Debunking Sysmeds

Background art by @minimossart on Twitter

This is a carrd that has the sole purpose of debunking the claims that are very common in sysmed/anti-endo spaces.

Written and organized by Ozymandias&

Claims and Rebuttals

1.) DID/OSDD-1 is a trauma disorder. You can't have it without going through extreme and repetitive childhood trauma.

In none of these screenshots, which are taken directly from the DSM-5 and ICD-11, does it mention that you need trauma to have DID/OSDD-1. In neither of these sources are DID/OSDD-1 listed in the trauma disorders section. They are dissociative disorders, not trauma disorders. That's why they're called DISSOCIATIVE Identity Disorder and Other Specificed DISSOCOCIATIVE Disorder. These sources, in their expense sections on the disorders, also quite literally acknowledge the possible existence of healthy multiplicity. Feel free to check my source, the literal DSM-5.
By the way, [cw// fakeclaiming]this is the guy who renamed MPD to DID in the DSM-5. He doesn't seem to believe the very thing he wrote the criteria for. Not very reliable a source.
And the man who wrote the Theory of Structural Dissociation, an ableist look on multiplicity, lost his license due to abusing his plural patients, expanded upon here and here.

2.) Science says Endogenic systems don't exist.

Science is meant to be constantly changing, constantly updating, tweaking, and learning about things we don't completely understand. That's why we have science, to explain what we don't understand. But if you don't notice something or only see this one thing once or twice, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist or happen. That just means you haven't looked into it.
Plus, there ARE in fact studies of non-disordered systems. Like this, this, and this and these. It has been studied, it is being studied, and non-medical non-disordered systems/plurals existed long before the term DID/MPD/OSDD-1/DDNOS even existed. Being especially prominent in old Otherkin and Alterhuman communities, along with marginalized religions such as Shamanism.
Science can't prove that x religion/philosophy/morality/etc is the "correct" or "real", but multiple people still hold these beliefs and let them affect their everyday lives, just as non-disorder and endogenic systems do.

3.) You're not a system, you're schizophrenic/psychotic.

That is the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia, since everyone seems to forget that it's not just "hearing voices", and that some schizophrenic people don't have hallucinations or delusions. Psychosis is when you experience delusions and/or hallucinations, and can be caused by various other disorders/conditions. Neither of these conditions encompass having entire living people in your head with personalities, separate appearances, separate opinions, who can take over and control the body* like being plural does. Armchair diagnosing someone because of the tiny sliver of their symptoms you have seen to doubt their own diagnosis or identity is harmful, and should not be practiced anywhere.*Note; not all of these things are experienced by plurals, and that is ok and valid. We are simply listing common symptoms/behaviors associated with plurality.

4.) You're not Endogenic, you just have repressed trauma.

We personally hate this arguement so much.
Saying this shit is harmful on so many levels, and I& can't be nice about it.
Telling someone that they have repressed trauma can lead to either a) them looking for trauma they aren't ready to proccess and overwhelm them or b) installing a fear within them, leading to their mind creating false memories and thus overwhelming and harming the person more. As a system who had both happen to us, DON'T FUCKING SAY THIS TO PEOPLE. It's literally a form of gaslighting.
We thought that we were endogenic back when we first discovered we were a system because we did indeed have repressed trauma we weren't ready to face. But after being told this and similar arguements, we went looking for it to prove out validity, and now we have trouble telling what's a true memory and what's a delusion/false memory. Not only that, but it can also lead to that person being unable to trust their own decisions, and install further self-doubt in them about their choices long-term.
Trust the person and their words, only they know who they are and what goes on in their brain. You have no right to tell them they are something they aren't.
Plus, it can be literally dangerous to go looking for trauma you are not ready to face yet. PLEASE do not tell people to look for it when they are not ready, and when they do not have access to a professional who could help them through it. At the same time, respect when systems do not want therapy or do not trust therapists. Just because they don't seek therapy does not mean they are anti-recovery. Again, you need to look at the whole picture before you judge someone.

5.) You're not a system, you're just RP-ing/Daydreaming

Sysmeds seem to forget that systems have a life outside of what they show online. They are still plural when they turn of their phones. And that sometimes those lives do not allow for a system to safely be themselves. Sometimes their only safe space to be themselves is online. And those things are ok.
That being said, just because something you saw this one system do seems "fake" or "too weird" to truly be a system experience, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. You have to consider everything about a person before judging them truly. If you judge them based on the sliver they present online, you're missing the point of online identities.
Also, as a system with MaDD [Maladaptive Daydreaming Disorder], our paras do not even know their world is in our head, or realize that they're paras. They do not have control over the body, they don't interact with our lives in the outerworld at all.
Non-disordered plurality is not just "Roleplaying" or "Daydreaming".
While those experiences may tie into plurality, like our MaDD and our DID, they're not labels to use against non-disordered plurals.

6.) DID is rare, it only affects 1% of the population.

A) That is only for DID, the statistics for OSDD-1 are not included in this, and therefore can bring that percentage upwards. As well as undiagnosed DID/OSDD-1 systems.
B) 1% of the world population is still 78 million people. 78 million people is still a shit ton of people.

7.) You are ableist if you use the label Endogenic, and you are appropriating a trauma disorder.

Once again, DID/OSDD-1 are dissociative disorders, not trauma disorders.
That and people are not inherently ableist for simply just existing and using a self-identifier. Ableism is the prejudice and discrimination against disabled people in favour of able-bodied people. Not all endogenic systems say they have DID/OSDD-1, not all endogenic systems say they are disordered, not all endogenic systems say they have memory issues.
They are literally just existing as multiple without DID/OSDD-1*. Labelling them as ableist for just existing is like calling a mixed race person racist for engaging in one of their races' cultures.*While not all endogenic systems are disordered, there are also a fair share who are. Endogenic systems can have DID/OSDD-1. They can also have trauma, and not have it affect/cause their plurality. It's not your place to dictate.

8.) [Term] is a traumagenic only term.

This argument is often against endogenic systems using the words systems, alter, front and switching. None of which officially "belong" to exclusively the traumagenic community. System has been used by non-disordered plurals for much longer then you think. This is also used against non-disordered plurals using specific alter role labels like caregiver, protector, persecutor, trauma holder and others. Those labels cannot "belong" to the traumagenic community, because they are literally words used in everyday life with different meanings depending on the context.
Just because trauma may not have formed a non-disordered system, doesn't mean that system doesn't have trauma. It doesn't mean they don't need protecting, or a caregiver, or have littles or people who age regress/dream. It's not an exclusive term. They never have been.
Not only that, but the plural community has been much more active with creating various different terms to describe the diversified experiences plurals may want to use as a label, some of which were created by endogenic systems and used by traumagenics without realizing their origin. People are making terms to describe what they are feeling, and making alternate terms to existing terms all the time. Yet, sysmeds seem to debate their validity and shit on those terms despite that being exactly what they told non-disordered plurals to do.
Do you see the hypocrisy?
The only exclusive terms there are in that sense are maybe xenogenders tied to an alter's role, and even that has a lot of nuance because not all alters only have one role or a defined role.
The point is, you cannot "claim" a term just because you disagree with other people using it.

9.) Polyfragmentation is very rare/is only possible after experiencing ritual abuse.

First things first, when bringing up the topic of ritual abuse, no one really wants to define what counts and what doesn't count as ritual abuse. It's either you know, or you don't, and if you don't, you don't get to know. Therefore, you can't even use this arguement unless you are willing to expand upon what you consider ritual abuse. In our opinion, there are quite a few things that could be considered ritual abuse that aren't because they're seen as "not severe enough", which brings in the prevelant issue of "trauma olympics" sysmeds love to bring up.
We dealt with about a decade's worth of infestation, and constant bullying. Sysmeds will say this trauma is "not enough" to cause our system, or at least not enough to cause the amount of members we have. Which is wrong.
If someone told me& that the trauma of their dog dying caused them to split/form x many members, who am I& to say they're wrong? Who are YOU to say they're wrong?
[Disclaimer, these are just examples, there are infinite amount of reasons, trauma related and not, that somemultiple could be polyfragmented]
The problem with the trauma olympics complex that sysmeds or any trauma fakeclaimers install is making those who are left out of the "severe trauma" communities feel as though their trauma is not valid enough, or that their reactions to it are too dramatic compared to "real" trauma survivors. It also can make them wish that something worse had happened to them, or go out putting themselves in dangerous situations to purposely traumatize themselves further to feel like their reactions and trauma are finally "valid enough".
Fakeclaiming a person's trauma response because their trauma wasn't "severe" enough is shitty, and can traumatize them further if done enough, as it is a form of gaslighting.
That, and you need to consider the multitudinous factors that can affect system functions, alter numbers, and more things regarding plurality. Like Neurodivergencies such as Autism or ADHD, disabilities like chronic pain or those with mobility issues, environmental factors such as cultural practices or financial situations, relgious or spiritual practices, and more. There are many things that affect plurality, you cannot fakeclaim someone because they haven't gone through the one singular model you've seen.

10.) Well "[x]genic" is invalid because that can't cause plurality/You don't need x term because x term already exists.

This brings up the topic and importance of microlabels. Sometimes, umbrella terms such as Endogenic and Traumagenic do not encompass exactly what a plural is feeling or how their system formed or their functions, just as Transgender and Nonbinary don't always completely encompass the full gender identity spectrum and how those on it feel. That's what microlabels are for, to give people a specific term for what they are feeling and to find other who also use said term and find community with each other.
Just because you don't understand how hallucinations can affect the origins of a plural, or how someone can become plural because people splitting off of an original soul, or why someone would rather use Willowgenic to describe their created headmates instead of tulpa/parogenic, and so on, does not make it less valid. It means it's not for you, and therefore not for you to gatekeep.

Contact

Feel free to DM us at ¿¿wilmur??#7165 on Discord. We're more then happy to add more sources and listen to your concerns, but please be aware we have few spoons and trouble answering DMs, so please offer us patience.