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Diagnosed with Complex Trauma and a Dissociative Disorder, Emma and her system share what they learn along the way about complex trauma, dissociation (CPTSD, OSDD, DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality), etc.), and mental health. Educational, supportive, inclusive, and inspiring, System Speak documents her healing journey through the best and worst of life in recovery through insights, conversations, and collaborations.
Over: Welcome to the System Speak Podcast, a podcast about Dissociative Identity Disorder. If you are new to the podcast, we recommend starting at the beginning episodes and listen in order to hear our story and what we have learned through this endeavor. Current episodes may be more applicable to long time listeners and are likely to contain more advanced topics, emotional or other triggering content, and or reference earlier episodes that provide more context to what we are currently learning and experiencing. As always, please care for yourself during and after listening to the podcast. Thank you.
Speaker 1:It's been a crazy, crazy couple of weeks. Like, I can't explain how hard it is, but I know that part of it is everybody going back to school. So, like, all the families are having the same issues. And we also have had some funerals this week, and it's just been overwhelming. And so once again, I really wanna thank the listeners who email in because their encouragement and support means so much, and we really needed those messages today.
Speaker 1:So let's read some. Kate has a question about communication. She says, I'm really hoping that Sasha is reading this. Love you, girl. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Love you too, Kate. Thanks for writing. Her question is about internal communication. She says, I'm in a little bit of trouble. So to begin with, nobody has ever fully fronted that I know of.
Speaker 1:It's possible that it's happened in the past, but I'm not aware of any switches. For my system, co consciousness is the preferred method apparently. I have a feeling that they know how to fully switch, but they think I'm not ready for it. As of late, nobody has been co conning with me either. I've had a very hard time reaching them.
Speaker 1:I don't have access to the inner world, and it's not like we can leave each other notes because nobody is fronting. I'm at a loss for how to attempt communication right now. I really want to try to connect with them. Any insights or tips on internal communication when doing so is extremely difficult would be much appreciated. So the first thing I wanna say is that it sounds like Kate already knows a lot about how to communicate when they are able to, and you just really have to be creative with that.
Speaker 1:And so since she already knows all those ways, I don't need to give more ways. Like, there's an app that we can use sometimes where you can text each other on the phone. Even if you're not fully present, you're able to do that sometimes. And, leaving notes like she mentioned. And you can do the same thing inside, like messaging inside.
Speaker 1:Even if it's not actual external, like on an app or in a notebook, you could still write notes. So, like, John Mark delivers newspapers for all of us inside every week. That's a new thing. I don't know if we've even talked about it on the podcast or not, but he writes up, like, here's kind of what's going on, what people need to know about the outside, about what we need to know about what happened in therapy, and then he sort of delivers a copy to everyone. I don't know how that works.
Speaker 1:I don't know how he does that or how we do that together or what that's like between the internal world and the imaginary world. Like, how all of that works, I don't have any idea. But you can do the same things internally even if you can't get outside to do it. So, Kate, it sounds like you're on the right track. Maybe try some of those things, but do them internally instead of externally.
Speaker 1:Like, sort of almost like a meditation, sort of relax and imagine yourself writing to them, but delivering it internally rather than doing it on paper externally if you're not able to do that. Or go ahead and do it externally, but then sort of imagine yourself mailing it internally. Does that make sense? So you can get creative with how you do that. But also the other thing I wanna say in response to your question is that if there's a reason that they are blocking communication, it might just be important to just respect that.
Speaker 1:So there may be good reasons that they're protecting you from knowing that and protecting you from what's going on. And just trust them to work with you as a system and to be doing what's best for you as a system. Does that make sense? Sometimes, like, we don't know the answers until later, and sometimes we don't understand why until later. But there may be something going on or someone who's needing something or some space or something that you don't have all the pieces for right now, but to them makes sense.
Speaker 1:And so definitely, at least for our system, anytime there's that kind of pushback or that kind of walls going up, it's absolutely the time to back way off and give lots of space and time and respect for the needs of the others who maybe are dealing with other things we don't know about. And what's really important is giving them the benefit of the doubt and trusting them that they are doing their best and with the capacity that they have and the resources they have and letting them just be themselves even in this process while you're trying to communicate and find out what's going on. I'm sure that every system is different, but for us that's a really big issue. And it's really important that everyone's respected in that way. She goes on to ask another question.
Speaker 1:Another question for you. When I can tap into the part of my brain that hosts my personalities, I don't know what that means. Okay. I always feel this overwhelming depression and sadness and hopelessness wash over me. I want to cry and curl up into a ball and never get up.
Speaker 1:Keep in mind, I already have severe depression on my own. I'm wondering if you have any idea why this happens. I don't remember any trauma and I think they do. So is it because of that? What's going on?
Speaker 1:I don't know. Okay. So again, Kate, that's a really good question. Several different things to that. One is that just like your other question about communication, this is actually an example of communication.
Speaker 1:So someone is communicating to you how they are feeling. So maybe their communication is not coming in words or other ways you're familiar with, but you're absolutely getting the feelings and sensations that someone else is experiencing inside. And when we're talking about traumagenic DID, then somebody knows the trauma. And it's okay if you don't know the trauma or if it's not time for you to know the trauma or what that is about, that's part of those walls going up, which is part of why it's likely that it's difficult for you to communicate with them. But you're still getting communication because feeling those things is communication from them.
Speaker 1:And just like you can have a flashback of a memory or a flashback of seeing something or hearing something, you can also have flashbacks of how you felt during something or feelings that go with memories. Right? So that's something we've learned from talking with guests on the podcast and learning more about how the brain works and so all of that counts and writing about those things or talking about those things with your therapist will absolutely give you more insight into what's going on and not just who's there or why they feel that way but also how you can help them and how you can offer them comfort. And so what would you do for someone who was crying and curled up into a ball and felt like they can never get up? How could you reach out to them?
Speaker 1:Maybe in your imagination, think about that and what you could do to help someone who is experiencing that. And in your responding to them and reaching out to them, you may learn more about who they are and what they need, but also they will learn from you that those needs can be met in now time and that now time is safe and you may feel better as you're able to work together on both sides of the communication piece. Does that make sense? Then she also says, I know of at least one alter, a fragment of a younger me who carries all of the childhood pain and painful childhood memories with her, and her job is to carry that pain. Oh, that hurts my heart.
Speaker 1:She says when she co cons with me, so when she's co conscious, I feel it too. Her sadness is overwhelming. It makes sense why she's so sad all the time because she's a trauma holder and she only has one job. I'm not sure about the rest of them though. I'd love to know what you think about my current predicaments.
Speaker 1:I really don't know why I feel this horrible depression every time I contact them. Thank you for making your podcast and opening up to us, Kate. So the same thing, if they're holding trauma, then that really is hard. And you should be sad about trauma, like that's a violation to your body and to your emotions and to your senses. And so it makes sense that someone is feeling sad about that.
Speaker 1:That sounds like your system is working great and that that makes perfect sense that part of you would be feeling sad that trauma happened to you all. So I think just being understanding of that and compassionate of that and reaching out to that part of yourself and soothing that part of yourself and offering comfort in some way and finding what feels safe for that part of yourself, that's definitely gonna be work to do with your therapist and will help both of you feel better as other work, even as the rest of your work unfolds. So I wish you well and thanks for writing in and sharing a little bit about your story. Thank you, Kate. We also got two different emails that both asked us to respond privately, and we will try to when we're able to.
Speaker 1:But both of them were asking questions about trying to share experiences or knowledge publicly online while also being afraid of being found out. And that's absolutely a thing we could talk about. Starting the podcast was a really big deal, and we absolutely used a pseudonym for the podcast so that we could have a little bit of a buffer between us and our family and people who were just looking us up for other reasons or, the general public that doesn't need to know everything about our lives. But that being said, at the same time, we've also already been doxxed and have already shared a great deal about our life. But I think as you listen to the podcast, you hear sort of that process of our own coming out a little bit of, learning who and where and when it's safe to share more about our DID in public, whether that's through the podcast or coming out with the ISSTD or finding other professional friends who are also survivors, but at the same time having good boundaries about it.
Speaker 1:We don't just tell everyone in our life about it, and we don't just tell everyone that we work with or colleagues with in person. For us, that's not possible for a variety of reasons. But other people, like early in the podcast, we talked to Liberty, and their system is very open and out and public about their DID and they work in the mental health field. So there are ways to do it. The risk is always there, of course, that you could get hurt.
Speaker 1:So it was really scary when we were getting doxxed and we were concerned that we had put our family at risk even though we hadn't really done anything wrong. The fear was real and opening up to new friends was risky because trusting them to be your friends and then that failing hurts so deeply and is so wounding, especially when it just feels like our fault because we don't know how to do it. We're not good at it. We already knew we weren't good at it. So why did we even try?
Speaker 1:Like, it all can escalate so quickly into this ball of shame that's just awful and difficult. But at the same time if we don't try we won't be able to find the friends who are able to sort of ride through that with you and stay supportive and understanding of what DID is and the process and that includes the dissociating. So losing time and struggling to open up about things and all the experiences that together build friendship whether that is with friends or whether that's professionally. But at the same time, making that effort and attempting to do so will help you find good ones. So not trying is for sure making it not possible.
Speaker 1:Because it won't happen if you don't try. But also trying is really scary because other people are gonna fail you and other people are gonna give up on you and other people are going to hurt you just the same as you're going to make mistakes too, because we're all human. But it doesn't mean that any of that is malicious or intentional, and it's just really unfortunate when it happens, and the grief of it is just unbearable almost. But without trying, it doesn't happen at all, and you miss out on the richness that they bring when good people come into your life. The other piece of that is the more that you share, the more accessible your system is.
Speaker 1:And that's a good point. And so there are some boundaries in not sharing everything about your system so that your system can't just be accessed by those who are unsafe or abusive. And that's absolutely a good point that they brought up when they wrote in. And so we can talk about this more privately on email. I'll respond to you when we're able to.
Speaker 1:But it's sort of the same as trusting friendship. If you can do it with good boundaries and good pacing and in a context that feels safe and inviting rather than pushy or punitive, then trying is worth it. And when you ask about abusers being out there or trying to interact for the wrong reasons, unfortunately, we can't stop them. We can't change other people or control other people. We can only choose how to respond to them, and we can only choose our own actions and behaviors and interactions.
Speaker 1:So I can't make someone else be a friend to me the way I need a friend in the same way that I maybe can't be a friend the way that someone needs me to be a friend. So yes, we totally have fears about abusers trying to understand survivors for the wrong reasons, but we also know they have no control over us. We can have good boundaries and we can choose our responses to people and the world around us and handle that in healthy ways without being stopped because of our fears. Does that make sense? So we'll talk about it more privately, but I hope that answers your questions.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Melissa says, I'm 49 and was diagnosed for a second time about a year ago. I'm not great with timeframes. The first time was in my 20s when I was getting therapy for childhood trauma. I rejected that diagnosis and did my fair share of acting out in between diagnoses.
Speaker 1:My shame and struggle with this has been made easier by hearing how similar we are. My husband rolls his eyes at my trauma and pretty much tells me to get over it. I don't really have a question. I just wanted to reach out and express my appreciation for the podcast. Mine and your peeps are almost identical in age and duties.
Speaker 1:I feel validated for the first time in my life. That's amazing, Melissa. I'm so glad you have found it supportive. We totally have that time gap between the first time we were diagnosed and finding a good therapist that we have now and absolutely had some acting out in between then so it's a big deal and I get that shame and struggle and I know it's so hard so I'm glad that connecting through the podcast helps you feel more comfortable and at ease. It breaks my heart that your husband rolls his eyes at your trauma and tells you to get over it.
Speaker 1:That is really hard and I know adds like a whole new layer of misattunement which makes healing even harder. When there are people that you love so much and you desperately need them to understand how hard things were or how hard things are and that you're at your capacity at dealing with them and instead they want you to be something else or be more than what you're able to do or be different than you're able to be and then dismiss you because of that, it is so violating and it's so retraumatizing. And it's just heartbreaking, especially when it's someone you love so much. And I understand in my own way, especially from friendships, having lost friends because we couldn't be enough of what they needed or wanted, and they didn't understand how hard things were for us or that we were trying to function in the ways that we could. And it was really just so damaging.
Speaker 1:And so to have someone as close to you as your husband not understanding that, I can't imagine how isolating that is. And I'm really so impressed with your courage to reach out and to connect and to speak up on the podcast and share your story. So thank you, Melissa, for writing in. LD, you wrote in again, and I'm so grateful for you and your encouragement that just comes every month, it feels like. And, as we continue to struggle and continue to be confronting our fears about sharing our story and learning through the interviews and our experiences on the podcast.
Speaker 1:Your friendship has just been so valuable, and thank you for another message. They say, thank you for sharing the bits of the lost interviews that you could. Mainly, I want to thank you for your continued and infectious positive outlook. You never seem to give up, and I appreciate you sharing what you do. You are a blessing, and I'm so grateful I found your podcast.
Speaker 1:Keep up the wonderful job, and thank you for all you do. Love and hope, LD. Ugh. I cannot tell you how much we needed this today. It has been a really, really hard day, and I'm really grateful for your message of encouragement and hope.
Speaker 1:And I can't tell you how much it means to us. Thank you. This email says, I just want to share that I've been listening to your podcast since the beginning, and I love it. I'm currently finishing my PhD, and my dissertation is about exploring therapist knowledge and competency when treating DID. I don't have DID, but as a therapist, I can relate with your experiences since I've heard horror stories from my clients in regards to their past therapy experiences.
Speaker 1:Helping people with DID is my passion, and the purpose of my dissertation is to be able to generate a treatment manual training for graduate students and also to train already licensed therapists in the community to treat DID effectively. I admire you guys so much for what you're doing, your courage, and your passion to help educate others. I would love to get in touch with you or to talk or even collaborate in the near future. I can only tell you there's a handful of us who understand and treat DID, and that's another reason why I feel a sense of social justice to educate others and why I admire you so much. Keep doing what you're doing, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. We would love to work with you, and I will send you an email. Thank you for reaching out, and thank you for what you're doing. Suzanne wrote in and says, I'm glad for outside sounds on your episodes. Even though they are sometimes hard to hear, they are a comfort and feels like a close friend talking about living while they are in their best place.
Speaker 1:The cicadas really help me feel safe and grounded. Please don't fix the background noise. It feels for real. Oh, that's so funny. That's so funny.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's memories. I forgot. Yeah. That comes from when Julie said to stop talking about the cicadas and the background noise and to just let it be. I miss them.
Speaker 1:It's so hard. But I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad you understand the comfort that's in that space, and you're so sweet to write in and support us about the cicadas. That's so funny. That's so funny. This email does not have a name, but it says, I find your podcast lovely, and they encourage me to be introspective about my own life in a positive way.
Speaker 1:Thank you for that. I hope you're keeping well. If I could maybe ask a non serious question, you seem to have traveled a lot and seen a lot of places. Is there any country at the moment you would like to visit? Oh, that's true.
Speaker 1:So we grew up in a military family and traveled a lot growing up. And so we have traveled a lot and then continued traveling into adulthood on our own. So if there's any country at the moment I would like to visit, I think immediately when I start thinking about different countries, I start thinking about their food. If we went back to Africa right now, I would want some ground nut soup. If we were in Australia again, I would want some fresh fish and fruits.
Speaker 1:If we were in France, I would want cheese and bread. If we were in Israel, I would want that bread with the za'atar on it that you can buy in the streets. You know what I'm talking about? Like, in Jerusalem especially. Oh, it's so good.
Speaker 1:I have it at home, and I it does not taste as good as when you buy it on the streets in Israel. England, I just want breakfast. I want in English breakfast all day long. I'm good with that. I think we get very food focused when we travel.
Speaker 1:I don't know if that was helpful what you were saying. There's so many things. There's so many things. This is from LD who I just responded to another emails of hers, but she wrote in about the mother hunger episode, and she said, oh my word, you all are amazing. Thank you again for blowing my mind.
Speaker 1:Again, you have given me so much hope to help my children break this generational cycle of mental pain. You all are in my brain and working to shed light on hope. I adore all of you and thank you so much for your hard work. I have shared the podcast with Kelly McDaniel to my Facebook page in hopes that other mothers in my life will listen to these beautiful pearls of wisdom. I personally have listened to the podcast four times.
Speaker 1:It's so significant to my past, yet I had never heard of this concept that makes so much sense. Oh my goodness, you have helped some of my personal guilt subside. I have self loathing and shame regardless, and I'm finally in therapy for the first time ever. So thank you for that. But this podcast, in conjunction to all System Speak previous podcasts, has helped soothe my mother guilt to the past behaviors I dumped on my own children.
Speaker 1:I today am a better mother thanks to you all. Attunement, being present instead of dissociating all the time, which by the way, I never even understood I was doing until this podcast. And all of your continuous hard work in research and in presenting this vital information regarding mental health that resonates with so many, and he presented in such a non judgment way and calming way as if you are presenting all this magic just for me. You all are beyond words. I'm so grateful I found y'all a beacon of light in this dark and lonely world.
Speaker 1:Much love and thanks. Oh, you have just filled my heart to overflowing. That was beautiful and so gracious of you. I'm so glad you loved it. This Kelly McDaniel episode is actually the most listened to podcast episode ever so far, which is huge because it's a brand new episode.
Speaker 1:So even some of the original episodes that are almost a year old, the Kelly McDaniel one has been listened to so really glad that word is getting out and that it's spreading because it's a powerful message of healing and taught me so much about friendship and motherhood and my own childhood. And it's one of those times where I wish I knew this a year ago or ten years ago or five years ago or when I made friends or when I got married or when I started having children. It's just such a powerful thing. And what matters, what matters is that we have it now. And so maybe we can't fix those past friendships or we can't undo what we've done with our own children so far.
Speaker 1:And maybe we can't fix what our parents did, especially in cases like mine where the parents are dead already. Like, we can't we can't change those things. But what we can do is start from now, and we can move forward with the things that we have learned and the healing that has come. And that is a beautiful, beautiful, powerful thing. This email has no name, but says, I just finished listening to the wall of terror podcast, and I love it.
Speaker 1:There are so many good insights. I've known kinda about skin hunger, but others have called it touch starved. It's the same thing, I guess. But I'm super excited as well to hear the next podcast and will probably listen to Mother Hunger again before it. As for now, I may listen to the Wall of Terror again and give my brain time to process.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness. Those three episodes right in a row were huge. They were so powerful and such a break through. The Kelly McDaniel one about mother hunger and then the wall of terror one where we kind of put things together with the Daniel Siegel podcast episode that came next. They were huge breakthrough moments for us, and I'm so glad that other people are listening and responding and that it's been so helpful.
Speaker 1:Anne writes in to say, I signed up for regularly monthly giving for the podcast, and I have appreciated listening to talking about needs. That's exactly what I'm learning with my husband, and I am so grateful. Thank you again. There's some more in there that's private, but, yes, the regular subscribers were so grateful for you for supporting the podcast and making it possible for the time and energy and important people that we have on the interviews. All of these things, we're so grateful for those who are supporting the podcast and helping it to stay up and to keep going and, supporting our work on the podcast.
Speaker 1:Truly, truly, truly grateful for those of you helping in that way. Thank you. This email is from Tyler, and Tyler says, Oh my gosh, can I just say that I am super excited to have discovered you? I am a therapist in Minnesota that works with complex trauma and dissociative disorders. I knew next to nothing about them until a little over a year ago and I have become super passionate and have learned a lot with so much more to learn.
Speaker 1:So firstly, I just wanna thank you for your courage and incredible resilience to not only cope with what's happened to you, but then to become a resource and source of validation and hope for so many who feel so alone in their experience. I had been hoping for a podcast that would go more in-depth with dissociative disorders because I have a lot to learn. And I'm so grateful for yours that not only is educational for me but comes with firsthand experience. I have only just started and cannot wait to listen to more. I want to thank each part of the self for this podcast whether by direct contribution, indirect contribution, or by allowing it to happen.
Speaker 1:Each and every part is important and has a purpose. Aw. That's awesome. Okay. So then he says more.
Speaker 1:So I'm really glad I got to share that. Truthfully, it isn't my primary motivator for writing you, but I mean every word. The biggest reason I'm reaching out is more personal. I've been searching for an answer to a question, but haven't been able to find one anywhere. And all of a sudden you popped into my head.
Speaker 1:If anyone has an answer to this, it seems as though it would be you. I'm wondering if you or Doctor. E have had similar experiences. So here's my situation that I'm desperately trying to better understand. Since working with a lot more dissociative disorders, I noticed myself often becoming dissociative myself.
Speaker 1:This is some background with my more direct question below. I know that's not uncommon to pick up signals from the other through attunement and the right brain to right brain connection, but it comes on quite strong and quite often when I'm seeing clients. I still seem to be able to push through and maintain for the most part, but it is concerning to me and something I am working on limiting as best I can. I have been diagnosed with narcolepsy, which involves REM, which could also be a factor. Though I don't necessarily feel tired when I get foggy, though sometimes I do.
Speaker 1:This has caused me to question if the reason my dissociation is easily triggered might be because I have a dissociative disorder myself. Though I feel like I've looked and can't find anything, can you relate to having dissociation easily triggered by others? What are your thoughts? Woah. Okay.
Speaker 1:So this is not really my territory. Doctor e. So part of it is like what you're saying is about recognizing that when you're in an attunement situation in the therapeutic process that you're going to experience some of those things vicariously. So we're gonna talk to doctor Barish about your question because he is our friend and a safe person to ask questions like this to what is it like for a therapist who works with DID clients. So we're gonna ask Kims about some of this.
Speaker 1:So we will get back to your question. The other piece of your question is, there's a strange phenomenon with my heart rate. I wear an Apple Watch and it records my heart rate throughout the day. I've noticed a pattern where there'll be a very steep drop in my heart rate sometimes when I am seeing clients. Sometimes it's brief or jumping up and down.
Speaker 1:Other times it persists through the end of the session or longer. I'm on stimulants for my narcolepsy, and so my resting heart rate is typically between 9,110. However, during the drops, it will fall to 60 to 70, which is my sleeping heart rate. The weirdest thing is I don't notice anything or feel different when it drops like that. I haven't found a connection with the brain fog dissociation either.
Speaker 1:It never drops like that when I'm at home or on weekends. It only happens when I'm seeing clients. Have you tracked or noticed anything like this with your heart rate? Any thoughts or guesses? Just wondering if you can relate to any of it.
Speaker 1:Okay, Tyler. So that's a really good question. Part of it is sort of that meditative state in which dissociation happens. So when you're joining with someone in that, you're joining more than just in a mental way. So it kinda goes back to polyvagal theory.
Speaker 1:And when you're attuning to someone with that, your body's gonna respond in similar ways and with similar feelings. This is part of why it's so important for self care with therapists, and we can talk about this more with doctor Barish. But it's just your think of the polyvagal theory and apply it to yourself as well, not just with your clients. Because your body is responding to the state that they are in and the state that you are holding for them in that safe space. So for example, if we go to therapy and we're super anxious or super scared or there's a specific memory that we're working through, when we enter the therapist's office she is so good about grounding us and helping us to breathe and helping us to bring that anxiety down, but she does that by connecting with us and then holding that space for us until we can get there ourselves.
Speaker 1:Which means she can't go into our session all worked up and anxious even though she has a real life outside of our session, or we're not able to do that and she's not able to help us. Does that make sense? So I think you're just very gifted at connecting and attuning with them. And because you're able to hold that space, you're recognizing it physiologically as well. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:I hope that helps, and we'll absolutely talk about it more with doctor Barish. Kelly says, Oh my goodness, I'm so excited. I was listening to Sasha's recent podcast when she's answering questions. The person said that she has found a majority of her alters through EMDR. I have had the same experience.
Speaker 1:Some of my parts have revealed themselves either during EMDR to my therapist or within twenty four hours after the session. So that's amazing. Kelly, I'm so glad that you shared. I'm so glad that you wrote in and let us know that so other people could hear that too. Also, just I appreciate you.
Speaker 1:You're pretty active on the support groups and online an online friend, and so I appreciate you connecting and that you shared your experience with us. I know it's helpful to so many. We got an email from the Diamond Collective saying I've attempted a number of times to contact the system speak via the online form, but it's not working. So I'm trying to see if this works. It totally worked.
Speaker 1:We got your email. Thank you. Let us know what you wanted to chat about. Anne Marie says, I just found your podcast. I'm a psychologist and think you are all very courageous to do this, and I'm learning so much from you all.
Speaker 1:Thank you and take good care. Kabam. You guys, let me tell you. When we came out to the ISSTD, so amazing. The support that we got and the emails that were sent to us privately were so powerful and so encouraging.
Speaker 1:It was maybe the most strength we have ever received from a collegiate experience, like from peers. It was incredible. So much more than we could have imagined or even fathomed would have happened. And the response has been so positive. And we are so, so grateful.
Speaker 1:And it has encouraged us to try and connect in new ways and maybe even participate in new ways. It's just been amazing. So thank you, Anne Marie, for writing in. Ian says, thanks for your podcast. I'm wondering if you know any forums or other resources for therapists who have DID themselves.
Speaker 1:I do not know of any forums. I do know of one online group that is for therapists who have DID, and I think there's a second one. I just haven't been able to find it. So maybe look on Facebook and check out the groups and ask there. Good luck.
Speaker 1:Stacy wrote in and said, I love your podcast. It's so well done. And then she said she wanted to share a resource in case it's helpful, and she sent a video, which we will check out and see if it's helpful. Thank you, Stacy. Twilight writes in and says, a heartfelt thank you for sharing your insights and reflections.
Speaker 1:I can't talk out loud, and I don't know why yet. But hearing you speak on the podcast helps me realize I am inside and a part of something I don't quite understand. I don't know who I am, but I relate a lot to what you say. Thank you for helping me realize I am here. Oh, that's so powerful, and I am glad that it has been helpful.
Speaker 1:And I welcome you, and thank you for sharing. And, take your time and be gentle with yourself as you get oriented, and listen to some more podcasts, and hopefully that will help you understand a little bit about what's going on. So thank you again. I just wanted to go through emails. There were so many, and I wanted to share a few of them.
Speaker 1:They are so encouraging, and they help us have the strength to keep going and to keep sharing on the podcast. And those of you who share financial support so that we're able to continue the podcast, we are so, so grateful to be able to maintain the site and to maintain the podcast and the technology it requires and the storage space that it needs. All of these things, it is such a gift that you have done in supporting the podcast, both financially and through the emails and your encouragement. And we are so, so grateful, because sometimes it does feel too hard, and sometimes it does feel like too much. And yet, always there is that support that makes it possible.
Speaker 1:And we truly, truly could not do it without you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. Your support of the podcast, the workbooks, and the community means so much to us as we try to create something together that's never been done before, not like this. Connection brings healing, and you can join us on the community at www.systemsbeat.com.
Speaker 1:We'll see you there.