DID and Work

Work can be uniquely complicated when you are living with DID. There are external expectations for how you act and pressure to perform your job at a certain level. One issue that is commonly a trauma trigger for people with DID is power dynamics. For instance, a supervisor, as a person in authority, could cause any number of trauma responses within the employee. And in many cases, the employer is unaware of the DID and the employee has to cope with those pressures, expectations, and relationships on top of everything else.
It’s very understandable why many people would hesitate to share knowledge of their DID with employers. There are real fears about this knowledge could affect job security. It can also be difficult to explain internal experiences to people who know only what they’ve seen in the media. And that’s another whole worry: that the employer might have serious misunderstandings about DID and what that means, such as that the person who has it is dangerous.
The purpose of this page is to outline common work challenges with DID and to help you understand your options for addressing them.

How DID can affect work

DID can lead to variable performance from day to day or situation to situation. Energy, focus, and confidence can change, as well. Internal disagreements about how a task or situation is handled can affect the pace of progress on work tasks.
All of these are functional impacts from DID and not anything the employee consciously chooses. Most people work quite hard to make up for those impacts. The struggles are often quite severe by the time problems are visible to others.

Disclosure and privacy at work

You have choices about whether or not you disclose your diagnosis at work, and to whom. Disclosure is not a requirement and if you wish to keep your diagnosis to yourself, you can do so. There is a range of levels of disclosure:
• Full disclosure – you let your employer know that you have DID.
• Partial disclosure – you let your employer know about how your DID impacts you and your job but without sharing the diagnosis itself.
• Selective disclosure – you may choose to tell some coworkers but not others.
• Non-disclosure – you say nothing at all about your diagnosis or how it impacts you to anyone at your work.
It is important to remember that you can decide not to tell anyone at this time and then change your mind in the future. One limitation to keep in mind is that once you’ve shared information, you can’t control how it’s remembered or shared later. What is right for you will be specific to you and may be different for someone else.

Accommodations and flexibility

Accommodations are changes in expectations or in the way work is done that take into consideration the health issue. Accommodations focus on functions, not labels. Some examples of accommodations include:
• scheduling flexibility
• written instructions
• changes that minimize customer interactions, such as working at hours when customers are not around or are less common
Because accommodations focus on how a person functions instead of what the diagnosis is, it is possible to seek accommodations without having to tell your employer about your DID.

Performance fears and internal pressure

Working with DID brings with it the usual concerns and pressures that any person has with a job, and then adds to it. For instance, people may worry that they will be seen as unreliable because of the way their DID impacts job performance. As a result, many people with DID overwork in an attempt to compensate. Some people feel shame when DID impacts their ability to handle job responsibilities.
DID itself adds a unique layer of dynamics to the job: different alters holding different standards, different opinions of how to proceed, and different abilities to do the job.

When work stress destabilizes the system

The stresses and pressures of work already discussed can intensify symptoms of DID and increase internal conflict. They can also contribute to decompensation.

There’s no single “right” way to handle work

Just as every dissociative system is unique, so to is your particular job situation and how your DID interacts with it. You have to make the choices that protect you and keep you safe. Only you know what choices will offer you the best protection at this time. And only you will know when the situation changes and your choices need to change accordingly.

When additional support may help

A therapist can assist people in:
• thinking through their needs and options
• anticipating possible consequences
• translating internal needs into external language
• reducing the toll it takes to work through these issues
• deciding whether or not to disclose, how much, and to whom
• understanding whether a concern is reasonable and addressable and whether it is better handled informally or formally.
Of course, a therapist is not the only option. A close friend may also be able to assist with some of these tasks.
Additionally, some areas have organizations that provide information or assistance related to health conditions and work. If there is one near you, this can be an excellent source of assistance and information.