19 | Misconceptions | 6/6/26

 This won't be so much a storytime post as it will be a kind of debunking post for misconceptions around DID/OSDD. Since I was officially diagnosed with OSDD and MAY be diagnosed for DID, I have some personal experience to lean on here. I've also done a lot of research. So keep in mind that this is not coming from a psychologist, rather someone who is directly experiencing the disorder.

DID feels like one of the most stigmatized disorders out there, with the likes of sociopathy, bipolar, BPD, and other such disorders. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that once media gets its hands on a mental disorder, chances are it will be very under-researched, especially if it's old. Most of my exposure of DID or general plurality was characters who have war PTSD suddenly switching to a violent and maniacal personality. And that was really it. It felt so cartoonish to me, even as a kid; I did not know if it was even a real disorder for some time. As I looked into it more and more, I eventually felt a connection, as if this very stigmatized, generally misunderstood disorder was actually.... not that bad? And also felt A LOT like me?

I'm going to go in order of most outrageous to least outrageous, just so that we're on the same page throughout. You can skip through the ones you already confidently know, no one's forcing you to read everything. Except maybe the demon behind you right now, but don't bother looking, he's probably disappeared by now.

Welcome to Mythbusters. Not officially. I'm just some random guy writing a blog post.

"DID does not exist; DID is just someone with imaginary friends."

Oh boy, starting off strong. Look, if you are not of the belief that DID even exists, you may want to pick up ANY book about psychology for at least five seconds. DID does exist and there is plenty of evidence to support it.

Sure, imaginary friends are absolutely an aspect that can apply to just about anyone. Imaginary friends can be very individualized. One thing to note is that the difference between actual imaginary friends and alters (the personalities a DID person has) is that alters can physically take control of the body and mind. Imaginary friends may just be a voice in your head, or a pretend playmate you envision in front of you. Alters are states of mind; they are quite literally different personalities taking control of the body at one time. In the case of specifically DID, these alters don't tend to remember eachother's experiences all that well, meaning one alter can do something, and once another alter fronts, they may have no idea anything even happened in their absence. 

ALSO, imaginary friends are usually something you age out of. You can't age out of DID, unfortunately.

"People with DID have an evil alter."

As tempted as I may be, I will not say "no" to this. There IS a chance that someone with DID may have an alter that is less morally aligned or feels less empathy than the others. This can be a Persecutor alter that wants to protect the system by lashing out at others, or merely an alter that is so worn-down it does not care about morality.

The closest example I personally have to an "evil" alter is one that is somewhat slightly moderately a sadist, although they still seek consent from the other party. The nextmost one is a Persecutor that specifically goes after me rather than others. I would not define either of these alters as evil.

Anyone with DID is just as likely to be as dangerous as any other person. It just depends on what factors lead you to violence. The thought of hurting someone makes me sick no matter how you squeeze it. I bet a lot of others with DID will agree.

Mind you that people with DID are victims of abuse and trauma, not the perpetrators.

"Most people with DID are faking."

Let's not jump to the most extreme conclusion off the bat. Chances are, if anyone IS faking DID, they either have mental issues of their own (i.e. delusions), or are doing it for attention. And even then, they would have to specifically pick DID to fake. This is not a common set-up. You are more likely to run into a whole group of people with legitimate DID than one faker.

People with DID have often disproven or criticized those who are blatantly faking on social media. This is something I've considered doing myself. If you know the signs of DID, you can typically point out when someone is using the most baseline, ignorant understanding of DID to paint this offensive picture of the disorder. 

An easy way to tell someone is faking is if they can miraculously switch to every single alter for an introductory video. Most people with DID need YEARS of therapy before they can have that solid of a connection with their alters. And given that many alters only appear for certain specific circumstances (not just for a TikTok recording), it can be hard to manually make them manifest like that. 

Also, if people have cartoonishly different voices for each alter, they are probably faking, or at least playing it up. Alters can have different voices, but these differences are often hardly noticeable to the average person.

Lastly, if each alter wears very clearly different sets of clothing, or has specific costumes, they are probably faking. Alters will wear normal people clothing most of the time, unless they feel a little silly. They aren't cartoon characters just because they exist within a fractured mind. 

"DID can be cured."

Sadly not. The best solution for someone with DID is to get therapy to help learn about their alters, communicate with them, and integrate with them. This can take upwards of a decade, particularly if you are not certain about your diagnoses. There is no magical pill you can take to remove DID; it's developmental and will stay with you for your entire life. Even if you condense into one alter, there is still the chance you can fracture again.

"DID is only caused by extreme PTSD, such as war, terrorism, and trafficking."

While yes, DID can be caused by extreme PTSD, it is not the ONLY cause. DID can be caused by (and typically is caused by) consistent child abuse/neglect. This could include a rocky divorce between parents, not having needs (food, shelter, entertainment) fulfilled, or being assaulted or berated as a child.

In the case of myself, I actually cannot recall what exactly caused my mind to fracture. I have memories of several traumatic incidents in my life, plus things I have been told second-hand, but what caused my breaking point is entirely unknown to me. This can be the case with others who have DID.

The mind develops DID so as to handle traumatic situations better. "Dissociative" indicates the brain attempting to separate itself from its traumatic past by acting as though it is not really happening/has not really happened; your brain disconnects itself from your past. "Identity" indicates the fracturing of personalities into distinct alters. These alters typically exist to handle certain situations so as not to cause distress to the whole. In other words, one alter takes the hit to protect the others. These are called "Protector" alters, though even non-Protector alters can do this in smaller ways.

So basically, yes it can be caused by extreme PTSD, but it can also be caused by assault, harassment, or neglect at a young age (typically around 5-9 years old). The mind may continue to fracture if trauma is ongoing after that point.

"People with DID cannot function on their own."

Technically true if you count alters as separate people. 

Seriously though, many people with DID can function perfectly fine on their own. Many people don't even realize they have DID until well into their adulthood. I was one of the lucky suckers to realize it early on in my adulthood.

The point of DID is precisely to help the brain function in the presence of stress and trauma. It can be particularly troubling for someone with DID to experience trauma, but with methods, they can ground themselves to reality and function fine. It also helps to write a lot of sticky notes, I've found.

"DID is very rare."

Surprisingly not really! DID exists in between 1-2% of the global population. Some estimates are even higher. That means in a group of 100 people, 1-2 of those people may have DID. Compare that with the 8 billion people that exist on Earth and you have a lot of DID. At least 80 million people, roughly.

If there's other myths you're confused on, there's many resources out there to learn. If you're a psychology fan, you'll be able to sink your teeth in this for hours; speaking from personal experience. Learn things! Ignorance is a monster! 

Until next.