Yes, it is normal to feel anxiety or fear at the thought of attending therapy for DID or OSDD. Even when the therapist makes an effort to work with you as a partner, the situation may still resemble situations where you were vulnerable and were harmed.
Some parts may view therapy as dangerous, even if other parts want help. These parts may protect through feelings of fear and avoidance, rather than anger or “fight.”
Many people have had the experience of telling someone about their dissociative symptoms and not being believed. It makes sense that the thought of telling a mental health professional could be scary, particularly since some do not believe DID is real, and other believe it’s so rare that they’ll never meet anyone with it.
This page is part of the Therapy and Finding Safe, Supportive Healing section of the CommuniDID site, which explains how to evaluate therapists, recognize trauma-informed care, and understand what safe, phase-based DID treatment should look like.
Explore more:
- Questions about therapy and DID
- Why Trauma Therapy Often Begins with Stabilization for information about the phased approach to treating trauma.
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