Is Dissociative Identity Disorder Divergent or Disordered?

I believe having DID falls under the neurodivergent umbrella, but at the same time it is a mental illness that can cause a great deal of distress. So, is Dissociative Identity Disorder divergent or disordered? 

Alyssa Gonzalez: A Review of “Pet: the Journey from Abuse to Recovery”

For self-published authors, reviews on platforms like Goodreads and Amazon make a big positive impact on book sales. They increase the visibility of the book and they give credibility to the book, something that self-published books often are lacking in. My friend Alyssa Gonzalez was nice enough to write this beautiful and extensive review of  “Pet: the Journey from Abuse to Recovery,” my recently released book of poetry. Here is an excerpt from her review: “Poetry …Read More

A Guide to Social Etiquette When Interacting with My DID System

A frequent request we’ve encountered is to create a guide to interacting with Dissociative Identity Disorder systems. We’re offering a list of our own preferences around social interactions and a list of questions to help you get to know the specific preferences of the system(s) you know.

Video: Introducing Dissociative Identity Disorder on Youtube

Back in September, I received a facebook message from a high school friend of mine. We hadn’t spoken in a number of years so it was a pleasant surprise to see a message from him in my inbox. He told me that his wife was a teacher and she was running an activity about neurodivergence for her students, who were between the ages of 13-16. He said she was collecting videos from individuals who experienced …Read More

Poetry & Trauma: It Is Hard to Write with a Broken Heart

This week my debut poetry book, “Pet: the Journey from Abuse to Recovery” comes out. The poetry sequence takes you through my experiences in an abusive relationship, my attempts to heal, my retrospective reflections on the relationship, and the larger-scale insights that came with long-term healing. To introduce it, I wanted to share with you this piece about what it took to write that book in the first place.  CN: extensive and detailed discussion of …Read More

I Was My Boyfriend’s Servant: The Nightmare of Financial Abuse

CN: extensive and detailed discussion of emotional & financial abuse; discussion of domestic violence; mention of suicide and sexual abuse; overall disturbing content. “When I say, “Good girl,” I want you to say, “Thank you, sir.” “Yes, sir.” “Good girl.” “Thank you, sir.” I handed him the yellow check. When the bank clerk originally asked me what color I wanted my checks in, I picked gold, but it turned out that gold just meant a …Read More

Why Understanding Abuse & Trauma is Necessary for Social Justice Work

CN: disturbing statistics regarding intimate partner violence, extensive discussion of the impact of abuse, trauma, marginalization and the intersection of all three; brief discussion of trauma-based mental illnesses, and oppression as a result of race, LGBT status, socio-economic background, and/or physical/mental ability.  The focus of Yopp has always been to discuss all things related to social justice and civil rights. But another important topic that emerged fairly early on was issues related to abuse and …Read More