(My spelling is not the best, forgive me.
'DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), previously known as MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) is a mental disorder characterized by the maintenance of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The disorder is accompanied by memory gaps beyond what would be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.'
-Wikipedia
(OSDD stands for Other Specified Disassoctive Disorder)
It's caused by intense, repeated trauma during a person's childhood. Typically, it starts developing between ages 4-9, before their brain can develop a sense of identity. The child disassociates to try and block out whatever trauma is occuring, and as a result, creates people- also known as alters- to help them. In about 90% of DID cases, some form of abuse is present. It gets diagnosed in biological females about 6x more the biological males.
Disassociating constantly can cause blackouts, resulting in memory loss. However, being forgetful and having DID/OSDD are two different stories. With this disorder, you can miss out on days, weeks, months, years, decades of your life.
Alters can identify as different genders, sexes and sexualities, have a different appearance, have a different name, be a different age, have different memories, have a different nationally, act differently, etc. An example of this: if the body is Australian, and an alter forms that is British, whenever the alter fronts, they'd speak with a British accent. This does not always happen, however in most cases it does.
DID/OSDD is considered rare, about 2% of the population has been diagnosed (156 million people.) However, this does not mean every system is faking as being a ginger is even less likely. It can also be difficult to acquire a diagnosis as it costs lots of money for some, and typically gets misdiagnosed as another mental health condition.
An Endo system, also known as Endogenic system, is a system that believes it has formed without trauma. This, is scientifically impossible, as the entire disorder relies on trauma. Some endo systems have forgotten about their trauma, and as such say they have none. Endo systems are a delicate subject amongst systems, and may be a sour point for many.
A poly-frag, or poly fragemented system is a system with over 100 alters. Remember, no matter how many alters there are, they're all valid.
FAQ:
Are alters the same as imaginary friends? No, they are not. Alters control the body and help with day to day life. Imaginary friends are a completely different thing.
That sounds so cool! It must be fun to have all those friends, right? Having DID means you'll never be alone. Some alters do not see the body as their own, and feel embarrassed and upset that they have to share one. Never ask to be a system, as it's not fun being in one.
Can alters have their own mental illnesses? No. If the body has a mental illness or disorder, some alters may be effected by it, but alters can't have their own illnesses. Example: an alter can't have tourette's if the body doesn't have it.
Do alters change appearance when they front? Nope! The body stays the same, just whoever you're talking to is different.
Do alters have different interests? Yep! They're completely separate people. We all see the world differently, and all have different interests and hobbies and skills. Some may like certain foods, some may not.
What can alters do differently from other alters? Some may have different skillsets, some may have a different dominant hand, some may excel/fail in a different subject/sport, etc.
What are some signs I'm switching? Feeling like you're outside of your body, feeling like you're underwater, feeling like you're glitching, having trouble understanding words/speaking, feeling very foggy, overall disconnected from reality/your body, mood swings, forgetting things you previously knew, headaches, fatigue, hearing voices, everything being distant and far away, etc.
It's different for each person.
How can I tell if someone is switching? They may appear to be zoning out, have a blank expression, not move or talk, they may fall over if not supported by a stable surface, appear somewhat dead, not respond to any form of communication. Switches can take anywhere from 30 seconds to an hour, and aren't always the same.
That's all for this chapter. See you next time!
-Ryan
(He/They/Xe/It)
YOU ARE READING
DID/OSDD Systems
Non-FictionWritten by a system, for systems and singlets. This book is just going to be explaining things about systems and will discuss things such as roles, what to and what to not say to a system, etc. Started by Ryan! Hi!
