Age Regression in Dissociative Identity Disorder

Can people with DID let out their alters willingly and control when they come out ?

Hey so I don’t know if I have this or not but I was sexually abused and physically abused as a child from infant to 4 and got adopted at 6 and I find myself talking like a baby a lot more at the age of 20 and it it started at 16 . I twirl my hair like I used to when I was a kid and I currently find my saying mama while I’m like half asleep . My gf had Calle dme out on talking like a baby and being immature and I tell her I can’t help it and half the time I don’t even realize it . I don’t know what to do ! I have PTSD, ODD, ADHA, OCD

I've gotten into a new relationship about 2 months ago. He's into the whole ddlg lifestyle. I'm aware that age play and age regression are two different things. How can I explain to him that when I regress it isn't in a sexual way? I get nervous around him when I feel like I'm getting PTSD triggers because I'm worried he will take it the wrong way. I don't mind what he is into. I'm into it to an extent as well. I just need to figure out how to help differentiate between the two since I don't go as far as to wear diapers or anything for age play. So I just think it will get misunderstood. I guess one way is that I feel in control with age play and with regression it just happens on its own. Usually I find my inward self as an adult and my outer self is childlike. Normally I feel a little the other way around. Is that normal to feel that way? Like to feel like I'm a child on the outside and an adult on the inside. Because I can still think like an adult. But what comes out in words or actions is childlike.

Hi- I was reading your article and saw that you mentioned age regression can also happen in other mental illnesses such as PTSD or MDD both of which I have. MDD is officially diagnosed; the PTSD is not official but my therapist says that it’s highly likely that I have it. I was just wondering if you had any articles that I could read about those associations with regression as opposed to just in DID or if it acts the same way. Thank you very much!!

Hi, I was in an abusive relationship all through high school and then some other things happened as well, I haven’t officially been diagnosed with PTSD but my therapist said it’s likely I have it and I saw that age regression can be part of that. I feel like I experience age regression constantly when I’m around my boyfriend wether I’m happy or angry or sad, and then when I leave I feel so awful and stupid for acting like such a child...he’s made comments about not acting like a child before because I guess I’m just frustrating in that state but I don’t know how to explain all this to him without sounding like I’m just making up excuses..do you have any tips or ways I could talk to him about it?

Hey my name is Haley. I have moments when I feel like I’m two years old. I don’t really want to talk and all I want is to be held. Then it’s frustraiting because I don’t have any one to do that. When I’m angry I feel like an impulsive ten year old...but after I throw my fit I get sad and feel like I’m 2 again. Could I have DID?

I myself am an age regressor, and can easily say there is nothing wrong with being one. im not trying to sound rude when I say this, but hear me out. when regressing, its ones safe place, and or safe state of mind, and there is nothing wrong with it. you shouldn't feel wrong for it, because its actually quite common. also, age regression is also not 100% of the time linked to DID, but is more commonly linked to childhood trauma, like you said. but, its better to let yourself regress rather than attempting to force yourself out if it. you can't really sit here and write and article about something unless you've experienced it first hand whether that be yourself or someone you know regressing.

Hey I've recently gotten into a relationship with a guy that age regresses into a 3 year old.without sounding rude or inconsiderate,how can I help him get over this or through it so that he doesn't regress? I'm trying to be supportive and help him get past it so that it doesn't rule his life.

So now I get that I am actually age regressing because if I am littles then it's a alter right? Like another me? I'm now trying to explore this world by myself because like this year I just knew it and some months ago I broke up with my bf while the only one who knows and tends to my need was him. Any suggestion for me to cope with this alone bcs like I've been suppressing it all these months and it's kinda sad though sometimes I want to let it out.

Do you have any references that you can share?

Being an Age Regressing teen is very difficult for me, most view it as a "kink" but it is far more than something so juvenile and its not just a "phase" as my grandmother seems to think, i've always been like this, but you've always been to destracted to notice. My caretaker is the only one who seems to get the serverity of this disorder. I am open about it however and i wish that other people would grow to respect it.

Is it possible for this to be consider as parts? I have been diagnose with DID, however I have been told that I do not switch into a different person just different ages and that I have several different ages, They all hold their own memories and act different but only in like maturity and the things that they like and how they feel. I have been told this all by my therapist who has talked to my so called part countless of times. I never remember switching to these parts or acting like them or abything to do with them. I will just black out and then come back. I have how ever seen note that i have writen and the hand writing will look different and the spelling will be messed up depending on what age had wrote it. There is this huge part of me that wants to prove to my therapist and mostly to myself that I do not have this and that there has to be some other reasoning for all of this happening, I do have a very long history of all kinds of abuse and this is why I have been told that my brain developed this. I have heard of people switching to other people with different names and they act completely different in every way possible, and as I have been told that I do in ways act different, its just hard for other people to notice. There have been times that people have told me that i seem younger as well. I guess what I am wondering is that is it possible for this age regression to be the main cause of switching and does this on a more serve level be consider as parts as I have been told that I have?

Hi. I do not have DID, but this is one of the few sites that gives a helpful explanation of age regression, which I think I may be dealing with.
When I was younger, I was met with quite a handful of traumatic experiences, and I realized at some point that my family can't provide the comfort I need to feel safe. My mother is emotionally abusive, and my dad abused my sister when I was young and then shut me out of his life. At about age 12, I would wrap my baby blanket around my arm (a blanket I've slept with since I was a baby and still sleep with), and I'd sit on the floor and cry and rock myself. Before/during this time, I would talk to myself as if I had an imaginary friend, which I've been doing as a coping mechanism since I was 5. So that's that. Let me explain some more recent events.
Lately, I can't seem to take care of any responsibilities that I have. I'll stare at the screen (at work I need to do) and suck on my fingers. I also dissociate a lot and nothing ever really gets done throughout the day. I need to clean, do work, etc, but those things give me anxiety so I just suck on my fingers instead. When I was a child, I slept on the floor a lot, and a year ago I began doing this again. I have slept on the floor every single night for a year. It's where I feel safe/like a kid again. I'm also a really quiet person and often mute throughout the day, for reasons I don't fully understand. It feels as if I CAN'T speak, like my mouth is wired shut. And there's something else... I like wearing diapers, and I wish I could have pacifiers and bottles. It's not a kink thing. It's just something I'm drawn to. I don't have those things, but I've used baby diapers a few times and this provided a sense of security. It's hard to explain...
The bottom line, I sometimes get the sense that I'm regressing to a much younger age. This became apparent after the conception of my baby sister (last year). That's when I made the choice to sleep on the floor and when I started sucking on my fingers for comfort. Is it possible that I've been regressing back to infancy? I'm 18 years old and I don't wish to act like this...

Hi, in the case of age regression with DID, what work accomodations can be utilized to help support an independent lifestyle? Thanks

I'm sorta sure I have this, but I'm REALLY scared to get tested for it because I've already been tested a few other things and the psychologist confirmed I have most of them. I can definitely see myself regressing (still learning my triggers for this and my trichotillomania) then slowly coming back, but I guess I just don't want it confirmed but at the same time, I just want to know to make sure I'm not a Freak or something.

So, I am an age regressor. It started a couple years ago when I needed a way to cope with sexual abuse I went through as a child. Often times when I regress and never realize it until my friend points it out. Half the time I don't remember what happens when I regress, I know I regressed because ill ask my friend about it in the morning, and if I do its splotchy memories. I was doing research on DID when I thought to myself, "Could I be experiencing this?" Honestly, I just want to know if it's a possibility I am going through this and if so, how to I go about treating it.

Both I and my wife had very traumatic child hoods. I tend to be the in most part. When she gets home from work she instantly regresses which I'm glad she has found a safe spot. I myself when I get to stressed also regress at those moments when I know we're both stressed.. we have a safe zone for both of us. The first thing we do is call my sister in law... she likes babysitting us anyways... from there we just interact with each other in our purest form. Just remember you never know how a person feels till you've lived there life. Be yourself that's all that you can do.

does age regression ever stop?

In my case I don't have DID, but do live with CPTSD due to on going trauma as a kid. I have found personal utilizing regressive behaviors such as going the whole weekend around the house in a tee shirt and diaper much like a 3 year old. In a way to both embody and comfort my younger self as a method of therapy. I think more needs to explored on this. Cause technically it's good to Pampers yourself.

Ok what do you do it’s the dominant regressing to the age he was abused and the only way to keep little davie sober is to have his submissive spank him I’m worried for him we are in the ddlg too he’s talking about giving me a training collar I want it I love the child in him but sometimes his little submissive needs her daddy and daddy is regressed

I have a problem.I regress under stress and at night time.My marriage failed also because I regressed around an unsafe person.I now don't trust anyone.I miss being held.Being safe.I have regressed and it doesn't always feel like I have control over this.It scares me very much.I was told by my doctor that I have a dissociative disorder of some sort.But I feel deeply ashamed and very scared for myself.E.What if it happens again.How do I protect myself.

having several traumas my love cartoons toys my room is in winnie the pooh design i have an adult size tricycle and hobbie horse feel safer as a toddler

When i made my First Holy Communion at age 12,i was put into a cloth diaper and plastic pants and tee shirt when i was dressed in my communion outfit.My parents told me it was for two reasons,one,in case i got nervous and had an accident,and two,to make me feel pure and innocent like the 7 year old little girls in my class! My communion dress was to the top of my knees and i wore the lace anklets and white mary jane shoes. I did feel like a little girl with the diaper and plastic pants on under my dress,but was paranoid the whole time that something would happen and people would see them.Then,two years later when i was 14,i was one of two flowergirls in my aunts wedding,and my parents had me wear the diaper and plastic pants under my flowergirl dress.The other girl was 6 years old and she had a pampers,size 7 diaper on under her dress.Our dresses were almost midthigh length and it was hard to concentrate on being a flowergirl with only a few inches of my dress covering the diaper and plastic pants!

Our daughter is 14 and approaching the end of her puberty.When she first started puberty before age 12,she started bedwetting because of it.Since then,she has been wearing a thick cloth diaper and adult size rubberpants to bed every night.She has been fine with the cloth diaper and rubberpants and has even worn them under her Easter and christmas dresses and for a couple of special occasions.Her bedwetting is now becomming less frequent,only about two to three or four times a week now.I still put the diaper and rubberpants on her every night.She told me the other night that after her bedwetting ends,that she still wants to wear the diaper and rubberpants to bed occassionally as she is used to them and feels secure in them.It took me by surprise! Should i let her keep on wearing them every so often when she wants to?

When I was growing up bedwetters wore cloth diapers and rubber pants to bed at all ages. There were disposable diapers that had just started out and were meant for babies. So it was not at all unusual to see larger sizes cloth diapers and rubber pants hanging on clotheslines. One of my moms friends had 3 bedwetters ages 9and 5 that were girls and a boy age 7. Mom and I would sometimes go over after supper to visit and it was not unusual to see all 3 sitting watching TV wearing jerseys if summer or pj's or nightgowns in cool weather and all were ready for bed wearing double cloth diapers and rubber pants.. As their bedtimes came they would come to the kitchen and say goodnight. They were unfazed about having diapers and rubber pants on. I always was glad that I was not a bedwetter.