Saturday, 4 January 2025

Digital Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Quotes from a medical website: 

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a mental health condition where you have two or more separate personalities that control your behavior at different times. When personalities switch, you’ll have gaps in your memory. ---

--- “Dissociate” means to separate or disconnect. People with dissociative identity disorder may experience several different personalities --- These personalities may control your behavior at different times. --- Memories may not transfer from one identity to another, which can cause amnesia (gaps in memory). --- DID interferes with your ability to function in your day to day. It can impact your relationships with others and performance at school or work. 

This past week, I have diagnosed myself as suffering from DDID - as in Digital Dissociative Identity Disorder...

I blame Google, and seriously doubt any form of psychotherapy will help. 


The background can be found in my December post Commenting Issues. To summarize, these issues started when Google, for unknown reason, decided to suddenly stop Firefox (my preferred browser for this blog) from working with "embedded" blog comments. For me that meant suddenly finding myself unable to reply to other peoples' comments on this blog from my computer. My first attempt to solve this was to change to using a pop-up window for comments instead of the embedded. That worked fine for me "within that window", but turned out to have some other disadvantages instead. (Those of you who noticed will know. For those of you who did not, staying ignorant will probably be better for you than to have the details explained.) 

I also had the Microsoft Edge browser on the computer, but there I am logged into my other blog (Greetings from the Past) under a different "identity". And it seems one can't be logged in to two different Blogger accounts at the same time, on the same browser.

So I installed Google Chrome as a third browser. For some reason, there  Google seems to have no problems to still allow embedded commenting. 

But in my process of experimenting with different solutions, I kept running into other problems instead. And somewhere in midst of it all, my own brain went on strike, and it came to a point where I suddenly just felt totally confused by the whole mess of different browsers and websites, and what emails and logins and passwords to use where...

Google also somewhere along the line turned totally fanatic about adding extra layers of security, and was no longer content with my usual passwords, but started to require extra codes sent back and forth between my various appliances (laptop, phone and tablet) to prove that I was really me (which I was now almost beginning to doubt myself). On top of all, they also, on one account, forced me to switch from an old (non-google) email address as login, to a brand new gmail addess as primary login instead (a different one from my other already existing gmail).

This was the final straw that made me diagnose myself as now seriously suffering from DDID. The symptoms seem to fit perfectly with the medical ones: Memory gaps + disability to function in my day to day "work" and "relationships with others"... 

It also makes me feel far from secure, and instead rather terrified of no longer knowing what login I'm supposed to use where. (Even when writing things down I'm not sure I got them right.) At the moment I do seem to be logged in "somewhere" on both blogs - but I really fear the next time I accidentally find myself logged out, and have to try and get back in again...


15 comments:

  1. What will you do? Maybe it's time to turn to a tech? It might be worth it because of the stress.

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    1. Ginny, as for the stress, maybe a therapist would be more helpful after all! (Lol) (No immediate plans to seek help of that kind either, though.) I can still reply to comments from the Firefox app on my tablet (using that just now), it just takes me longer to type here (fiddly). Or use Chrome on my laptop, which works - I'm just not happy about having to switch browsers just to reply to comments. Or I may go back to using the pop up window and accep the negatives with that. There are options - I'm just not 100% happy with any of them, so "letting off some steam" with this post... ;)

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  2. The AI generated picture illustrates your DDID perfectly, Monica! (I assume it is you I am talking to... :-D )
    Google products work of course best on other google products, such as blogger on Chrome, etc. But like you, I much prefer Firefox. Since I've not been on my work laptop since December 23, where I run Firefox, I have not yet encountered the commenting problem on my two blogs (both set up and used with the same google profile). On my ipad, I use Safari and have no commenting or other problems there right now. On my games computer, I use MS Edge, also without problems. I do not use Google Chrome on any of my devices.

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    1. Meike, I hope you will let me know if you run into the same problem with Firefox and if you find a "solution"!

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  3. I have had similar problems I the recent past but cannot remember which of the many solutions that I desperately tried ended up working for me. I dread having to replace my laptop, phone or tablet when the time comes. I may just give up blogging.

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    1. JC, setting up new devices is always a hassle, isn't it. My laptop and phone were bought in 2023 so will hopefully last me for a while yet. My tablet is a few years older but working ok so far.

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  4. I lose patience quickly when problems arise. I can now only comment from my desktop computer as on my iPad it always renders me 'anonymous'. I can't even be bothered to work out why!

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    1. Jenny, my first suspicion would be that perhaps you are not actually logged in to your blog on the iPad? (But I've never had an iPad, only Android devices.)

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  5. Oh, dear, what a conundrum. It is irritating when things go awry, usually when 'someone' decides to 'improve' one's experience.

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    1. Janice, you're certainly right about some "improvements" often turning out to be for the worse rather than for the better, ar least for some users...

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  6. Microsoft is driving me nuts, each time they update my desktop, it changes other things. I will send you something in email. I am on Chromebook and can't remember how to explain it. its about edge and the security. I had similar problems and it might be yours.. I have Edge and Chrome for me and had added Firefox for Bob because he does crazy stuff and messes up my browsers. he doesn't use it now but its still there.
    I think we suffer when we have more than one device. I have a samsung phone, iPhone, iPad and Chromebook, that is four things with different browsers. I find that switching from them all the time is making me have DID and did not know what it was until NOW. ha ha... I used to do everything on Edge on desk top. never many problems, now I have to stop and think before I do anything because of trying to use the info that is frying my brain. that is why the new word this year is brain rot... we are not helping our brains with so many devices. and I forgot the big screen tv.. I HATE that TV

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  7. I had problems using Firefox with blogger and it works sometimes others not so I use Microsoft Edge as well. When it all comes down to it you are not alone. Love your pictures

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