) Yes (with some family and friends)
4) I usually share the PTSD and the Depression. I have no trouble telling people I have a trauma history. Only my husband and my sister know about the DID.
5) I do not usually share the DID because is it so often misunderstood. I’m afraid people will think I’m crazy even though I know I am not. People generally only know what they see on TV.
6) My sister thinks I really don’t have it. I think because we are so much the same, if I have it, she has it. (I think she does, but that’s beside the point.) She’s just in denial. She says she’s never witnessed a switch that she’s aware of therefore I cannot have DID. People don’t understand that often times switches are not apparent. She also thinks I’m “too high functioning” to be DID. That’s where the movies do us such great injustice. If I’m not like Sybil, I can’t possibly DID. Yeah, right. I don’t think so. My husband was initially in shock. He withdrew for awhile and that hurt me tremendously. But he came around, and so did I. I realized I have had years to accept this diagnosis and well, it will take him some time. He is now one of my greatest supporters. I also forgot to mention that I participate in online forums for people with DID, so I have had those people in my life who have know. You gotta have support somewhere. Not everyone needs to know, but you gotta be able to tell some people. DID can be such an isolating disorder because it is so misunderstood, but it really shouldn’t be that way.
7) PTSD and Depression are always well received. Depression is understood to be chemical and PTSD is “not your fault” and “not crazy”. I think people still think DID is crazy.
9) Yes (part time)
10) Yes, but on my husband’s insurance. I do not have insurance through my work.
11) No, though some co-workers know I am recovering from a trauma history, and they are supportive.
12) No.
13) I think it’s a crying shame. It seems that those of us with DID often find ourslelves trading one secret for another. First we have the secret of the abuse we endured. Now we carry the secret that we are DID. It’s not fair.
~secretshadows