It’s been a long time since I’ve brought up this topic, but the misinformation is still spreading and harming people -
People believing they have Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D) or Other Specified Dissociative disorders (O.S.D.D) due to the misinformation spread on tumblr is extremely dangerous. (“Multiple Perosonality Disorder” is not what this disorder is called. That name is outdated and commonly used in horror genres that misrepresent this disorder.)
These disorders cause intense dissociative symptoms due to trauma. This can lead to a single individual believing they are a different person, or the they may cycle through many different identities. Their memories can change, their voice can change, their entire persona can change. In cases of D.I.D, the entire memory of your actions during this time is lost. This is all against the core identity’s will, or in some cases, the core identity may voluntarily let a different identity take over in order to cope with a trigger.
It’s scary. I know because I have it.
I experience alters, and they’re not under my control. The reason the brain dissociates so hard due to trauma is because the child in those situations can not handle the extreme stress. It follows the victim of abuse into adulthood. I never completed college because of my D.I.D. I stay awake at night because of my D.I.D. And the worst part is, doctors are so uneducated on the topic that I can’t receive proper therapy for my symptoms.
Being told you have alters, or that you can magically have these trauma symptoms just because you want them, can be extremely stressful and detrimental on the victim of the misinformation.
Even in cases where the person may actually have these disorders, being labeled as “not having truama” can cause them to not get help for the stressful symptoms.
If someone without the trauma disorder is forced to try and believe their “inner voices” are alters, it can be detrimental to their mental health. I’ve seen discord groups have “validation” channels encouraging people blindly to “design their own alter in their head” or “think hard about their trauma” just so the person can claim they have trauma, or make an alter out of their “imagination.” Most people are interested in the disorder because alters seem like “a cool fun edgy character” that takes over your body. It’s not like that at all.
It’s the constant anxiety of losing control of your memory and self at the worst moments. It’s causing loved ones and friends to worry when you’re suddenly unresponsive and dissociating. It’s dealing with the smallest of triggers and trying to convince yourself they’re “not a big deal” at the cost of staying conscious. It’s dealing with people asking you if “your alters are evil” and having to explain that they’re just there to help you and keep you safe. It’s losing memories and moments of your life to memory black outs. It’s sharing your body with people you may or may not even know exist.
“you can have alters without trauma! It’s called being an endogenic system!”
This is not true. All people with alters have trauma. This is because dissociation is caused by extreme stress, which can lead to trauma. The repeated trauma causes the dissociation to become an unwanted coping mechanism. Repeated trauma in childhood causes the dissociative state to take on characteristics in order for the victim to cope. These traits reoccur in a pattern called “identity alteration.” When people make new names like “endogenic system / quiogenic system” for people who want to make imaginary friends and call them alters, it can harm people with this disorder. Believing you have alters when you don’t, can be extremely stressful. And if you do have alters, believing theres no trauma linked to it can cause you to never receive help, or bottle up the trauma that may resurface from identity alteration, or PTSD episodes. “Mixed systems” aren’t a thing either. If you have PTSD, all alters are related to it whether you’re aware of it or not.
If you hear voices, you have alters! You should talk to them because they’re real people.
This is false. People with schizophrenia can hear voices and not experience identity alteration or memory loss. Some may not even have PTSD. Borderline Personality Disorder also causes someone to experience “facets of identity” due to rapid mood swings. These are not alters either, as they were not formed to cope with abuse, or handle a situation that the core identity can cope with.
Alters being seen as real people by the system is a valid coping mechanism, as systems (a body with many alters) have been experiencing these identity alterations since childhood. However, if someone who is a system does not see the alters as “real people” that is healthy as well. Because they’re not “real people.” They’re dissociated parts of a single identity formed by repeated trauma. Forcing a system with these beliefs to believe their alters are real people can make symptoms worse. I know, because I was a victim of that when I was with a therapist who actually helped me. A “System Discord Server” in mass would correct me, and claim my alters should be treated as real people, delaying my ability to cope with my symptoms.
I got my alters from my kin experiences.
Don’t even go there. Spirituality or identifying with a character can not cause alters to split. “Past life trauma” can’t cause an alter to form either. Alters can claim they kin a character, but they’ll always be a dissociated part of the core identity.
They’re not a separate soul or magical spirit that somehow entered your head. They’re symptoms of PTSD, stop making them sound like they’re a choice.
My friend with D.I.D / OSDD says they can choose when an alter fronts. I think they’re faking.
If your friend has trauma, and the alters didn’t just form out of no where, it’s safe to say they’re not faking. Sometimes if a trigger happens, an alter will front. Sometimes you may not know what the trigger is, and neither will your friend. Alters may also be formed as a fictional character in order to help your friend cope. Don’t be surprised if someone has an alter who has the name of a fictional character. This is common, as fiction is a comfort to people who are victims of abuse.
Alters aren’t real people so why should I treat them like real people? I’m going to ignore my friend until their alter goes away.
No!!!! No!!! Alters believe they’re real people. Treat them with respect. If an alter is 5 years old, and has a different name and whole different interests, address the alter by their name. Your friend is not there at the moment, and they need to be treated as the age their alter is. The alter should be addressed by their name. No matter if the body is an adult, if an alter is a child then you need to treat them as such. Never tell an alter “you’re not actually real”, as they exist solely to believe they’re real and take care of a potential abusive situation. Alters come in many types and with many different responsibilities in relation to trauma.
I think I might have D.I.D / O.S.D.D now that I know what he real symptoms are.
It’s good to seek out a therapist and do your own research. If you think you may have alters, it’s important to find a therapist that takes these disorders seriously. Psychiatrists and therapists have belittled me and many others with these disorders for the symptoms we have no control over, and the symptoms we struggle with - Solely because they don’t believe it’s a real thing. People who claim they have “alters” and fake these disorders with horror movie symptoms also give us a bad name.
Not every system with D.I.D / O.S.D.D is in pain, or struggling either. Some learned to cope with their dissociation and identity alteration. O.S.D.D even lacks dissociative amnesia in its diagnostic criteria, meaning alters may even appear as a foggy distant memory instead of a black out.
People with these disorders don’t have a “blame the alter” card either. If an alter does something wrong, the whole system should be held accountable.
TLDR; stop spreading misinformation about systems (D.I.D / O.S.D.D)
Welcoming “every system type” into discords isn’t as charming or helpful as you think it is.
Take these disorders, and the criteria for alters seriously.
gummygunk
2087
turnnoffyourmind
romaincrisis
