Overcome Fear of Integration From Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Many people with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) fear the process of integration. As they heal, they grow to love their different alter personalities or alter parts. They see integration as "killing off" these beloved alter parts, so they resist integration so that they can keep these alter parts "alive." By choosing not to integrate, they limit the extent to which they can heal from the disorder. Here is overcome the fear of integration from Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Instructions
1. Accept that each alter part is a part of yourself. Each person is born with one spirit. In order to survive severe and ongoing trauma, a young child has the ability to fragment her spirit into multiple parts. This is like freezing a lake and breaking off chunks of ice. Even though each chunk of ice appears separate, it is still part of the lake and still belongs in the lake.
2. Recognize that full healing is achieved by having one whole spirit. Just as the warmth of the sun melts chunks of ice back into a lake, the warmth of self-love invites each alter part back into its original place in the soul. Each alter part belongs in the core.
3. Understand that you keep alter parts separate by rejecting them. No matter how loving you are toward your alter parts, they can only remain separate by your choice to reject them as part of yourself. Once you accept them as "me," there will no longer be a need to keep them separate, and they will naturally integrate.
4. Trust that the alter parts will remain alive. Integration does not "kill" any part of your spirit. Instead, integration merges all of the parts back together so that all parts can always be "out." While you will experience those parts of yourself in different ways, they will still be a part of who you are.
5. Acknowledge that you are one person. Choosing to integrate can feel like being asked to give up a superpower. For most of your life, you have not been "alone" because you have had other parts for companionship. The reality is that you always were only one person. You did not have other people enduring the abuse with you. You faced the abuse alone and created alter parts to give yourself the illusion of having support. While this truth can be hard to accept, it is an important part of healing yourself.
6. Believe that being whole is worth the cost of giving up the parts. Until you experience integration, you do not know what you are missing. You are using an enormous amount of energy to keep yourself compartmentalized. By allowing yourself to integrate, you will free up an enormous amount of energy that you can use to continue healing yourself and then accomplish any goal you set for yourself.
7. Be patient. Most people do not succeed in staying integrated after their first attempt, so be patient with yourself as you master this skill. You might find that you are staying integrated for longer periods of time. Celebrate your successes, and be patient with your process.
Tags: alter parts, Dissociative Identity, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Identity Disorder, alter part, alter parts they, amount energy