Denial is a common experience in DID. It's a sign of stress, of digging too deeply too quickly, or of needing to disown certain parts.

Simply, it's a defense mechanism to stop you from doing something stressful. It's a type of emotional reaction to protect you.

The message is: "If you don't have DID, you don't have trauma. If you don't have DID, you don't have alters that are doing things you don't agree with. If you don't have DID, you're normal, you're healthy, you're fine, you're functioning."

In our experience and from what we've +

Observed in others, it's almost always ANPs that get feelings of denial. Hosts, work parts, etc. They deny their DID because they're avoidant of everything that might make them feel out of control, "dysfunctional," or otherwise not, well, Apparently Normal.

So when it comes to "fakeclaiming," and how ... Sensitive some people are, I have a few Thoughts.

Generalized statements of "some people fake DID" may trigger feelings of denial temporarily. The initial jolt of "oh shit, am *I* faking?"

However, the feeling should be +

Able to be easily assuaged with some minor introspection, or confirmation from external sources (a dx, a therapist, a friend who knows of your DID, etc.)

If they *can't* be easily assuaged, then why is that? Why does a general statement trigger such an emotional reaction?

There are a few options I can think of.

1. They're faking and they know it, but they want to believe in their own lie. It's standard cognitive dissonance.

2. It's a trauma response, likely from a childhood of being gaslit & abused for asserting their own internal narrative.

3. They're so new to being aware of their DID, a strong breeze is enough to make them fall back into denial. The "fakeclaiming" isn't really the issue, so much as the fact that their brain is still trying to hide & suppress awareness of the disorder.

I won't bother with No. 1.

No. 2 - doing work to accept your own internal narrative, and trusting your own perceptions will help. Working on identifying your triggers and self-soothing when they are activated will be extremely beneficial.

For No. 3 - removing yourself from actively engaging in DID spaces - ESPECIALLY syscourse - might help quite a bit. Your DID is likely such a stressful topic, anyone bringing it into question will trigger your brain to activate its denial response to protect you from it.

When something is that deeply upsetting and so easily activated, it's in your best interest to remove yourself from situations that can trigger you, and work on yourself and your responses before engaging. It ties into No. 2.

So, for everyone who is saying that I, personally, am a bad person for making generalized "some people fake DID" statements on my own Twitter account, untagged, why?

Why am I responsible for the triggers of other people, when they have the means to remove themselves from the +

Situation, such as muting words, blocking, or muting me?

Am I supposed to stay silent when it comes to people who DO fake DID because it might trigger people who are too activated to separate their experiences from mine?

Should I not talk about my trauma because it might trigger someone else? The answer is no, because the triggers of someone else are not my responsibility. Not when it's people on Twitter who I have never interacted with. Not when I'm making a post on my own account.

If you are so deeply activated by the mere concept that people DO fake having DID, or having ANY aspect of your disorder called into question, it may be best to remove yourself from an unmoderated community until you can tackle those feelings.