A Singlet’s Guide to DID/OSDD
This post is written from the perspective of an Singlet, and is made with the intention of sharing the dos-and-don’ts of interacting with systems.
A lot of people don’t know about DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), and can we really blame them? I mean, unless you study psychology or have a friend with DID/OSDD your most likely sources of information is going to be movies, shows, or an article for “Top 10 Strange Mental Illnesses That Actually Exist” that happened to show up on your news-feed.
Not only that, but when we do find a source that has some good information they don’t actually call it DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder); instead, they call it by it’s old-name like we still live in the 90s. Like come on at least address it properly, it’s been out as a dissociative disorder for 26 years!
Anyways, all jokes aside, here is a list of what singlets should know about DID/OSDD and interactive with those that have it:
It isn’t called MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder).
It isn’t called having a split personality either.
It isn’t a personality disorder at all and please, stop saying it is.
No, you don’t have “multiple personalities” just because you act different around different people. Also, your jokes aren’t funny.
No, you don’t have a “split personality” because you attacked your ‘friend’ once or blacked out from anger.
A collective of alters is called a system.
It isn’t like the movie split, stop asking.
Also, stop asking if someone’s alters are dangerous.
No, they’re not going to hurt you and are actually more likely to hurt themselves because of the nature (and cause) of the disorder.
Not all systems can decide when they switch with their alters, and even if they can, it isn’t for your entertainment.
That means, don’t ask if they can switch to ‘prove’ anything.
Also, don’t ask about a system’s trauma and abuse. It isn’t cool to ask a singlet that is an abuse survivor that, so don’t ask a system.
You don’t have a right to their personal information.
You aren’t entitled to this information just because an alter decided to share their memories with you. Also, not all alters will share.
Just, don’t assume an alter owes you anything. Period.
Just because one alter likes you, doesn’t mean they all do.
Don’t get angry if an alter you’re friend’s with can’t front at the moment. Your friend isn’t the only one that exists.
You should try to get to know all the alters, not just one.
There are different kinds of alters, including littles, fictional introjects (fictives), factional introjects (factives), and non-human alters.
Littles are child alters, and are actual children.
They are not adults pretending to be kids.
They are in no way associated with ddlg/clg/cgl-re.
If you wouldn’t do it to a kid, don’t do it to a child alter.
Fictives aren’t actually the character they’re based off of, and should be treated as real people, rather then part of their source.
They aren’t created just because someone really likes a character, and a lot of the times, isn’t even the host’s favorite.
If you start gushing over how they’re your favorite character, stop. I can tell you that you’re just going to make them uncomfortable.
A dissociative system cannot occur naturally.
It is not related to a spiritual experience and is trauma-based.
If you’ve spoken to an endogenic (natural/spiritual) system, don’t assume that a DID/OSDD system functions the same.
If you’ve spoken to another dissociative system before, don’t assume the next DID/OSDD system you talk to functions the same.
Just, don’t assume anything about someone’s system.
If you want to know more about DID/OSDD make sure you’re getting information from a credible source, please.
Listen to those with DID/OSDD about their systems.
