#cdd representation

[cripplecharacters]

Hiii I’m writing a Star Wars fic right now and I needed some help with an oc, she basically she split personality which she gained from all the stuff that happened with order 66. I don’t wanna make it offensive or wrong but she has two personalities one being “her self” aka trying to be a Jedi and the other being someone who finds joy and pleasure in the Sith and just being straight up evil

I wanted to do like what moon knight did, like the two people in the same body like how they could talk to each other in a reflection or hear each other but I just wanted to ask and make sure it’s not wrong

I have the fic on my account so if u look through it and smth about it is wrong I would love for you to tell me so I can learn more as a writer

Hello!

This would be more along the lines of sensitivity reading or beta reading, which is (more often than not) a paid job.

This blog is here mostly to offer advice and information at the beginning of the creation process. Doing a complete read-through and providing feedback on a finished project is outside the scope of what we do.

Given what you've written here, however, I will mention: it's generally best not to use fictional stories as your only source on disabilities. Real DID is nothing like how it's shown in Moon Knight and the show has actually been criticized heavily for the inaccuracies.

Also, please note that the idea of a dissociative disorder causing a "good" and "evil" personality is a trope that has caused a lot of harm in the past and if you plan on including the trope in your own writing, it should be done with careful thought and consideration.

If you haven't already, I'd strongly suggest taking a look through our pinned post for some information on what we do here and some posts that can be helpful.

If you do choose to hire a sensitivity reader, there are some resources in this post here [link].

Cheers,

~ Mod Icarus

[cripplecharacters]

ok so im writing a character with DID and i’ve done quite a bit of research but i have a few questions—

is it possible for most of the system to be unaware that they’re a sys but there’s an alter who knows and keeps up the “singletsona”?

i know that alters can communicate through a headspace, is it possible to be unable to communicate with other alters while fronting? ie the others can’t communicate to whoever’s fronting

thanks!! sorry if these are basic questions

Hello,

1. Yes! This is incredibly common

2. Yes! This is also super common. More people with DID have trouble with internal communication than not

- Mod Patch

[cripplecharacters]

One of my main characters is schizospec, and when they experience psychosis, auditory hallucinations are pretty common. Something I couldn’t work out is the difference between how auditory hallucinations present in comparison to plurality. I want to of course portray these hallucinations accurately to the condition and not end up accidentally writing the wrong thing, so I did my research but couldn’t find any answers. Is there a difference in how they should be written so I don’t accidentally write about the wrong condition / symptom?

Hello!

So I both experience psychosis and am plural. The experiences of hearing voices and hearing parts can be confusing but I find the hearing parts is usually more internal while hearing voices is usually external.

When it comes to auditory hallucinations a majority of them are external (as if you are hearing someone else in the room). Some people may experience internal hallucinations as well, but I find this can be a little complicated to explain and so I'm going to stick to talking about external hallucinations as they are a bit more common and understood.

As for parts, when I hear them speak to me it is entirely internal and mixed with feelings, emotions, or memories. It also depends on the person - I know a system who thinks in pictures and so all parts talk to each other visually. I think in words, so we talk to each other with language.

The biggest difference between hallucinations and parts besides being external vs internal are that hallucinations cannot send emotions or take control - they can make you feel certain ways, absolutely, but they dont really come with emotions or memories.

- Mod Bert

[cripplecharacters]

Complex Dissociative Disorders Terminology: A Basic Primer

[Large text: DID Terminology: A Basic Primer]

Here are some common terms you may see when researching complex dissociative disorders! 

Basic Terms

[Large Text: Basic Terms]

Dissociation - An internal feeling of disconnect between one's body, history, thoughts, emotions, memories, acts, and/or environment. Not everyone who experiences dissociation has a dissociative disorder. Dissociation is a common coping mechanism in times of stress. 

Alter - A dissociated part of a personality that failed to integrate into the self due to trauma. These parts may have their own age, gender, needs, wants, sexuality, species, memories, actions, urges, opinions, skills, abilities, etc. 

Fragment - An alter who is not fully “fleshed out” or differentiated. They may have a single function, emotion, or memory. 

System - The entire collection of alters in one body 

Front - The alter who is “in front” or “fronting” is aware of the outside world, and controlling the body. 

Switch - “to switch” is to change what alter is fronting (controlling the body). This can be slow or fast, planned or unplanned, accidental or intentionality. 

Co-consciousness (co-con) - When two or more alters are aware of the outside world they are co-conscious. 

Passive Influence - When an alter who is not currently fronting affects the fronting alter. This can be in the form of memories, thoughts, emotions, desires, preferences, actions, etc. 

Splitting - To split is to create a new alter 

Amnesia - partial or complete loss of memory (not exclusive to CDD) 

Disorders 

[Large text: Disorders]

Complex Dissociative Disorder (CDD) - An umbrella term for all dissociative disorders that cause systems. This list includes Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Other Specified Dissociative Disorder Type 1 (OSDD-1), Unspecified Dissociative Disorder (UDD), and Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder (P-DID).

Dissociative Disorder - To quote https://did-research.org/ “a disorder characterized by a separation of consciousness from emotion, sensation, memory, personal history, sense of self, or sense of reality.”  

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) - DID is characterised by two or more dissociative self-states "Alters" that are linked to some degree of amnesia and are capable of assuming executive control. 

Other Specified Dissociative Disorder Type 1 (OSDD-1) - OSDD-1 is a disorder that is very similar to DID but lacks fully differentiated selves (type 1a) or amnesia (type 1b). OSDD in general is a category of dissociative disorders that while not fitting the criteria for any other dissociative disorder, can still be specified. 

Unspecified Dissociative Disorder (UDD) - A category of disorders that can not be labeled, or are unable to be fully understood. This diagnosis is most often applied in crises or emergencies.

Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder (P-DID) - As outlined by the International Classification of Diseases is a condition similar to DID where “One personality state is dominant and normally functions in daily life, but is intruded upon by one or more non-dominant personality states (dissociative intrusions).” Essentially one alter is always in front, but they regularly experience passive influence or co-consciousness. 

Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) - This is a former term for DID. The name was changed because DID is not a personality disorder, it’s a dissociative disorder. Many people today find this term insensitive, outdated, and offensive, although some systems may choose to self-identify with the term. 

The Theory of Structural Dissociation (TOSD)

[Large Text: The Theory of Structural Dissociation (TOSD)] 

This is the current understanding of how dissociative disorders as well as other disorders caused by trauma are formed and function. To quote https://did-research.org/ “this theory centers around an inability to integrate traumatic memories and materials into one’s primary personality, sense of self, and self history that results in an overall inability to integrate parts.” 

To learn more about anything referenced above I would recommend checking out https://did-research.org/

Thanks, Mod Patch

[cripplecharacters]

I have a character with DID, is it likely that they all get along and work well? Is it also likely for a personality to have a fairly strong influence but never be the main personality?

Before I answer this - the correct term is alter, personality is considered vastly out of date and many consider it offensive. Part is also sometimes used but there are some systems that dislike it or feel uncomfortable with it - it’s more common in a psychological or psychiatric context.

Getting along well really depends on the system - all alters have their functions and purposes, they don’t ever exist for no reason. Most systems I know generally function alright (that’s why DID exists, to ensure functioning) and all alters at least tolerate each other. It’s also normal to have alters that dislike the system, it’s really all dependant on the situation and the system. Therapy can help alters get along if there’s inter-system issues.

By “main personality” I’m assuming you mean the host - the alter that fronts the most and generally handles day to day tasks. I’m not quite sure what you mean by “have a fairly strong influence” though.

- Mod Tyler

[cripplecharacters]

is writing a character with an alter ego offensive to people suffering from DID or other personality disorders? (i'm neurotypical, i just want to know better).

Just first before I answer this, I’m not sure if that was what you were implying but DID is not a personality disorder, it’s a dissociative disorder.

Also I suppose it depends? Alter ego is kind of a rather broad term. If you’re talking about a Bruce Wayne/Batman type of alter ego in which it’s a choice and it’s very clear that it’s the same person, just acting differently or going by a different name, then no, not at all. If you mean more of a “Jekyll and Hyde” type thing, then yes, that is often considered offensive.

- Mod Tyler

[cripplecharacters]

1/2 Hello! I'm planning a hidden world coming of age type of story and one of the main characters has DID. I have several questions:1) How good representation of a system would be like and what pitfalls I should avoid. 2)Since it's not an adult story, I wasn't planning on going into detail about their trauma at all, maybe not even mention what exactly happened. Is that disrespectful?

2/2 The system was adopted by a loving family that has helped them even since (with professional help). I wondered how realistic it would be to have them now a teenager (they were adopted as a kid) with a pretty good relationship between the alters. They would have trouble sometimes, obviously, but I wanted to go for a more positive(? portrayal. Also, how do I balance this without downplaying the disorder or the trauma that causes it?

Not going into their trauma is perfectly fine! If you want to keep it at “something bad happened to x character when they were little and that’s why they have DID” I think that’s alright. The only thing I’d like to point out is that trauma (before the ages of 6-11) is necessary to have DID. At its core, DID is really a more complex and dissociateed form of C-PTSD.

Having a good relationship with your alters is also pretty normal! From my experience and my discussions with other systems, alters aren’t the most distressing part of DID, that comes from the PTSD symptoms, dissociation/derealization/depersonalization, and amnesia.

For a bit of general advice when writing systems:

Look into switching and how it works. There is always some sort of trigger for switches. That trigger can be negative or positive or seem insignificant but switches never happen “for no reason”. 

Amnesia and memory loss is a constant issue. Traditional “memory blackouts” when switching aren’t necessarily the standard (they’re most common between alters with higher dissociative barriers or in very high stress situations). Amnesia between switches can be reduced through therapy. 

Emotional amnesia is also real, and a lot of times systems can have memories that feel more like remembering something happening to someone else than it actualy happening to you.

I’d also recommend looking at traumadissociation.com for more information, they’re very informative with plenty of research.

- Mod Tyler

[cripplecharacters]

hey, i wanted to know, what are common mistakes regarding "split personality" characters and how to avoid ableist stereotypes when writing them?

I think the most common mistakes are the language used to describe it. The actual diagnosis used is Dissociative Identity Disorder. It hasn’t been called “split personality” or “multiple personality disorder” since the 90s, and that’s not the diagnosis in the DSM-5. I suggest doing a lot of research into it since it’s a highly stigmatised disorder with a lot of misinformation. There are a lot of systems who run great youtube channels, I would recommend DissociaDID’s Debunking DID Playlist for information about the common misconceptions.

As for avoiding ableist stereotypes, I think the biggest one to avoid is that people with DID are “violent” or that they have “evil alters” with “superpowers” and all of that ridiculousness. It’s nothing that fantastical and is a trauma-born disorder, in which a young child experiences repeated trauma, causing them to dissociate heavily to the point of creating amnesia walls and separate “personalities” to handle the trauma. All of the information I know is second hand, and if you want to write a significant character with the disorder, I highly recommend checking out advice and information from people with the disorder because it’s a very complex disorder.

- Mod Becca