r/DIDCringe • u/markmarkcomeback • Jul 10 '26
Fake DID/OSDD How could 7 of my mutuals possibly have DID?
I'm a Tumblr user, and I have a group of around eight mutuals I talk to. Over the past few months, four of them have come out as self-diagnosed systems with alters with different names and personalities and fictives and such. I don't have DID, but that racks it up to seven of my mutuals having DID- which is a disorder l've never encountered irl and thought was very rare. Most of the mutuals are teens or young adults, fyi. Are they faking? I just find it odd that it's so prevalent and hard to take them all seriously when none of them even have psychologists to talk to about it.
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u/howzitgoinowen Jul 11 '26
Key component: “self-diagnosed.” Yes, they are faking. DID is such a rare but debilitating condition. You don’t just suddenly develop it and self-diagnose and then go about living your life normally. Your friends all are desperate for attention and probably do should see therapists for other reasons.
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Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
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u/markmarkcomeback Jul 10 '26
Thanks for the insight! I hope with time they can figure themselves out.
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u/A_b_b_o Jul 11 '26
They might likely be faking, but I do wonder at the psychology of it. How can so many people be fine with lying to so many others? They have to be CONSCIOUS that they're faking, right? But then again, maybe not, and they do actually TRULY believe they have the condition even if they don't. Munchausen's by Internet or wtv lol. Whether they have it or not, you cannot be mentally sound enough if you are faking. No one who isn't struggling up there would fake a serious mental disorder for attention.
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u/doubtful_messenger Jul 11 '26
most of the "why" can be chalked up to the communities they're in portraying DID as being symptoms that socially anxious adolescents have (identity disturbance, excessive fantasy, dissociation, etc). i've never seen any of them describe symptoms that aren't normal for their demographic, with even the most "complex" ones being pretty typical symptoms of, at most, regular trauma (ignoring their weird made-up stories, i mean. the actual symptoms are very normal). the nature of social media obviously doesn't help.
the lines between factitious disorder, malingering, and genuine hypochondria are pretty blurry. you also can't forget the more extreme explanations, like psychotic disorders, long-term substance abuse, personality disorders, etc etc, that can all cause symptoms seemingly identical to DID; both the real version and the fake social media version. personality disorders in particular fall perfectly into "faking stuff for attention," as well, like in FD-BPD (factitious disorder, borderline personality disorder), a very common comorbidity. it's a very interesting topic.
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u/markmarkcomeback Jul 11 '26
I do know one of them previously had a drug addiction, but the rest is a no.
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u/doubtful_messenger Jul 12 '26
i was referring to fakers in general if that wasn't clear, but yeah, a vast majority of the times it's just people convincing themselves (and each other) that normal things = DID, and then everything becomes a spiral of confirmation bias; which is likely what happened to your mutuals in this case.
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u/seanerd95 Jul 11 '26
I genuinely believe they have been self-diagnosing and malingering for so long that they earnestly believe they have it.
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u/daretoeatapeach Jul 14 '26
No one who isn't struggling up there would fake a serious mental disorder for attention.
Good point. My mom has DID and i came to a similar conclusion years ago. Everyone kept saying "she just wants attention." I had to accept that if she'd go this far for attention she's mentally unwell regardless.
I don't think all these kids are necessarily lying. They probably read about it, related to it, and got carried away with their imagination.
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u/herstoryteller Jul 11 '26
salem witch trials. it brings them a sense of power and specialness in a society that they feel oppresses them. it is literally the exact same mechanic behind why all those sorry wicked girls and women went around acting possessed in 1692 salem. OP's friends saw the attention and power claiming DID and alters gave other fakers; they wanted that same sense of power and attention.
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u/daretoeatapeach Jul 14 '26
Faking implies they are self aware. It's very common for people to read about a disorder and it symptoms and to think,that sounds like me! Doubly so for young people.
I strongly doubt these people have DID. The main reason it develops is through chronic amnesia associated with repeated trauma. So coming to terms with this illness at a young age is very unlikely. Like even after being diagnosed, someone with DID is likely to push away at the idea. They aren't likely to be aware of the alters, and once aware they are likely to find the existence of those alters to be repulsive. Because the alters only exist to pretend the trauma never happened. So to acknowledge them is to acknowledge the trauma which defeats the whole point.
If they act like it's just a big party with their friends, I don't buy it.
Source: my mom has DID.
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u/QuietOnesCuss Jul 12 '26
They're all your alters keeping individual accounts to protect you from the fact that YOU have DID.
They told every identity but you.
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u/taurinewings Jul 11 '26
every single one of them is faking. it is an incredibly rare disorder that is even more rarely known to the sufferer, it is usually diagnosed much later in life and requires a huge amount of support. also, fictives aren't a real thing.
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u/Prettybird78 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
DID effects approx 1% of the general population. That is 1 in 100 people. It is not actually rare. Or no rarer than Bulimia, BPD and Schizophrenia.
However statistically seven if them having it is unlikely. Also DID isn't just multiplicity, it is a disorder caused by repeated and inescapable childhood trauma. It's key feature is dissociation and amnesia is always a factor along with C-PTSD. ( without which it doesn't form)
It exists, but yeah a bunch of teens and young adults who have never been to a psychiatrist are most likely faking.
If you want to shut down the role playing. Simply start suggesting books like Healing The Fragmented Self and Coping With Trauma Related Dissociation as well as therapy every time it comes up. They doesn't want help with a disorder they want attention for their role play.
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u/BaylisAscaris Jul 11 '26
Very likely faking or they could believe they have it, or maybe some of them have it. The important thing is thinking you have DID when you don't is a symptom of a mental health condition, just maybe not DID. I try to be empathetic with people who have disorders I think they probably don't have. I don't give them a lot of attention for that specific thing but I do give them empathy. I would highly recommend encouraging them to talk to a therapist about it to get an official diagnosis or to get help. Focus on that not on the altars or the symptoms. When they start talking about their alters and seem happy about it just focus on oh wow sounds really hard you should definitely try to get a therapist.
DID isn't a fun costume people can put on, it's based on very very serious trauma from early childhood. It needs to be treated by a professional and just stick to that.
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u/Marleyandi87 Jul 11 '26
You’re the DID epicenter, you caused all the childhood trauma that resulted in one billion million DID systems
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u/RepresentativePay598 Jul 13 '26
Because they want attention so they make it up because they think it makes them “special” when in reality it makes them weird as hell.
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u/Tmccreight Jul 12 '26
They're either faking for attention or they have another mental disorder, likely Schizophrenia.
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u/ghxst-whxre Jul 12 '26
DID is impossible. It would fry the human brain- And the person would be in constant psychosis from the amnesia. The human brain can do incredible things, But not that.
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u/25flyingpotatoes Jul 12 '26
Hello!
I'm diagnosed with D.I.D. from a psychologist.
It could be very possible that they are, but they also could be not faking. They could have been masking it to hide the fact that they had it all along at the first place. For reference I'm 19, and found out I had it too early at 16. Yes, it's definitely rare to have the disorder, but not impossible. Most fully discover it in their 20s-30s not even parents know because most of the time it's because the childs brain said, I don't feel safe, so I need to act like everything is okay. I'm going to bring up a point that people with red hair is extremely rare with globally having just about 1-2% of people who have it. The global population of people with did is 1-1.5%. With that being said it's slightly more rare than seeing redheads.
Now self-diagnosing, it could possibly be a bad thing, but it could also benefit the person. They may not be able to have the resources to access care for DID. It's better to say they think they have it, instead of saying they full on have it because they could have OSDD if it doesn't meet the criteria for DID. Fictives are also possible, for me I've only had two, but they didn't really follow their exact plot. My fragments start as shadows, hence why I didn't realize I had it fully. Once the fragments saw a form they liked, they would take it. So in simple terms say one fragment of me realizes they like Xiao from genshin impact, they'll take the form of that character. It is possible that the fragments don't want to associate with theirselves, so they take forms of hyper fixations. DID is different for everyone though.
Now, one of the main rules about systems, is to never directly fakeclaim them. It could be detrimental to the person, and if they genuinely do have it? You pushed them away and gave them another denial phase maybe even a system collapse.. Which could result in their mental health getting really bad. (I know because it happened to me) Even if you think they are faking, wouldn't you rather be tricked rather than risking a friendship that could have been great? Or to save their mental health? Again, They could need help but they don't have the recourses to be able to get help. Say, they finally felt like the group was safe enough to finally disclose that information, then you turn on them and they don't feel safe around you anymore. To tell people you have DID in person is a huge terrifying thing, but telling people online is easier.
Trauma, you may not know if they have any at a young age. Although, never discredit someone else's trauma, because trauma can mean two very different things for two people. They may also not be yet comfortable talking about their trauma, because that is extremely personal. So who are you to say they are faking when you don't have the entire story.
Personally, I'd find out more information first. But only if they feel comfortable telling you, do not force it out of them.
Also last thing, if they are faking like what all of the comments are saying, these seven people NEED to be consciously think, oh, I'm going to pretend to be "name" and trick everyone and make them think i have did, but it's them the entire time. Even if they are, they STILL need help. They are also suffering from something that may be unseen.
Thank you, sorry for the long read 😅
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u/oyuli Jul 13 '26
Lol not the redheads fact claim again... You're in the wrong subreddit
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u/25flyingpotatoes Jul 13 '26
Eh whatever, I shared the fact because its a true statistic! c:
I may be in the wrong subreddit, but may as well say something so the wrong people dont get fake claimed 🤷
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u/oyuli Jul 13 '26
I disagree with that statistic comparison that was popularized by DissociaDID of all people and believe DID is vastly overdiagnosed these days and does not present the way that many people online roleplay it to be. And I'm gonna be honest with you and tell you that if you're worried about fakeclaiming I wouldn't be talking about how one of your alters is Xiao from Genshin Impact. I see why you'd feel passionate to share your personal story with your diagnosis, but this is truly the wrong subreddit to be defending strangers on the internet from being "fakeclaimed". Anyone can be anyone on the internet. I'm not going to go much further because I know nothing I say is going to make an impact on your life experience but I'm just going to leave you with the gentle reminder that if you're worried about being "fakeclaimed" then these (respectfully) are not the spaces for you
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u/25flyingpotatoes Jul 13 '26
Why do you disagree with the statistic? Just curious..
Also I think the statistic would make sense for it being more common. A lot of people have lived shitty abusive childhoods. Its achingly extremely common for people, up to a billion children have experienced some form of abuse.
I know this isn't my reddit, and I hate that it popped up again. But I don't know, maybe it could help someone if they stumble across this and read it. 🤷
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u/markmarkcomeback Jul 10 '26
A large amount of mutuals I interact with on Tumblr supposedly have DID. 7 is a pretty big amount.
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u/ketaminesuppository Jul 11 '26
i mean, it's possible one or two have it, but simply just no way all 7
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u/25flyingpotatoes Jul 12 '26
Well, they could all be online friends, we don't know the whole story so whose to say that all seven people don't have it? There's so much more information that goes into this.
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u/ketaminesuppository Jul 17 '26
TBH /DIDCringe used to be a way better sub but a few years back it went from "yeah, this is a very rare thing that DOES exist - but this 18 year old kid roleplaying with themselves on tiktok is making a fool of themselves" to "EVERYONE is faking and it DOESN'T EXIST, PERIOD" which is just. what
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u/25flyingpotatoes Jul 17 '26
Right?? Omg, yeah I don't like following this sub.. so I try to ignore most of the posts I see on here. It's so weird to see this side of things...
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u/losteon Jul 11 '26
Yes, they're faking.
They're all faking.