The Reality of Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder

If you’ve had a client who has been through multiple treatments, tried countless medications, received diagnosis after diagnosis—bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorder—leaving their treatment team confused and unable to find a path that sticks, it might be dissociative identity disorder (DID). Many people with DID go years, even decades, cycling through the mental health system without a clear understanding of what’s really happening.

In a previous episode with Annie Goldsmith, we discussed how DID is far more common—and less dramatic—than how it's often portrayed. In this episode, Monica Ostroff takes us deeper into this topic, sharing her own experience of being diagnosed with DID—then known as Multiple Personality Disorder—in the early 1990s. This was a time when the False Memory Syndrome Foundation had just been established and was questioning the validity of repressed memories of severe abuse uncovered in therapy. Monica also reflects on the harmful effects of media portrayals that depict people with DID as either fantastical or violent—representations that are dehumanizing, disempowering, and most importantly out of touch with the lived experience of real people with this condition.

As an accomplished professional, Monica began sharing her story publicly in an effort to break these misconceptions and show what it actually means to live with DID. Through conversations like this, we move closer to a world where people with DID are met with respect—not just for their suffering, but for their strength, creativity, and humanity.

Monika is the Executive Director of the Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association, Inc (MEDA). Prior to leading MEDA, she directed several residential, partial hospital and intensive outpatient eating disorder programs in addition to having owned a thriving private practice. Monika is the co-author of Anorexia Nervosa: A Guide to Recovery and a contributing author to Self-Harm Behavior and Eating Disorders. With more than 25 years of experience in the field of eating disorders, Monika has presented at many national conferences, taught at the university level, and appeared on many media broadcasts, publications & podcasts. Practicing from a trauma informed, social justice and staunchly HAES® aligned lens, Monika is a dedicated ally and strong advocate working to ensure access to equitable, compassionate, and affirming care for all. Her passion for treating eating disorders and mentoring other professionals was borne out of her own struggle with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa and life experiences.

Additional resources

Understanding DID:

Healing my Parts substack and podcast https://healingmyparts.substack.com/

The CTAD Clinic https://www.youtube.com/@thectadclinic/videos

An Infinite Mind https://www.aninfinitemind.org/

Katie Keech https://www.katiekeech.com/

Assessing dissociation:

https://www.mid-assessment.com/mid/

Research on Dissociation:

Dr. Bethany Brand https://bethanybrand.com/

More from Monica https://www.medainc.org/

Elka’s binge eating recovery program: https://elkacubacub.com/