dis lowkey just yap + some helpful research links :3
based on our own research BUT PLEASE PLEASE DO UR OWN PRETTY PLEASE!!! especially because we do not think you should use stupid websites to research. this is more so a rant and little tidbits you should research farther into. thank you ♡ also you can skip to the end for research/helpful links! <3
most of these r little red flags and warning signs for us when we see and should probably be for u! this is mostly from experience and we DEFINITELY recommend researching on ur own ♡ do not use this as "proof" to fakeclaim someone, you should use actual sources, and every system is different so there may be somethings here and there!
do not just assume someone is faking because u see they r a simply a system/u noticed something slightly off. you should have personal experience with the person before thinking anything!
WE'LL START BY SAYING: if you're offended by this/are heavily defensive on topics like this, then you are part of the problem. And usually, if ur a system, then you do most of these things. TLDR: UR A PROBABLY DELUSIONAL! please get help if you can. /gen :3
self dx
*on the topic of self-dx its totally fine if you have done your research. and with that, self dx can be harmful if you do it without proper research. a google search wont tell you everything. and we think fake systems are so so so harmful (because they are) but we understand not every fake system will realise that because they have convinced themselves they are a system, thats why we are so so intent on proper research. it puts systems and honestly, yourself in harm. DID/OSDD are such stigmatized disorders that dont need anymore. me and my system try to fight against it, just for our (and any other system's) sake. being a system is not fun or cute. it is a trauma response and our defense mechanism isnt supposed to be "kawaii".
introject heavy/crazy amounts of alters
the amount of systems i see where their member list is literally ALL/99% introjects is insane. being introject heavy is normal especially if you are neurodivergent, but introjects are less common than just alters. introjects and alters dont just form out of nowhere (but they may imerge/reveal out of nowhere, which is why people may think they do form from nothing) and i see many systems (usually endo/fake system types) who have 100+ alters. you only form alters after stressful events and heavy (negative) emotion so you having 100+ alters is very unlikely, and its even harder to function with that many parts, but still people act like it doesnt affect them.
attention seeking
we, as a system, rarely tell people. yes its in our rentries, but we leave it for people to find out if they want or if something important comes up. we often try not to bring much attention to it because of its stigmatism (especially in ponytown) and our struggles with it. DID/OSDD is hard to move through. its not just simply "hehehaha multiple people in one mind!!!" we see many many many systems trying to fit it in EVERYWHERE, their names, bios, carrds, rentries, in every other message. anything you can type in, the words "system" "alter" "fictive/introject" appear. many "systems" try and put it out there SO MUCH even though they dont even get affected (or try to say that) by it (despite it being a disorder) and having a "haha silly :p" if its so silly, and doesnt affect you that much, why even mention it that often?
introjects & misconceptions
Another thing i want to mention is the fact that introjects. usually. are nothing. like. their source. i can not stress this enough. the amount of people that have gotten upset with us/tried to fakeclaim us is usually because a fictive didnt act like their source. Introjects are their own people and have theyre own thoughts and often dont even care about their source- and usually for us, we've noticed many fictives to act just like they are in source- almost as if they are roleplaying. especially when we see a system with all their introjects act exactly like source. sure, one or two traits, but not all of them- ive even seen "introjects" recite their common lines unironically, like as a personality trait.
We ourselves do have a fictive that acts similar to his source but its not because of his source. and its normal to have one act like their source especially if its a common personality trait- ours is just shy like he is in source, but its not (and shouldnt be) a trait for trait copy.
for us, often a fictive only really shares the name and sometimes the look of them in source. and most of the time they dont even mention source, theyre not attached to it, theyre barely caring about it. and we have fictives of characters that we do not like. so if all of your fictives are of objectively good characters, your favorites/you like, fit an aesthetic, etc. we have a reason to believe you may be lying.
alter race & identity
alter races arent real! u may present as a certain race in headspace but that doesnt mean u can call urself that race/reclaim and speak about topics along with it. "alters" tht use google translator are soooo funny. like ur deff getting caught buddyboo. IF THE BODY IS AFAB an alter can NOT be transfem, even if they appear that way in headspace. same with amab and transmasc. NOR CAN A CERTAIN ALTER BE INTERSEX if the body isnt. appearing that way in headspace is normal, but u should not be labelling urself as so.
source memories
experiencing fake memories is normal. but being attached to them and your source is not good. you should not be like "dont separate me from my source/source memories uwu kyaaaa kawaii" YOU SHOULD WANT TO SOURCE SEPARATE and should rarely have source related pseudo-memories. if you do, and you act like this, then you're not a system or an alter/fictive/whatever. you are delusional and please seek help.
research & links
u should not be using carrds/rentries as research sources. you should be using research(usually .gov/.edu/.prg) links from DOCTORS. the only times you should use carrds/rentries is more stuff like this/terminology, but if you're researching to self-dx, you should NOT be using this (as it is more of a rant pushing u to research more and some little red flags we see often) or any carrd for that matter.
here are some actually good links ↓
(updated as much as possible)
research in symptoms, understanding dissocation, interacting with ppl who dissociate, overview
links that speak more on this topic and from other systems' experiences (NOT RESEARCH)
didonline