your thoughts are like river water running over stones

"Very"

Mild: clearly, decidedly, distinctly, markedly, considerably, notably, largely, recognizably, especially, indubitably Moderate: especially, surprisingly, substantially, uncommonly, chiefly, incredibly, obviously, unmistakably, considerably, awfully, wonderfully, particularly Bold: profusely, unequivocally, strikingly, astonishingly, exceedingly, absolutely, exceptionally, extremely, unquestionably, vastly, incontestably

"A Lot" (time)

Mild: often, oftentimes, sometime Moderate: frequently, usually, various, generally Bold: regularly, recurrent, persistent

"A Lot" (size)

Mild: many, much, several Moderate: numerous, bountiful, considerable Bold: multitude, profuse, vast

"Big"

Mild: sizable, ample, large, considerable, great, above average, important Moderate: ponderous, significant, crucial, vast, copious, magnificent, substantial Bold: enormous, immense, colossal, extensive, endless, paramount, boundless, prodigious, imposing, gigantic, voluminous, limitless, essential

"Small"

Mild: slight, limited, trivial, minor, light, puny, superficial, undersized, dinky, negligible, faint Moderate: scant, petite, inconsiderable, microscopic, dwarf, unsubstantial, minimum, miniature, tiny Bold: insignificant, minute, meager, infinitesimal, ineffectual, undetectable, inconsequential

"Good"

Mild: acceptable, favorable, agreeable, pleasing, satisfactory, satisfying, super, able, relevant, accomplished, efficient, reliable, ample, useful, profitable, adequate, adept Moderate: great, honorable, admirable, commendable, sound, splendid, superb, valuable, wonderful, worthy, clever, proficient, qualified, apt, skillful, thorough, wholesome Bold: excellent, exceptional, gratifying, marvelous, reputable, stupendous, superior, exemplary, virtuous, expert, solid, advantageous, flawless, extensive, perfect

"Bad"

Mild: cheap, dissatisfactory, faculty, off, mean, wrong, unpleasant, unwell, low, grim, sour, regretful Moderate: careless, defective, inferior, imperfect, deficient, rough, ill-suited, inadequate, unsatisfactory, delinquent, sinful, unruly, wicked, rancid, grave, harsh, terrible, downcast Bold: awful, unacceptable, corrupt, dreadful, putrid, erroneous, detrimental, ruinous, vile, villainous, diseased, adverse, evil

more words to use instead other words to use instead even more words to use instead

short answer: you don't

long answer: preemptively I am big on community and am a big staunch defender of "communities aren't perfect but you don't abandon them you make them better". that said. you've p much hit the nail on the head w your assessment of "these spaces are full of teenagers and/or misinformation" although you've crucially missed "fully grown adults who are so unrecovered that they are actively detrimental to other peoples recovery and/or use their mental health as an excuse to be shitty to people" alongside a hefty dose of "bc the DID community insists on bein white-suburb-nice we still got straight up abusers who the community knew were abusive anywhere from 10 to damn near 20 yrs ago runnin around except now that there's new people there's a lotta folks that don't even know about it anymore"

part of this is due to DID now bein mainstream knowledge and there simply bein more people in the community. any time a community gets bigger even if you maintain the ratio of asshole per person there'll be a higher number of em. the other part is that as people recover, they don't feel the need to continue bein in support spaces. what you end up w is that people who have learned to navigate this have largely either Entirely left or they're still around but don't focus all that much on DID. which means the community is made up of a lot of freshly diagnosed/self diagnosed people, extremely unrecovered folks, and people who wanna take advantage of either group. there are no online DID spaces that don't have this issue

I do kinda feel bad for newer people bc *takes drag* back in my day the community was small enough that even if you hated somebody you knew what was goin on in their life. it was a lot easier to figure out who you wanted to be around. but honestly I actively tell people new to dx or who are lookin for people who understand not to join system discords or chats or groups bc I haven't met anybody who WASN'T in some way harmed by these spaces. I think a better option to not feel alone is group therapy for complex trauma referred by your therapist bc *at least* a therapist is there presumably guardin against issues like people gettin way too attached too quickly in ways that are unhealthy etc

Here's a handful of links to scientific articles about DID that outline some basic concepts of the disorder, for anyone looking for an intro to DID research:

Overall Reviews of DID

Dissociative identity disorder as interdisciplinary problem. Part I - psychiatric and psychological aspects 

Separating Fact from Fiction: An Empirical Examination of Six Myths About Dissociative Identity Disorder 

Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview 

Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Comprehensive Review of Etiology, Diagnosis, Neurobiology, and Treatment

Frequency of dissociative identity disorder in the general population in Turkey (not open access) 

From the neuropsychiatric to the analytic: three perspectives on dissociative identity disorder 

Analysis of demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with dissociative identity disorder 

Dissociative identity disorder: An Australian series 

Basic Concepts & Mechanisms of DID

Shame as Affect Regulation in Dissociative Identity Disorder (not open access) 

Familial and social support as protective factors against the development of dissociative identity disorder (not open access)

Symptom patterns in dissociative identity disorder patients and the general population (not open access)

Self or selves? Dissociative identity disorder and complexity of the self-system 

Total otherness in dissociative identity disorder 

Dissociative identity disorder as a wide range of defense mechanisms in children with a history of early childhood trauma

The sense of self over time: Assessing diachronicity in dissociative identity disorder, psychosis and healthy comparison groups 

Measuring fragmentation in dissociative identity disorder: the integration measure and relationship to switching and time in therapy 

First off, what is a longitudinal study? This is a type of academic experiment where researchers study the same group of volunteers over a long period of time, usually several years. It's very effective for seeing how the same things change over time, such as how people might develop dissociative disorders.

The longitudinal study I want to share is "Development and the fragmented self: longitudinal study of dissociative symptomatology in a nonclinical sample" by researchers Ogawa, Sroufe, Weinfield, Carlson, and Egeland. This was a longitudinal study over the span of 19 years, looking to investigate the emergence of pathological dissociation in a person.

Experiencing dissociation is normal to some extent! But pathological dissociation is described as severe & abnormal dissociation such as amnesia, identity confusion, identity fragmentation, and depersonalization & derealization.

Okay, now let's talk about the study. The study followed 168 children from birth to 19 years old. They were in "at-risk" families which experienced things like poverty or a teenage parent. Here's what the study discovered after 19 years:

Trauma is necessary but not sufficient for pathological dissociation. Not every child who experienced trauma ended up dissociative. Every child who did develop pathological dissociation, however, experienced trauma.

Pathological dissociation is predicted by trauma occurring at 0-24 months of age. The older the children got, the less likely pathological dissociation was to develop.

Pathological dissociation is also predicted by trauma that is severe and chronic.

Pathological dissociation is predicted by attachment style. Children with disorganized attachment to their mothers had the highest dissociation scores. Children who had anxious/avoidant attachment with their mothers had higher dissociation scores than children with secure or anxious/ambivalent attachment.

The more integrated a child's sense of self is, the less likely they will develop pathological dissociation.

The environments that produced the most severe trauma also produced the most chronic trauma, while environments that produced the least severe trauma also produced the least chronic trauma. Likewise, the children who experienced the most severe & chronic traumas also experienced them at the earliest ages. "If children are living in chaotic, traumatic environments when they are infants, then it is likely that they will continue to live in such environments as they grow older. All three of these aspects of trauma may be highly related in our society, and are probably not separable in either an analytic sense or a theoretical sense."