I keep picking movies/shows that end up being DID-related...

When I say end up, I mean, there is no indication in the title or description that would lead me to believe it had any such content. Almost any time I pick a movie to watch with H, it seems to have an aspect of either dissociative amnesia (repressed memories) or sometimes straight out alters. A lot of these are scary movies, but one was a random anime I can't remember anymore. Some of them end up having really triggering abuse related content even though there is nothing in the description about it...that's always the twist in the plot.

Does this happen to anyone else? Even my H has noticed and commented on it. For the most part, I am not too triggered if the content isn't similar to my own experiences. But it's really starting to creep me out that I have this sort of mystical DID radar. Out of dozens of movies to choose from, it's really odd that I'd keep ending up picking one's that overlap with my own pathology so often when I'm just trying to watch a spooky or supernatural themed show...

I would think that sort of content is just more common now, but when my H chooses the movies we watch (which he does not than half the time), it never ends up having any dissociation content at all...

What the heck?!

Hah. I know what you mean. I actually get really irritated because the endings are always so predictable to me now I am looking for clues of DID throughout the whole film! I don't watch many scary films now since moving in with someone else but there was a phase where every film I chose had that sort of theme threaded through it.

-B

I think there are two things causing this (mainly with the movies, anime is another story). Firstly, you start looking for it. You notice more DID symptomes, even if they are not DID related. Second, you remember it more. My clock has been on 9:11 a million times, but is has been on 13:42 a million times too. Why do I remember 9:11 better? Because of the significance of 9/11. And because I remember it way more, I think I have seen it way more. Same happens to the movies, you wouldn't be able to tell half of all the movies you have seem, but nearly all of the movies you have seen that contain 'DID symptomes'.

Also, DID characteristics can easily shaped a bit differently to fit hollywood. Lets take The Mask, a man puts on a mask and his behaviour changes, the masks takes over his body. DID related? On a hollywood way, yes. On a psychological way, not even close. Or The Bourne Trilogy, man doesn't remember who he is and tries to find his identity, contains one symptom of DID with causes that are nothing like DID...


With anime, DID is just loved. Naruto, Bleach, Elfenlied, One Piece, all of them contain something similar or close to DID.

Bourbon - Haha, I hope that it goes away. I predict enough plot twists as it is.

Grrr, I lost a long post here due to logging out on my tablet.

ManyHearts - Interesting theories, but not applicable in this case. I'm not saying half of every movie I've watched relates to DID, nor am I including things like The Mask and Bleach, which you could choose to see through the lens of DID or not. I mean all of these movies (and there's not a ton, because as parents, it's not like w get to watch non-kid movies all the time) that I'm choosing, a startling number have a character (usually the main one) who has experienced a trauma and either repressed memories (dissociative amnesia) or created alters, who end up being the plot twist. Certainly, I notice more since diagnosis (two years ago) than I would have when I saw a movie like Identity (is that the name of the John John Cusack film?). However, both my H and I have noticed that for about a year, most of the movie I pick have this content while his choices do not. It may just be that psychology is a growing part of the supernatural/suspense/thriller genres that I often pick from, since it's an area where H's and my interests overlap. If I were watching by myself, I probably wouldn't see as much of it, although even House had a DID episode, so who knows? Anyway, it doesn't seem to matter if the film is foreign, anime, or Hollywood. If it's available or redbox or Netflix and has surprise traumatic/repressed memories or DID in it, I seem to choose it, lol.

Jack: Your noticing DID everywhere is the same thing as Liam noticing my name everywhere. A ton of things that he watches or reads has a character named Jack in it or we hear the name Jack mentioned when we go out. I find it hilarious because it is the same thing for me except I hear the name Liam everywhere. So I think this means Liam and I are perfect for eachother. Our girlfriend London, Liam and I are polyamorous which means we like to have multiple relationships, usually sees a robin everytime we go outside or that word is mentioned. Alice has something like that when every time she looks at a clock it is usually the same digits all across like 10:10 or 4:44. It happens a lot to the alters in our system so it isn't completely rare.

Once you get diagnosed or learn about mental disorders I will admit that one is aware way more of them in movies/shows/stories way more than before. Interestingly certain behaviors where other say are not real or don't make sense make you laugh because you understand them and/or get them.


I can see people with DID naturally picking up such movies without knowing because the content in it is familiar which seems more comforting at time of selection. Its better than something totally unknown I guess. I don't like watching things that are totally unknown to me.


Hope I said it well.

curious... movies that depict D.I.D. in an accurate way as opposed to the often inaccurate Hollywood style.... I have not seen many movies or shows with the theme of D.I.D. in the plot so i'm curious about any of them, but the more accurate ones I am particularly interested in...

off the top of my head some places (movies/shows) that I've seen D.I.D. (or something similar) being portrayed would be

Law & order
Hide and seek
Fight club
Sybill


I've got opinions in terms of what seems realistic and what doesn't in the shows and movies but I won't go into all that detail about it.... I'm just curious of what else is out there..... a lot of people I know still have no idea i have D.I.D. so I'm actually wondering if maybe watching a movie with an accurate view into it with someone might be a good way to lead into talking to them/telling them about my own D.I.D. ???

There is an episode of Lie To Me that is quite acurate. The 2008 version of jekyll and hyde is also more acurate than most movies (I love that movie, you have to watch it!)

The most accurate portrayal of DID on TV (minus the dramatization of the personalities, but in theory its entirely plausible) was the United States of Tara.


Discovered it by accident, I didn't realize what it was about until the character Tara switched. I then looked at the show's description and it came right to me

I've actually looked it up after reading this thread, and found this on wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_identity_disorder_in_popular_culture

~ Kim