Myth: Everyone has 'alters', people with DID are making things up/exaggerating.
Fact: While its true that everyone has different aspects of ther personality, alters are different self self states caused by trauma. Alters can present with different ages, gender identities, skill levels, and can even have minor physical differences in the body.
Myth: DID is an extremely rare disorder
Fact: According to the DSM-5, DID occurs in about 1.5% of the population. For context, thats about the same as red hair or OCD.
Myth: People with DID are never aware of their alters.
Fact: People with DID are often aware of the presence of the others in their system. Some are able to 'hear' the thoughts of the other alters, while others are aware due to gaps in their memory.
Myth: DID is obvious and you can tell if someone has it.
Fact: While some people with DID present overtly, the vast majority are often misdiagnosed at first.
Myth: DID is only caused by the worst child abuse.
Fact: DID is caused by childhood trauma, but that can look different from case to case. War, medical problems, human trafficking, bullying, and neglect are all traumatic - and what's traumatic to a small child may not be traumatic to you now.
Myth: DID can form in adults
Fact: DID cannot form in someone with a fully integrated personality. It only forms in childhood from chronic childhood trauma, disrupting personality development
Myth: Alters can be killed/gotten rid of.
Fact: Alters are dissociated parts of self. while they can be integrated through healing, they cannot be 'killed' any more than another mental health condition can be magically cured or gotten rid of.
Myth: People with DID are dangerous!!
Fact: Like any other disorder, people with DID are no more likely to be dangerous than any other person. The 'evil alter' is a trope popularized by hollywood and does not reflect real life.