CPTSD vs. OSDD "Parts"

[AphoticAtramentous]

Thanks for starting this thread. Am always interested in learning more about this stuff, and hearing of other's experiences.

Personal Theory Stuff:
My own perception on the dissociation spectrum concept: I think "splitting" of one's identity is way more common than we realise. Now, I'm no scientist or medical professional, I'm just some guy on the internet, so take this with a grain of salt - but to me it seems that dissociation primarily takes place when the situation is inescapable. When you use fight, fawn, flight, or freeze, but still get hurt - that's when dissociation hits the hardest. And when that happens over and over, for example - CPTSD, where the core of the trauma comes from the inability to escape, then I think it's very natural for the mind to split. Because when all defense mechanisms fail, it's easier for the brain to pretend you're not there at all.

So I believe that everyone with PTSD/CPTSD has some kind of fragmentation, which you can see very clearly in the case of flashbacks - where you are "taken back to the past moment". That alone is a type of dissociative experience. And sometimes it gets to a point where you dissociate/switch just to get through the day, let alone a trigger - that being DID. Also, it doesn't matter how "bad" your trauma was, it doesn't matter what was done to you - if you couldn't escape, you're probably going to dissociate. That's just how the brain likes to do things. And then the more you dissociate, the more fragmented things tend to become.

Again, not a professional, don't quote me. But this theory works for my own experiences. I didn't have the worst childhood in the world, but I did dissociate quite a bit. And it doesn't surprise me that I don't remember a lot of things, and why I guess I was recently diagnosed with DID.

If anyone has any feedback on this theory I would be interested to hear it, but no pressure.

It is at least pretty universally agreed that this dissociation stuff works on a spectrum. Commonly it ranges from...
Highway Hypnosis/Day-dreaming -> Concentration -> PTSD -> CPTSD -> OSDD -> DID -> C-DID (complex DID). You could be a "low" OSDD, a "high" DID, or anywhere on the scale. But I find for many, the line between CPTSD and OSDD is VERY blurry.

Personal Stuff:
One thing I find interesting, and perhaps what makes me DID and not OSDD, is reading the experiences of others who still classify their parts as an alternate version of themselves. Whereas for me, my alters don't feel like me at all. Sometimes I look in the mirror and it feels wrong, or I get called by a name that just isn't correct. It comes with a lot of different experiences but it would take forever to list.

I also wanted to boost Blueberry's argument on the importance of these diagnosis labels, especially within therapy settings. I was in therapy for 3 years and me and my therapist mutually ended our sessions together because I felt like I could handle things myself. But now I realise, she only helped resolve the trauma of ONE alter. Things felt OK for some time but the other alters appeared as they do. It took me a year to realise that I actually wasn't OK - probably because the amnesia stops me from remembering how poorly my other alters are. I think this is at least one example of why these diagnoses can be so important to know about, because it does very much change the way your therapy should go.

Sorry for the long read!

Regards,
Aphotic.