Characteristics of Switching Personalities

Today I found a list my therapist had given me several years ago which explains the different characteristics of switching, especially the physical aspects. It’s a good refresher course for me. In the years since my therapy ended, I’ve forgotten a lot, and (until recently) been in a lot of denial. I think too that this would be good stuff to know for anyone who is trying to be supportive of someone with DID:

• Headache
• Pressure inside the head
• Stiff neck
• Pressure at the base of the head
• Pupil dialation
• Pressure behind the eyes
• Blurry vision (clears, then becomes blurry)
• Eyes become watery or glassy, glazed in appearance. (Eyes can also appear reddened without memory retrieval. Reddened eyes without memory symptoms means that a part is functioning that has repressed materials attached to it.) Note: this sounds like a part I have; whenever she surfaces people around me have a tendency to accuse me of being stoned and, in some instances, even get a contact high from me (I don’t use pot)!
• Eyes more sensitive to light
• Lightheadedness, or dizziness
• Chills
• Ears ringing
• Physically feeling shorter than usual
• Emotionally feeling more child-like
• Mood swing
• Thought pattern change–thoughts change about same subject, and responses change with it
• Feelings and emotions change about the same situation
• Objects and people look different; dimensions are off, colors can look brighter or dimmer
• Body looks and feels detached
• Face looks different in the mirror
• Voice changes in intonation or inflection
• Laughter changes–different laughs, subtle difference to flagrant
• Light in a room changes to suddenly dimmer or brighter
• Fainting feelings, like you might lose consciousness
• An inability to concentrate and think clearly
• Urgency to “do something”