Dakota Shadow
Bio
Dakota Shadow was a pen name given to me by my adopted mother just so you know. I am somebody who struggles with mental illness and is learning her way through relationships and the lessons of living.
Stories (8/0)
Dissociative Identity Disorder Art Analysis
Digital Art Analysis Within this piece, all the personalities are connected through tiny colorful lines, similar to chromosomes. In the center of the broken pieces is a child crying, representing the emotional effects of repeated sexual trauma. DID rises from repeated sexual abuse over childhood from ages 4-9. DID cannot develop later in life, for an individual's personality to fracture the abuse must be during early childhood. In this diagram all alters are represented as human but in the majority of cases, systems can include non-human alters. The sentence in the piece states “We are more than our pieces, but together we make a whole”, which is the basis for DID. Alters initially appear because of “an elaborate form of denial [do to trauma] so that the child believes the event to be happening to someone else”(Gillig, 3); so the mind fractures to protect itself, developing alters who can endure the trauma. For example if an individual was abused by being treated like a dog, a dog or dog-like alter may appear to face the abuse (Alters in Dissociative…). Through fracturing the mind creates a systems of alters who each have their own role to protect the body, without one the rest could not function so together they make a whole. However, while the alters are not represented as non-human in this piece, the personalities are illustrated with different ethnicities, ages, and gender. Alters can develop as any ethnicity, gender, or age depending on the trauma and how the brain attempts to protect itself.
By Dakota Shadow3 years ago in Psyche
Living with Dermatillomania
In sixth grade, I started to develop acne. Luckily in school, I was never bullied for the stray white head, but at home, my mother relentlessly picked on me for my physical, and mental, imperfections. And that bullying from my mother became the insecurities I have today, the gap between my teeth, my intelligence, and, most of all, my skin.
By Dakota Shadow5 years ago in Blush
It's Never That Easy
I hope you grow into a beautiful person and flourish. You deserve to be as happy as you choose and not to let anybody hold you back. I hope I granted you with lessons that you can use to keep yourself safe, and to keep yourself from falling into negative cycles. You deserve not to constantly live your days as if there is nothing to look forward to, and all you're doing is holding on by a thread. You deserve better.
By Dakota Shadow5 years ago in Humans
All the Things I Wish I Told Her
When laying in bed at night her face comes to mind. She is euphoria, seeing her encapsulating smile could melt your soul. She was there one second and the next she's gone. I wish I could have calmed her nerves, told her it was okay to have these feelings, because all of them were reciprocated. But being scared of rejection, I hid my face and submerged the feelings that were so desperately crawling to come out. You had your shot, why didn't you take it? These thoughts linger in the air constantly, a world where you could have engulfed her in affection and compassion, treating her how she deserved. She might read this thinking there were others, but it was just her, only her and her beauty.
By Dakota Shadow6 years ago in Humans
Suicide Sundays
The birds are chirping. The sun seeps through the shades. Quiet whispers from the wind fill the room, alongside the orange glow. Your eyes fuss, squinting trying to block out the light creeping in. Legs tied up in sheets, you hide your face in one of the pillows, chills run down your spine from the brisk spring air. Your mouth has a funny metallic taste, as you roll over onto your left side, hoping that the sun hasn’t reached the other side of the room, but it has. You realize going back to sleep isn’t an option, and you sit up holding your knees to your chest.
By Dakota Shadow6 years ago in Psyche