Dealing with distrust

[liferain.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure why I'm posting this.. Perhaps as a way to get it off my chest.

Today I had my first encounter with a "skeptic," and even though it was on the Internet (on LJ in fact), I still care deeply about what people think of me. In this case, someone had asked a question about "imaginary friends" and I stated that the only thing close to it that I ever had was Vi (though she's not imaginary, obviously) and my psychosis-related hallucinations. Someone jumped in and asked if Vi was my only "alter," to which I said yes, and they replied with: "Your only alter huh? Not only is DID exceedingly rare, it's unheard of to only have one alter. And there are no hallucinations to it. Do some more research next time you feign illness for the internet attention."

I must say that I was shaken by that. Something that is a major part of my life, and someone doesn't trust my integrity? I replied that I don't have a diagnosis of DID/MPD, and that Vi is possibly more related to my psychosis, and that person hasn't responded yet. But, even so, I am still shaken. Am I going to have to keep Vi a secret (which I have done enough of) from the world to avoid getting my feelings hurt? How do I deal with this, when I care so much about what people think of me?



(Sorry to dump this on you all, but I figured it'd be the best place for it)

(no subject)

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King, jr.

I'm sure he used that referring to the oppression of blacks, but it applies to any group or culture that is widely misunderstood. It seems like there's been a lot of posts here lately about how many different ways people misunderstand being multiple. (Let's not even get into all the other "alternative cultures" that a multiple might be more likely to get into than a singlet, just because of having so many different needs and desires.)

Is there some sort of organized effort out there to educate the world at large about what multiplicity is? If not, there should be, but I'm not good at organizing stuff.

Don't ever let your mother tell you you'll never learn anything watching cartoons. I got that MLK quote off of Cartoon Network!

JOey