#tiktok has a bad reputation but theres so much cool stuff on there

[gudaho]

my tiktok elites:

mr. patrick, a black man teaching english in japan who has a class of students giggling everytime he says "show you"

sister minnie, a spoiled cat whose owner rhymes a lot. "big iblis" origin

fishingarrett, guy you cannot believe is still alive because he is in the florida everglades yoinking wildlife at night

uyen ninh, vietnamese woman who vlogs about her cultural experiences in germany (how depressed the food makes her)

blondie in china, like uyen ninh but a white lady (and the food makes her happy)

leafy street, reptile keeper who keeps showing his feet in the goddamn videos

Lawyer B. Douglas II, goth guy

sovannascooking, cambodian woman sharing traditional cuisine

[system-of-a-feather]

I do like this being brought up without the completely valid controversies around it and I'd like to have some thoughts put around as well so I'll put this on my blog with my opinion and invite others to do so.

I don't know if @ylva-vordr minds / their boundaries on it, but bad faith, aggressive and "debate / arguing" replies to my post will be ignored and likely blocked. I am open to discussion, not whatever goes on most of the time on here.

A) First, when do we think reducing stigma crosses the line into sensationalism* and romanticization*?  *Mildly modified words / spelling fixes

Honestly to me the moment occurs when the information is no longer serving a direct educational / illustrative purpose and instead moves solely to be entertaining, click bait, or - for lack of better words - a gimmick. If the content is either directly meant to be educational and not entertaining, that's good. If the content is meant to be about some random hobby they have while having DID, that is good. But if the content is "Someone with DID doing a Thing" then it starts falling into sensationalism and that is when I tend to have personal gripes on since DID is easy to sensationalize and use for clicks, attention, and monetization.

Showing switches can be educational if done right, but using it as "SWITCH CAUGHT ON CAMERA!!!!" and most of the tiktok DID trends and all just.... It's hard to put a firm line in the mud verbally / with words, but theres not really a need to draw focus on the "fantastical aspects" that while not innately "stigmatizing" and "negative" are already huge parts of the media-driven sensational stereotype people with DID have.

If that is how your system presents that's totally fair, cool, awesome and all - but is the video being posted "going about life and a switch occurs cause thats just how things are and this is a normal thing" or is it "Oh my God! I switched! Watch me CHANGE personalities!!!"

I think "Meet my alters" are innocent enough though I guess and are like the only exception of the top of my head to "DID focused 'entertainment' content" cause that inherently has a lot more educational / normalizing value than stuff like switching videos and all.

Not a huge thing i've directly parsed my line about so I'm open to feed back and questions and adjusting it, but generally I don't think you are reducing stigma as much as changing negative sensationality to "positive" sensationality when you make DID-focused Entertainment Content.

B) Under what circumstances do we think self-diagnosis is appropriate, and how can we assist those who have gone down that route? 

I think Self-Diagnosis is generally appropriate in any case where there is any reasonable reason someone can not get evaluated by and treated by a professional (financial, lack of qualified specialists, stigma, social environment, living situation, mental health conditions that make it difficult).

I think it is important to do good research in both peer communities where you can sit down with others who do have it and discuss it (not one way "peer communities" where the dynamic is parasocial / only acknowledged in a singular direction) as well as official and reputable diagnostic / research information.

There are thousands upon thousands of reasons why one might not be able to get diagnosed / treated so I am never the type to shun self diagnosis.

That said, I think its important for those that are self diagnosed to hold some space for the idea that they may be wrong, especially with DID / OSDD which can be hard to diagnose in general due to over lap in symptoms and similar appearances to other disorders which can be affected by dissociation and general egosyntonic symptoms that could hinder an individual as being an unbiased judge of themselves.

I think the "whatever you feel is always valid and true" while in good intentions and very helpful in some cases, it can be a very dangerous absolute to push because it backs people who might not be sure, who might not have the disorder but feel too deep in, into a corner where it is harder for them to authentically realize they are wrong and feel safe coming out that they were wrong (Which is TOTALLY fine!)

I also think for those that are self diagnosed and probably do have it / continue to think they have it / continue to have it and then get diagnosed, its important to just have open conversations on how things are in a non-sensationalized manner as to keep things open, normalized, and educational / helpful / productive. I think its important for those that find that the self diagnosis WORKS for them and helps them to be open to non-professional peer-to-peer notes on how to live and get by with it WITHOUT having all the sparkles and "OWO SWITCH CAUGHT ON CAMERA!" that serves more to an audience that doesn't have the disorder than those that do.

Anyways, these are just some of my loose thoughts on the matter. No real major claim. Interested to hearing other's additions.

Having watched the McLean Hospital video with regards to DID and a rise in self-diagnosis, there are some things I feel we should definitely be discussing. 

A) First, when do we think reducing stigma crosses the line into sensationalisation and romanisation? 

B) Under what circumstances do we think self-diagnosis is appropriate, and how can we assist those who have gone down that route? 

I do not, under any circumstances, condone the use of third party media as a way to prove a point, particularly without permission.