WRITTEN BY BUTTERNUT / SHRIMP SYSTEM
A CDD (Complex Dissociative Disorder) is a childhood trauma disorder formed to help manage trauma by developing alters (Alternate States of Conciousness), separated by amnesic barriers to hold different responsibilities and memories.
The most accepted theory as to how CDDs form is called the theory of Structural Dissociation. This theory says that when you are younger than 6-9 years old, you have different parts of yourself that make up who you are. Nobody is born with a personality or opinions, they grow to have them. What happens during development, is that these parts gain an understanding of the world, emotions, people, and tons of other complex ideas, and eventually, around 6-9 years old, they integrate into one single personality or person. During the period of time before 6-9 years old, if recurring and/or severe trauma is present, especially with no sort of stability or comfort from adult figures, these parts start to develop separately, because the brain is too busy surviving to develop properly. The brain forms amnesic barriers between these parts to filter out any harmful, unwanted memories, and with this, these parts become alters and are oftentimes unaware that they are separate identities and not one whole person. The only things that differ in the formation of DID vs. OSDD-1 is that, the younger you are, the more likely you are to form DID as opposed to OSDD-1, as well as the presentation of the disorders.
Sources: the difference between ego states and dissociative parts (on dis-sos.com), structural dissociation (on did-research.org), the haunted self by onno hart
As the DSM-5-TR states, the difference between DID and OSDD1 is either the amnesia one experiences, or one’s presentation of alters. For more detail, check the next blurb, as well as the Diagnostic Criteria for these disorders!
Sources: DSM-5-TR
Technically, in the DSM-5-TR, it only lists OSDD 1, 2, 3 and 4, but no a’s or b’s or what have you. So why do we add the letters? Well, let’s break it down:
The 1 in OSDD1 is from the list of presentations of OSDD in the DSM-5-TR (you can find this list here). The OSDD1 presentation states: ”Chronic and recurrent syndromes of mixed dissociative symptoms: This category includes identity disturbance associated with less-than-marked discontinuities in sense of self and agency, or alterations of identity or episodes of possession in an individual who reports no dissociative amnesia.”
So, now we understand the 1— it’s a diagnosis for a disorder thats close to DID, but not close enough to be considered DID. How about the letters? Well, the letters come from the first 2 listed criteria of DID in the DSM-5-TR, criterions A and B.
A states: “A. Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states, which may be described in some cultures as an experience of possession. The disruption of marked discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency, accompanied by related alterations in affect, behavior, consciousness, memory, perception, cognition, and/or sensory-motor functioning. These signs and symptoms may be observed by others or reported by the individual.” And B states: “B. Recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/or traumatic events that are inconsistent with ordinary forgetting.”
So, OSDD1a and OSDD1b are unofficial terms (in regards to being in the DSM) to describe official (also in regards to being in the DSM) experiences.
Sources: DSM-5-TR
P-DID, or Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder, is like DID. The only difference is that there is one main alter who is always in front, while other alters exist more so internally. Non-host alters may interfere with the host's life by intruding on cognition, emotion, movement, perception and behavior. In more simple terms, they can be in coconsciousness or cause passive influence, but cannot take full front. Other alters may take main or co-front, typically during breakdowns, flashbacks and/or self harm.
Sources: ICD-11