Most people who write to us with this sort of concern refuse to believe that we have full knowledge of our own past. It's as simple as that. The DSM-IV definition was written by men who don't believe anyone is really multiple, only that some people merely have the delusion that they are. I hope that by the next edition, it will be removed altogether, or replaced with something that more closely defines those for whom the Wilburian model is reality. We've been presented with impressive lists of traumatic events that can cause shattering, and asked to identify ourselves on checklists of different types of abuse experiences.
Some people claim that anyone who experiences depression is suppressing abuse memories.
Our answer is that no suppression is necessary. Everyone in this Godforsaken society is abused. We live in boxes that dictate to us our behaviour and occupations from the moment we are born. Depression and stress-related illnesses go with the territory. If trauma caused people to split, everyone would be multiple.