# Service Dogs



## rhianna (Aug 21, 2016)

Hi friends. I've been struggling with dpdr for a couple of years now - the ways in which it manifests as well as the severity seem to fluctuate over time, but something that I often experience is dissociation. I'm currently in college, living on campus, and since I've been in a large bustling city environment surrounded by lots of people and places and things, I have noticed some dangers that come from my dpdr.

For starters, I walk everywhere - to and from class, stores, parks, events, everything. I've found myself walking into traffic while dissociating on several occasions. I've also had issues with walking into people or objects while seemingly losing balance. It's gotten to the point where I wouldn't go anywhere without bringing a trusted friend because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get home safely. I've read online that this is common while dissociating. I actually did some research and found that people with DID often use service dogs, who are trained to recognize when their handler is dissociating, and help the person keep their balance/not walk into people or traffic, or even lead the handler home. They can also be trained to perform deep pressure therapy and other tasks to help calm the handler's symptoms. I began to wonder if a service dog (not an emotional support or therapy dog - there's a big difference) would be helpful to me if, at some point in time, I could get one.

Have any of you had a service dog for similar reasons or ever thought of it before?


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## Zed (Jul 25, 2015)

I think this is a great idea. Service dogs are also being used to help with people with PTSD which often involves high levels of dissociation. I wonder where they stand with the diagnosis of DPD?

To me, one of the most amazing things service dogs can do is sense when someone is starting to 'zone out' whether it's from an impending flashback or from being triggered they're able to jump up and touch their paws on the owners chest bringing them back into the here and now, effectively grounding them. What a cool thing.

Have you looked into this idea further rhiana?


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