- as mentioned in a previous post, my mother is also afflicted with dissociative identity disorder... at age 21, one of her identities introduced themselves to me for the first time... although I'd known this 'person' since childhood... but I had no clue then that's what was going on... I knew that I knew this 'person' because of the eyes... there's a look in the eyes (and a vibe) that is completely different than my mother's usual...

on this day, she introduced herself to me as Tina, and the language, the mannerisms, the gait, the movement of her body, the attitude, it was someone else's... That day made me understand for the first time what we'd been dealing with all this time...

a little backstory to the circumstances... I left the streets when I found out that I was expecting my first son 'cause it was clear in my mind that I wouldn't put my son through that... and at the time, my brother had also went through a psychosis (he's afflicted with schizophrenia) ... and seeing as we'd always been close, and considering the fragile state he was in, I moved back closer to my family because he trusted me more than anyone else around him... so my mother was back in my life at that time just as my boy was about to be born... needless to say, it was not the best decision I made... but during that time, I helped my brother with his medical follow-ups, meds, talking with doctors, etc... as well as deal with my mother's psychiatric issues that were also active... 

I have to admit, when I describe all of this to you, it makes me realize that I had quite a lot to deal with and I can remember the stress... but it's just how it was with my family... 

Tina surprisingly told me that I was her favorite of Micheline's 4 children... could have fooled me?

It was an ordinary day like any other,

Not much of note was going on.

I'd come back home, and I forget the

Circumstances, but my mother appeared.

Immediately, I felt something was off.

Then she started talking, expressing herself,

And I was taken aback by the incessant cursing

And the rough demeanor she was displaying.

Before long, I found myself before a foul-mouthed,

Aggressive lesbian named Tina bashing all men on Earth,

And boisterously cracking the dirtiest jokes unimaginable,

With one leg up and foot on the chair like a cowboy,

Smoking away in that position, legs spread, and

Crassly unloading on and on in details about men.

This went on for quite a while, and I sat there,

Listened and observed, trying to take in my sight.

That gaze in her eyes, I recognized it from childhood,

Except then, she never said anything in those moments,

She'd just stand in the doorframe of a room, and stare

At me without ever uttering a word, it was a hard stare;

She'd scare the hell out of me when she did that.

On that day, it was those same eyes that were before me

As Tina, and all of a sudden, I could piece together 

That those moments were about her having switched. 

Some don't believe in this disorder, some do,

But whatever it is, real or faked, it was clearly happening.

The person before me was truly not my mother,

It was a completely different personality talking to me.

Seeing as I had no idea how on Earth to deal with this,

I sought information from our local resource centre

On health and services for the community to get expert

Advice on how to best help my mother through this,

And also how to best live with this on a more personal level.

It wasn't much help unfortunately 'cause the professionals there

Were gawking and in awe of me and how lucid I am in my situation.

To this day, I haven't the foggiest idea why they were so surprised.

What were they expecting?  I'm the one who has to deal with it,

It's in my face, you can't miss it in any shape or form.

You'd have to be awfully dull in the head to not notice it is what

I've always felt about that, so it's always left me dumbfounded.

Anyhow, to say this situation was stressful puts it lightly.