Science in Books CORRECTED

TRIGGER WARNING: MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES AND DID

Howya, I'm Kiptops, here to discuss characters with multiple personalities. Since this is a triggering subject not many people will get, I will try to comedify everything I possibly can.

How does that make the subject less triggering?

It doesn't, but it helps with understanding.

I tend to see this in a lot of... unrealistic situations. Not "I got chased by demons" unrealistic, I mean "I discovered my second half when I fell off the side of my bed" or "I was born with it" unrealistic.

I have also seen many murderous second personalities, although many people are not like that when they have DID. When a person somehow is diagnosed with DID, their alters are usually something they used to be, like the personality of a baby or an eight year old, although this can also be the case for ideals and things you didn't think you had. In certain cases, an alter can have a similar personality of their abuser or the host's friend.

Imagine John Mulaney the stand-up comedian turning into a murderous psychopath for a few hours.

Was he like that in the past?

I sure hope not.

Even worse, sometimes the splintered-off personality and the original can converse. This is possible in some cases, but not all of them.

Imagine you and your twin/ a doppelgänger were on opposite sides of the world. Now imagine you two had phones and the doppelgänger texts you, "K lol Imma just take control of ur body for 7 days. U cool with that? Lol idc" and then takes control of your body for eight days.

I also see that the second personality is able to take control whenever it likes and the original sees and hears everything it can.

It's like seeing someone saw a baby in half and you're just there watching its guts get turned to noodles with binoculars.

Scientifically speaking, both the original and the alter usually feel gaps in their memory, but, then again, sometimes they don't. Sometimes the second personality has their own set of memories and sometimes it doesn't. It's very hard to diagnose DID for many reasons. Most sufferers don't state some symptoms (such as gaps in their memory) and then get diagnosed with bipolar disorder because their second or third personality happens to be a happy party-loving seven-year-old.

Often times, personalities are splintered off in an attempt to cope with an extremely distressing situation and/or some sort of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. There are other triggers, such as trauma from war, but it is hard judging a singular source. [NAMI]

I see a lot of these personalities gain control of a person as simple as Brandon Rogers the YouTuber switching a wig. One minute he's Bryce Tankthrust the CEO and another he's Jürgen Klausvonschwitz the Fashion Designer. As far as WebMD and DID-research.org knows, it can be "slow, quick, or uncontrollably rapid." [DID-Research]
Also, "Switching can take seconds to minutes to days." [WebMD]

Both of these quotes suggest that switching between personalities does not take a split second or a jiffy.

Not all switches are complete switches either. They can be passive influences and, very possibly, just another voice in their head until switching is triggered, consensual, or forced.
"Instead of an alter switching to front, they can exert passive influence on the alter currently at front. Passive influence can be described as intrusions from alters that are not currently prominent in the mind or using the body." [DID-research]

Read more about it in the sources below.

How do you fix something like this in a narrative?

Honestly and truthfully, it is much easier to cut out the extra identities. However, if you don't really want to or a second identity is needed for the plot, at least make a first alternate identity be a child at heart or a "guardian" from abuse, then add in a second meaner one after the guardian breaks or the child failed as a method of dealing with that situation for that frame of time.

Author's note: I know I made a joke out of the situation earlier, but DID is a real thing that people struggle with. If anyone you know has alters, help them accept those other personalities, even if they (the alters) maybe hard to deal with or be with.

Have a nice day and please, inform me if ANY of these facts are in fact false or if you would like to suggest something you dislike- such as those who... SECOND TRIGGER WARNING...
write about self-harm as if the only method is (insert the most seen method written within self-harm)

Don't get any ideas.

SOURCES:

http://did-research.org/did/identity_alteration/switching.html

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Dissociative-Disorders