hi teencentral! I came here more to ask a question rather than put in a story.
For as long as I could remember, I been struggling with severe anxiety. later on in life depression developed. and now here is my question, Is it valid that I have separate alters to cope with this anxiety? having these names, for example one being Otto, identified as a real life person gives me happiness. I feel that I am not valid, because people with DID/OSDD might look down upon me like I’m doing this for fun. having alters to help with anxiety has been helping me. I feel like I’m also not valid in general.
I as well as have a therapist, and I have been thinking about bringing this up in a future visit.
HELP YOURSELF:
First thing I want to say is thank you, for having the courage to reach out to TeenCentral for guidance. Often times, reaching out for help is very difficult for many reasons. Be proud of yourself for making that big step.
What you are expressing must be very difficult. I see that you mentioned that you have had help in the past and are seeking help now. That is an important step to finding better ways to deal with all issues. I would encourage you to talk to your therapist as you have mentioned.
HERE ARE SOME SAFE PLACES TO TURN FOR HELP:
Have you thought about talking to and adult you trust? Think of an adult that you can trust like your school counselor, teacher, someone from a church parent and/or your friend’s parents. Having a line of communication is key in getting on track and having supports. It sounds like you have a therapist and are considering bringing this up to them, great job thinking this through as they may be able to professionally help you synthesize your thoughts and feelings about this.
Another resource that you can check out is actually located on the back of your insurance card. Talk to a parent to assist you, but there is a number for mental health. If you contact this number, they can direct you to someone to talk to near you that takes your insurance. It can sometimes be scary to talk to someone new, but it can also be so beneficial as well.
PLEASE KNOW THIS:
If you or someone you know are feeling as though you are in crisis or if you are feeling as though you want to hurt yourself, please contact the resources listed below. You can contact the crisis number by texting “Hello” to 741741. The nice thing is that you can text them and someone is there to talk 24/7.
Crisis Textline
Available 24/7
Support to all individuals in crisis
Text “HELLO” to 741741
www.crisistextline.org
National Suicide Hotline
Available 24/7
Helps individuals in suicidal crisis with support.
Counselors are also available 24/7 by calling 988 from your phone or by visiting their website at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. There are also many hotlines available to you on the TeenCentral HELP tab. Read over them because one of them may apply to your situation perfectly and they respond immediately to you.
CONSIDER THIS:
Here on TeenCentral website you can find additional resources that might help you.
If you are looking for maybe some additional coping skills. We always suggest checking out our TOOLS TAB. If you like to write what you are feeling, some of these can add a little more structure to goals and can help in processing some other sides of things.
Support Plan – https://teencentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/My-Support-Plan.pdf
Weekly Mood Tracker- https://teencentral.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/06/016_0028B_TCWeeklyMoodTracker.pdf (All of these might give you some idea of why and what to do when feeling the way you describe.)
Know that you are not alone. Just be the best version of YOU that you can be! You got this!!!
