People "brag" about their depression, their tendencies to attempt suicide, their hyperactivity disorders, their anxiety. That doesn't mean they're just trying to get attention. I have to inform everyone I work with not to stress me out too badly because I have anxiety issues.
Shiu: Some multiples with systems in disorder can use it as a way to get attention and pity-- I've seen it before. Some pretend to be more emotionally fragile than they really are. But I agree with you that not all disordered systems talk about themselves strictly for the purpose of gaining attention and pity. There really are some groups with setups like in Sybil or When Rabbit Howls, though they're comparatively rare; some groups have to keep notebooks because they have little to no in-system communication and can't find a way to achieve it without compromising other aspects of their operating system. If they really are unable to function on all the same levels as a non-multiple, they do have the right to ask for some accomodations.
Anthea: I guess what really bothers me is that sometime in the future, I'd like to see plurality treated on a level no different than saying you're Jewish or Muslim, or something-- just a statement about your identity, not necessarily interpreted as 'bragging' or 'wanting special attention.' I figure the best way to do it is to prove your functionality after you come out and not blaming shoplifting (or whatever) on others in the system-- but it's hard when wanky intellectual pipsqueaks start howling about "You're FAKING for ATTENTION!" the minute you bring it up.
I think it's because people assume, thanks to lots of media gunk, that if you say you're multiple you're also inferring that you must have been through a horrific life and therefore deserve sympathy. (Can I have sympathy for having to put up with people who watch a bad TV movie and think they know everything about plurality? Wait, don't answer that...)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-10-20 05:27 pm (UTC)Shiu:
Some multiples with systems in disorder can use it as a way to get attention and pity-- I've seen it before. Some pretend to be more emotionally fragile than they really are. But I agree with you that not all disordered systems talk about themselves strictly for the purpose of gaining attention and pity. There really are some groups with setups like in Sybil or When Rabbit Howls, though they're comparatively rare; some groups have to keep notebooks because they have little to no in-system communication and can't find a way to achieve it without compromising other aspects of their operating system. If they really are unable to function on all the same levels as a non-multiple, they do have the right to ask for some accomodations.
Anthea:
I guess what really bothers me is that sometime in the future, I'd like to see plurality treated on a level no different than saying you're Jewish or Muslim, or something-- just a statement about your identity, not necessarily interpreted as 'bragging' or 'wanting special attention.' I figure the best way to do it is to prove your functionality after you come out and not blaming shoplifting (or whatever) on others in the system-- but it's hard when wanky intellectual pipsqueaks start howling about "You're FAKING for ATTENTION!" the minute you bring it up.
I think it's because people assume, thanks to lots of media gunk, that if you say you're multiple you're also inferring that you must have been through a horrific life and therefore deserve sympathy. (Can I have sympathy for having to put up with people who watch a bad TV movie and think they know everything about plurality? Wait, don't answer that...)