HOW TO TELL IF SOMEONE IS FAKING HAVING DID OR OSDD : A Quick Guide.
DID fakers and OSDD fakers...why do they do it? Why pretend to have a disorder that causes such distress, confusion, anger, and internal pain for those who have it?
Perhaps they enjoy being the center of attention. Perhaps they're a chronic liar. Perhaps they weren't given enough care or attention from parents at a young age, so they now seek such in the form of online validation. Or perhaps they're just bored and looking for a new little 'internet trend' to jump on.
Whatever the case may be, there has been an uptick in illness / disorder fakers. And one that seems to have blown up the most ( for some reason ) is fakers of DID and OSDD. A majority of the online spaces for people who actually have these disorders are now overrun with people faking the disorder for attention ( or whatever other motive / reason they may have behind faking ). This is a bad thing, obviously. Nobody wants their illness or disorder mocked and made into some little roleplaying game by insensitive people online.
However, there is good news! And that good news lies in the fact that while no two people may fake in the same exact way...a majority ( if not all ) of fakers have specific things that set them apart from those who are actually diagnosed!
This guide will highlight some of the key things to look for when it comes to spotting a DID or OSDD faker.
__________________________________________________
1.) They are a minor and claim to have a ridiculous amount of alters.
There is, from a literal and psychologically speaking standpoint, no way you're going to be 13 years old and somehow be aware of 300+ alters in your system. Not only that, but systems with a large amount of alters aren't as common as systems with headcounts more around the range of 6 to 30 alters.
2.) All or almost all of their alters are fictives ( mostly from new fandoms, too ).
Systems with more fictives than brain-made alters are real, yes. But a system of all or almost all fictives that are specifically from a source that the 'host' likes - especially if the source is new - is a telltale sign that someone is more than likely faking.
3.) Split multiple new alters from a source just days after said sources creation.
I know that a lot of 'systems' who split new alters from a source that just came out days ago like to just say "well I'm autistic and hyperfixated on the media, so that's why I split the alters". Though unfortunately for them, they're forgetting the fact that alters aren't gonna form just because you decided to hyperfixate on a specific media. There needs to be trauma, stress, or otherwise overwhelming bad emotions for an alter to split. Bonus faker points to the ones who say they were "just watching the show, and then [insert character here] was randomly in my head now, haha!", because that's just a 100%
4.) Chronically online in general.
See someone that's chronically online and a system? There's a 99.9% change that they're faking DID or OSDD. The influx of fakers started with normal people coming on line due to covid back in 2019. Chronically online + system almost always = 100% faker!
5.) Self proclaimed 'endogenic' or 'willogenic' system.
Endogenic systems are systems formed without trauma. Willogenic systems are systems which are apparently formed by will by the 'host'. Both of which - especially willogenic - are not possible and are not real systems. While some endogenic system may simply be systems who can't remember their trauma, willogenic systems - or systems created by will - are fake and are not real. You cannot create a system just because.
6.) Self-diagnose, or believe that self-diagnosis for something as complex as DID / OSDD is valid.
Self diagnosis works for things such as the following : any physical injury that you can see, a fever, a cold, the flue, a stomach bug. Things that self diagnosis do NOT work for include : BPD, DID, OSDD, OCD, things like that. Basically, if anyone is ever willing to claim they have a complex disorder without a diagnosis, they are 99% likely to be a chronically online faker - as faking and chronically online individuals unfortunately seem to have a very strong correlation.
7.) DO NOT WANT HELP OR A DIAGNOSIS.
Refusing to get a diagnosis is a sign that you fear you may be told you don't have DID or OSDD. I say this based on the multiple different accounts I've seen of people claiming such - that they don't want a diagnosis because they don't want to be told they were wrong about their fake self-diagnosis.
If anyone who reads this has anything to add, feel free to leave a comment regarding such, or feel free to send a DM or ask! Thank you for reading, and I do hope this post could help someone!