Trust me, you're not.

Online Support

The internet is a wonderful place to find anything, and support is no exception. If you're reading this online, I probably don't have to tell you too much about the value of web surfing or newsgroups.

For the survivors, the absolute best place I can think of is the newsgroup alt.support.dissociation. Fire up your browser, which should include a newsgroup reader, or get News Xpress, Free Agent (which will let you read and reply offline), or any number of other free(!) programs.

For the SO's, there's not a whole lot of support in the newsgroups, but we're not alone, folks. Bring up your email program and send a message to snuffy@psnw.com. Snuffy moderates the SO Group List. It originates on AOL, but is a private list, available to anyone with an email address. There is also an AOL- specific chat room, but I've never been there, as I (fortunately) don't have AOL. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

I have read Sybil, The Three Faces of Eve, The Magic Daughter, The Flock, When Rabbit Howls, MPD from the Inside Out, and More than One. I highly recommend that you increase your knowledge of this subject, as it will affect you greatly in the future. One book with a ton of clinical information is "Dissociative Identity Disorder" by Colin Ross.   It's written in doctor-ese, so it's not all that easy to read, but it's well worth the ton of money they're asking for it.

As for support books for us, I am aware of only one: Allies in Healing, by Laura Davis. Don't borrow this book - go directly to the bookstore and purchase it. Although it's the only book of its kind, we're fortunate that it's a decent book. It might not be of too much help to you at the very beginning, but check it out to see what applies immediately, then go back and read it later on, when it will make even more sense. The only caveat is that it tends to overemphasize the safety of the survivor, sometimes at the expense of YOU.