You're a 'System'??

DID/OSDD: What is the difference?

The difference between DID & OSDD is something that often confuses many people. However, it is much more simple than people think.

Below, we will list the main symptoms of each disorder according to the DSM-V.

DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)

As we already know, DID is a disorder where prolonged childhood trauma alongside severe dissociation causes the personality to split into fragments. Here are the main symptoms:

- Chronic, recurrent dissociation

- Two or more states of identity (people that can control the body)

- Amnesia (not remembering parts of the life, inability to recall certain personal information)

- Distinct memory variations

- Time loss

- Abnormal behaviour for the individual (seeing yourself do things you would not do or have no control over, may also not be aware of this behaviour and are told about it, which you have no memory of doing that is more than "just forgetfulness")

- Depersonalisation (feeling detached from one's body / "out of body" experiences)

- Derealisation (feeling as though the world is not real of loos misty / far away)

- Identity confusion or alteration (confusion about who you are and unable to define personal likes or interests / may experience distortions in time, place, and situation)

An extensive list, right? And these are only the main symptoms. There are many more that arise when you have DID.

OSDD (Other Specified Dissociative Disorder)

OSDD is a very similar disorder. The symptoms are as follows:

- Chronic, recurrent dissociation

- Indications of more than one identity present in the body (however, there may be less distinct "parts")

- Some memory variations

- Some time loss

- May exhibit behaviour abnormal for the individual (although may be less distinct)

- Depersonalisation

- Derealisation

- May experience identity confusion or alteration

Sound familiar?

So, what is the difference?

By comparing the two lists above, you can tell that there is no extreme difference between the two.

We have heard many people explain OSDD as a "less severe" version of DID. However, this is highly offensive and belittling to those with OSDD because it implies that their trauma was not "bad enough". This is NOT the case.

OSDD is essentially the same disorder as DID with less distinction between identities or less amnesia.

People with OSDD still have a system. They may still experience depersonalisation, derealisation, time loss, amnesia, all the other symptoms present in DID. Every experience is different and those with OSDD are sometimes more misunderstood for having this disorder when they experience just as much as those with DID do.

Even with DID, there are different levels of dissociation, amnesia, memory loss, and different functions of the system. OSDD is no different.

DID or OSDD: how to tell them apart

It can be difficult to determine whether a person has DID or OSDD, and professionals tend to misdiagnose people with this disorder because of the overlapping symptoms with the many other mental health disorders out there.

The general outlook is that if an individual has amnesia and identity confusion, they are diagnosed with DID if there are two or more independent identities with different sense of self, memories, and histories. OSDD is diagnosed if these identities do not have independent personal information.

In some cases, the identities in OSDD systems can be distinct and have strong independent senses of self; this then depends on the amnesia levels, loss of time (or "black outs") and memory disruptions as to whether the individual is diagnosed with DID or OSDD.

Most importantly, it is crucial to be honest with yourself and the professional working with you (if you have one) to get the correct diagnosis to better understand the symptoms and course of action to heal and work effectively with your system.