Diagnosis DID

Last Friday, I had a discussion with my psychologist and a psychologist specialized in EMDR and complex or early trauma in general. The aim of the discussion would’ve been to figure out whether EMDR would be for me, but we quickly found out that it isn’t. The reason is that I have apparently recently been [...]

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Repressed Memories in the Dutch Court System

There are two countries where the emergence of repressed memories of sexual abuse is common: the United States and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the controversy around whether one can repress memories at all and whether they are to be trusted, led to strict regulations for people seeking court action in cases of repressed memories. [...]

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One More Week to Submit Posts for the Blog Carnival of Mental Health

As you might know, I will be hosting the first Blog Carnival of Mental Health at the end of this month. Unfortunately, I’ve received only one submission so far. I’m still looking for posts on the theme of “diagnosis”. Posts can be submitted in a comment here or via E-mail. The formal deadline is November [...]

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Life After Trauma, Part 2: Possible Effects of Trauma

Chapter one of Life After Trauma starts by defining trauma. It is made clear with an example that the same experience may be traumatic to one person, but not another, depending on circumstances. Then, possible reactions to trauma are dicussed. They are divided into: Physical reactions, such as tension Mental reactions, such as changes in [...]

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On Being Gifted and Disabled

I am what is politically correctly called twice-exceptional: intellectually gifted and disabled. The combination of these qualities has thrown me for quite a few challenges in my life. Mostly, it is impossible for most people to see both my intelligence and my disabilities, so they expect me to be either gifted or disabled, not both. [...]

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Dutch Autistics Receive Poor Care

According to a report by the Dutch Association for Autism (NVA), autistics often get the wrong care. Staff at residential care facilities don’t often know how to handle autism, hence causing autistics to end up on crisis wards or in isolation rooms. The NVA has been collecting stories from mostly family members of autistics about [...]

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Dissociative Identity Disorder in DSM-V

In DSM-V, the criteria for dissociative identity disorder will possibly be broadened in one sense and narrowed in another. The broadening occurs in the criteria A and B, which will substitute criteria A to C in DSM-IV. These new criteria are: Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states or an experience [...]

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Victory for Alex Oudman

Last week, the psychiatrist responsible for Alex Oudman’s long-term seclusion, was reprimanded by one of the Dutch regional medical disciplinary boards. Reprimanding is the second lightest sentence, after a warning, but it has a huge impact on doctors. Alex Oudman is a severely autistic man who lived in a mental institution in the northern Netherlands [...]

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Disabled and Childfree: The Default Assumption

I am disabled and childfree, which means I choose not to have children. While the default assumption is that people my age will eventually have children, if they don’t have them already, this does not go for disabled peple: they, especially women, are automatically assumed to be childless, and the reason is supposed to be [...]

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Agricultural Communities for Autistic Adults: A Comparison to Dutch Workhomes

Yesterday, at the official Autism Speaks blog, there was a post about agricultural communities for autistic adults. These, in the Netherlands also known as “care farms”, provide housing and employment for adults with autism in a supported environment. They range in size from seven to thirty beds according to the article, so none are institution [...]

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