“DID is not super common by any means, but it’s a lot less rare then people portray it as.”
With DID, our usual symptoms are disassociation, headaches, intense anxiety/paranoia, trauma flashbacks, and extreme confusion depending on the headmate. Some of these are common symptoms, but it honestly depends on the system. As for which are more intense than the others? I would say the most common for us is dissociation and intense paranoia.
Honestly, It makes relationships a pain in the ass. There’s a lot of stigma around DID/OSDD, not to mention people just outright believing it doesn’t exist. It doesn’t matter whether you’re diagnosed or not, someone out there is going to think you’re faking it.
A lot of the times we mask as our ‘singletsona’, which for us looks like pretending to be the old host, as that’s who people are familiar with. We’re more open with being a system in online spaces, as if there’s an issue with someone, we can just hit the block button and move on.
Thankfully we do have other systems we know in IRL spaces that are safe to be around, and we’re extremely grateful to have them in our lives. If we didn’t entirely trust someone, we didn’t tell them shit about our diagnosis. At least for IRL spaces, since it’s just genuinely not safe. Online, if you ask us a question, we’re generally willing to answer assuming it’s not invasive and you’re polite about it. We don’t really see a reason to pick a fight or try to defend ourselves from some random stranger on the internet, we have better things to do with our lives.
As for how common it is? DID is not super common by any means, but it’s a lot less rare then people portray it as. I’ve seen people throw fits that there’s large Discord servers filled with only systems, but when it comes to online spaces, you’re more likely to find those spaces and help build a community. Same goes for ‘suddenly’ seeing a bunch of systems online. You’re liking a lot of posts related to DID/OSDD? Guess what, mate- the algorithm is going to make it so those posts are popping up on your page more. It’s just how most social media platforms function.
We got our diagnosis through our current therapist. We already knew we had DID/OSDD at the time of meeting her, but we had yet to get anything official. We just knew we were dealing with one of those and were doing our best to manage with it. After working with her for several months, she ended up giving us a diagnosis for DID. We do occasionally ask her for help with system-related things, but we’re usually self-reliant for that. Most of our work with her is learning to deal with the trauma that causes alters to have meltdowns or intense spirals.
We’re on medication. We have anti-depressants, ADHD medication, and sleeping medication. Those are useful for day to day shit, but our therapist is someone we need for bigger issues or learning how to address trauma. We also use apps to track how long we’ve been clean from self harm, apps for daily affirmations, and a selfcare app called ‘Finch’ since it allows us to set goals of things we need to get done for the day.
Every. System. Is. Different. There is no “golden standard” for what systems should look like, the environment they’re in will change how they function. You’re a system with a shit ton of trauma? You’re probably more likely to split off new headmates or have more intense disassociate barriers to help. You’re a system where the body has ADHD or autism? You’re more likely to get introjects from your current hyperfixation/special interest. There’s more examples then that, but it gives the basic idea.
To end this on a lighter note, I would say randomly hearing people saying something while you’re trying to front is one of the strangest things we experience. You won’t even realize they’re in front with you, but next thing you know, they’re insisting you get strawberry milk because it’s their favorite drink. It’s also amusing when you’re arguing with your headmates about what music playlist to listen to because everyone’s music tastes are usually vastly different.
