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”
