Public Perception

I've been wondering a lot lately about how the public views DID. And the more I thought about it, the more I got worried. Do people actually think were just a burden, some attention seeking jerkoffs?

I don't really know about the other counties situation. However, Hong Kong people afraid of DID very much. Some of them believes that DID must be anti-social, many of them are curious but not friendly to us.

I used to tell Kwan's friend that I am not her, however, her friend simply think that I am faking. "Teacher " try to explained our situation too, but she just don't want to listen. Some of Kwan's friend asked me to go away and leave Kwan alone.

I hate Hollywood's film, they cause too much misunderstanding.

It seems to vary, but public perception seems dependent upon what it is fed by the media. A lot of DID characters aren't portrayed in a positive light, or are portrayed as suffering from something extremely similar to schizophrenia. The alters are played as being drastically different from the host in almost all cases and it doesn't seem like producers consider that it's likely a result of almost unendurable abuse, natural disaster or some other negative experience. While yes, some alters are drastically different from theirs hosts, DID is a survival mechanism so it does not seem logical that everyone would be 100% different. As for being attention-seekers, I do not know if that's the general view, however, dangerous seems a more common view. There is always the idea of the "murderer" and the "innocent," the Jekyll and Hyde sort of complex.
S3 & Owly

Thanks for correcting my spelling, S3.

I went to a psychologist that was a disbelieve in d.I.d. and he believed my switching was due to seizures and as a result could only recommend medication for that. I discontinued seeing him. My brother doesn't believe me, he thinks I'm trying to get attention. And doesn't understand the concept of alters being separate then me. Me just believes I am acting like a different person.

Most people that know about me react one of two ways.
Either A, they are interested in how it all "works" and they will ask question and are generally curious and supportive. Some even want to meet an alter just too see for them selves.
Or B, cannot comprehend the dynamics or fail to understand how separate me and each alter are. Would rather not hear about it. They usually assume its not polite to ask questions."its you business not mine" type of deal. They use my name even when introduced to and alter even tho they were told a different name. They also sometimes come off as offensive, yet not intentionally.

I do agree many Hollywood portrayals of multiples involve alters being imaginary people who are very unstable and dangerous. But there are a few I've watch that are more realistic. My favorite show is united states of Tara. I am happy that showtime would air a show shedding light on d.I.d. to people would would otherwise believe us to be dangerous and unable to function in society.

I'm a non and I don't know anyone personally with DID - I hope me interjecting is all right.

I just wanted to say that, despite having no personal experience with DID, I have no negative impression whatsoever.
I hope I don't sound insensitive, to me it seems like an incredible example of how brilliant a mind can be, going to such extraordinary and creative lengths to protect someone from an absolutely horrific experience. As a non-DID sufferer of child abuse, although I did not dissociate I find it quite encouraging to know that it is a possibility for some people, when faced with that.

I'm trying very hard not to sound like I'm envious or make anyone feel like they're a science project - that's definitely not my intention!

From what I've read, it seems like living with DID is an incredibly complicated, and often surreal, life, but that when all the alters can co-operate, it can also be a rewarding experience unlike any other.

I think it's amazing what your minds can do, and what you and all your alters have done to go so far in spite of so much. I hope that public perception is on your side. I know that I am.

I also do not have DID but sometimes read in this part and wanted to make a response.

My family and I went through a natural disaster about ten years ago and we lost a parent and ended up in therapy. We had different therapists some of us. My sister saw a therapist who thought she had DID. Our childhood was not perfect but it was okay and I am 99.99% sure that I do not have repressed memories. The therapist told my sister because the way she was acting she may have DID and she was okay with this, it helped her to indulge parts of herself she would not normally, like someitmes she would yell and scream. I went to some of her therapy sessions with her because there was an alter that wanted me there.

This alter accused me of satan abuse, that I did horrible things to her and that my parents did things. The therapist would ask her leading questions and I would try to argue and he would say he was in control and that I should go to jail for what I did to my sister. I've never done anything to my sister and me and my other siblings did not feel the same way or remember anything about a cult. Eventually my sister broke down and said that her therapist had talked her in to DID by saying he was sure and she had symptoms and she wanted him to like her. The therapist ended up in trouble and my family took him to the ethics board after we had been ripped apart and he almost convinced my sister to sue my Mother and me and my brothers. He ended up trying to have a romance with her and that made my sister scared and she told me that she didn't know for sure or think that the things she said were true but that because her therapist did she did too. I think if you want to feel like separate people you can, and it is easier if you have a support system to do that. I think some people can easily be mislead or form worse symptoms of DID if they want and are encouraged. I also think that people suffer from this too that it comes up with out coaching. For my sister the therapist told her that she should have cult memories, that she should have a lot of memories and she would just start talking. I do not believe these things are true. She said we had a dungeon in one of our houses and we only lived in two before the disaster and we went back to the one she thought it was and asked to go in (not my sister but my older brother and me when we were scared of going to court and there wasn't a dungeon we could find). My sister says she does not have DID but was scared and that she knows I did not hurt her and my family did not have a cult. It is confusing and I love my sister but am mad for the things she said that I did but didn't.

Sorry this story is long but I think public perception changes it depends on the experience. I had something called post-traumatic stress disorder from seeing my Dad die but it is better now and my sister was the only out of everyone from my family with DID. She no longer has DID but is in therapy for other things right now. Not for schizophenia though she does not have that. She has Bi-Polar disorder. I am very sorry for anyone who has DID and hope they do have a therapist who will not cause a problem. My perception is they are usually people with a lot of pain but I don't know if you have to have abuse to be DID. What we went thru with my sister five years ago was so painful and it was hard to be okay with her for a long time after she admitted she was wrong. It is hard to say she was lying but the therapist kept telling her she will have memories.

I wish you all very much healing and happiness and do not think any of you are attention seeking. My sister was not looking for attention but did not want to get in trouble with her therapist and did like that she felt special and then he hurt her and you may believe she has DID but she does not anymore she says.

I think they think we are like what is portrayed on movies or TV.

What is your perception of Schizophrenia? Mine is from the movie Brilliant Mind.

The uninformed latch on to what they do know.

veda wrote:She no longer has DID but is in therapy for other things right now.... you may believe she has DID but she does not anymore she says.

I've been diagnosed with DID and several other things for a very long time now. I have very vivid memories of the traumas that caused my DID that could not be imagined. Only very recently am I discovering exactly what DID is and how to begin to cope with it. I'm very sorry about what happened with your sister, that therapist and your family, but (please someone correct me if I'm wrong) I truly don't believe that anyone could ever be "cured" of DID and "not have it anymore". To me, once your mind shatters and compartmentalizes like that, you might be able to get the alters to cooperate and work together so you can live a somewhat "normal" life, but you will never put the pieces back together for the rest of your life. That being said, I don't believe that your sister ever had DID to begin with.

To redhawk: She does not believe she had it to begin with also. I do not know if it is possible to be cured or not maybe i used the wrong English to say that I mean she was diagnosed and is not any longer but it is because she did not have DID in the start. I cannot imagine how complex it is to have others inside.

From what I've experienced, there are four camps. The "doesn't believe it exists" camp, the "has heard of it but assumes anyone claiming to have issues is an attention-hungry manipulative ~Insert foul word here~" camp, the "wants to know/is curious and accepting to a certain degree but is afraid of it" camp, and the "actually willing to listen and learn about it/wants to try to understand it" camp.

Most people are in camps 2 & 3. Most people in camp four seem to be people who dissociate to some degree themselves, so they are able to have something more of an understanding, even if they never split.

Camp 1 seems reserved for certain upstart-psychology majors who lack experience and haven't even finished their degrees yet, or people who read the top google links on the matter that tend to make it sound like an imaginary ailment.

If I tell someone, I let them react to it, and then share or hide accordingly. Unfortunately, people in general are not responsible for knowing about this disorder. It's just like most obscure things; the professionals really should know what's up with things, but the general public is pretty much doomed to be misinformed.