Reddit mentions of Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities

Hey! Alright, so I'll go ahead and start with a disclaimer: I'm formally diagnosed with DDNOS, though it's close enough to DID (I'll point out where it differs) that I typically just call myself DID.

There are four of us:

• Little One is about 5-6 years old. She's adorable and everyone loves her. She scares easy -- thunderstorms while driving can be difficult.
  
  
• Melody is the problem one. She's 14 and we fight a lot. She's pretty suicidal, and when she's super active is when I have problems (used to cut, etc).
  
  
• Okay, this one's a little weird. We call him/her Guardian. I use both male/female pronouns because I'm pretty sure it's just one personality, but I always refer to Guardian as male but Little One refers to him as a female. Pronouns get confusing. Guardian is the one that takes over when shit hits the fan. If I'm in a job interview or at work or in a public place and something happens, Guardian will take over and calmly handle the situation.
  
  
• Uh.. me! Right. I'm less sure how to describe myself haha. I'm as emotional as a typical early-20s female, but I don't handle drama well. I have a long fuse but once I get pissed off, I really snap. I'm out most of the time, often co-conscious with Guardian and/or Little One.
  
  I'm almost exclusively co-conscious with the others. This is the primary reason that I'm diagnosed DDNOS. What that means is that when another alter is in "control", so to speak, I'm either partially present or at the least aware of what's going on. I have occasionally gone completely inside, but it is very rare. For those with DID proper, it's much more common for them to have full switches, and they may not even be aware that the alters exist because they are never co-conscious and there is little communication.
  
  That said, when I look in the mirror while another alter is out, I don't see myself as I typically would. I see the alter. It's hard to explain, really. I used to look quite a bit different from Melody (I was blonde, she has dark hair) so it used to be much more of a contrast. There are a couple of pictures that I'm in that I literally do not recognize myself at first because it is an alter out. I started dying my hair dark auburn a few years ago, and now the difference is less noticeable to me, but I am still 100% aware that it is her. My boyfriend can quite consistently tell which of us it is -- without us speaking. He says it's something in the eyes.
  
  I don't have a gatekeeper, persay, but Guardian will take care of Little One at times and make sure she doesn't come out at an inappropriate time. I pretty much just have to reason with Melody in order to get her to stay in if I need her to.
  
  I have seen US of Tara. I liked it a lot. It's obviously kinda over-the-top with the depictions of the alters, but that's kinda what's necessary for TV, which I can understand.
  
  Here's some reading material I recommend:
  
  
• Switching Time -- This is an account of a woman's DID from the point of view of the therapist. Reads like a novel. VERY highly recommended. This is the only one that I've asked my boyfriend to read.
  
  
• The Stranger in the Mirror -- This one's more informational, less story-based, but explains a lot.
  
  
• Multiplicity -- This one I would not necessarily recommend to people with DID, but it's definitely great for those that are trying to understand it. It's not about DID, but about the elements of multiple personality that most everyone can relate to.
  
  You can AMA. I enjoy educating people about DID.
  
  EDIT: Formatting.
  
  

It about a schizophrenic, its written by her therapist, and she has 17 personallities, and its just really interesting. It was interesting for me at least, might be for you too...not sure...check it out on amazon, maybe you can sneak a peak and read a few pages if you like to read...hold on...Ill post a link.

http://www.amazon.com/Switching-Time-Harrowing-Treating-Personalities/dp/0307382672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382715395&sr=8-1&keywords=switching+time