FUCK ME MAN

the humble parentheses:

no, i do not have did/osdd. no, i am not pretending to have did/osdd. no, i do not want did/osdd. but i am still plural. i've been plural for years, mayhaps my whole life (up until i can remember anyway). so what am i?

even then that is quite loose because there are diagnosed/medically recognized endos, traumaendos, and mixed origin systems. and you cant call that therapist faulty because DID is such an under researched disorder that there are VERY few therapists/doctors that can/want to diagnose it. so the same therapist that diagnosed YOU with DID, also has a high chance of recognising an endo, maybe even diagnosing them. and if they aren't reliable, what does that say about your diagnosis?

and don't even get me started on how broken the physiciatric sytem is. just like the justice system, the physiciatric system harms more people than it helps. It needs reformed. All cops are bastards. Some may be good, but they are still contributing to the system in some way. same with doctors. some may be good, but they still contribute to the system in some way.

i mean, think about it, they almost passed a law where people with DID couldn't get a drivers license, backed up by actual doctors in the field. And I'm pretty sure it is illegal in some places too. The same people don't want people with DID to get jobs or gender affirming care. And again, I do think that is illegal in some places as well.

It's a lie. A myth. It's fear mongering and harmful.

Instead of spreading fear around diagnosis, spread the truth about rights for patients and share with people how to exercise their rights when they feel someone is encroaching on them.

You should feel bad. This isn't how you fight for plural acceptance.

This isn't how you help people with CDDs.

This isn't how you create change within the system.

You're ignoring the real, valid reasons why someone maybe shouldn't be driving or something similar. There is a purpose to the testing of certain abilities due to SYMPTOMS (not disorders themselves).

I lost my father in a car accident, and if I had found out that someone involved had been driving after specifically being told not to due to their symptoms, I would lose my fucking mind. This is like being angry because someone with dementia (the memory loss, loss of faculties, loss of motor control, sudden panic) was told they shouldn't drive.

No, this is just a normal thing that sometimes needs to happen.

I don't drive, specifically, because I'm a shit driver and my dissociation is too bad. I've been in several accidents. I CAN ADMIT I SHOULDN'T DRIVE AT THIS POINT. This can change, and I'm allowed to change and try again. It's my dissociation and concentration, not my OSDD diagnosis, even if the two are related.

In every single case, doctors should be assessing patients based on their unique symptoms, and there are appeal processes in place to get second opinions. Rights to drive can be reinstated just as easily once symptoms are under control. And it's the same thing for everything else you listed. I know SO MANY systems that are out, diagnosed, and actively transitioning.

Stop scaring people.

Stop making people afraid of getting help and talking about their symptoms.

Normalize NOT lying to your doctors and be honest about where you are, what you're struggling with, and what work you need to do on yourself.

Systember is a lot like other drawing challenges, except instead of taking place in October like a lot of other ones, it takes place in September, and is focused on plurality and systems. (Why September? Purely because of the name. That's literally the only reason.)

If you decide to participate, please tag your works with "systember" so I can look at them all cause I'm a curious little goober :33 And please reblog this post to get the word out!

List and questions under the cut