Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

“Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

freddiedeboer.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 175 posts

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#61

Post by naravara »

causality0 wrote: post #26

I think quite a few identity-centered mental illnesses might actually be particular delusions, and in some cases we may be grouping people subject to one mental abnormality with others who are under the delusion they have that abnormality. That could explain why certain subsets of people exhibit symptoms which don't match the normal presentation. For example, and anecdotally based on my personal experience, people un…

> The ones I hypothesize are actually subject to a delusion of being transgender don't act like that. Their personality shifts radically after transitioning and they behave like an exaggerated caricature of their target gender and have a very difficult time navigating small group dynamics of their target gender.

If they’re on the autism spectrum, though, they’d have trouble navigating small group dynamics regardless so what you’re describing could just be a comorbidity.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#62

Post by devwastaken »

https://youtu.be/LkeeoKWj2i8

It's dissasociative identity disorder. It's caused due to trauma and we don't particularly know how to treat it or do much about it. One thing to be aware of is that diagnostically there is no way to know "real" from "fake" diagnosis. Anyone can walk into a clinic and say the right things to get whatever diagnosis they want. There are a lot of real cases of did that go untreated largely because how unknown this disorder is to the majority of psychs.

That said I know a number of fakes that treat disorders as fads for attention, they treat it like it's a drama play. The internet makes it too easy for them to have a megaphone.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#63

Post by naravara »

Barrin92 wrote: post #40

Yet another entry in the emerging genre of making an entirely uncontroversial point (criticizing people for glorifying and faking mental illness for attention), followed by the second half which is the author complaining about how everyone silences him for saying brave truths. Much better than false victimhood due do fake mental illness to get clicks on tiktok is of course false victimhood due to fake controversial j…

> Yet another entry in the emerging genre of making an entirely uncontroversial point (criticizing people for glorifying and faking mental illness for attention), followed by the second half which is the author complaining about how everyone silences him for saying brave truths.

To be fair, Freddie De Boer basically pioneered this genre outside right wing culture warriors.

I suspect he knowingly does it because he’s aware it gets him more clicks and engagement than if he just produced his content straight. That culture war hook is catnip for “the algorithm.”

It’s a shame because I do find him to be an incisive writer on the core points he’s trying to make, but the side dish of outrage bait he serves up with every entree gets tiresome fast.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#64

Post by tantalor »

MaxLeiter wrote: post #18

I found the intro on multiple personality disorder and tiktok interesting, but the article is really about politics, which isn’t reflected in the title. I lost interest when he mentioned leftists

It's mentioned in the subtitle:

> TikTok culture can be incredibly toxic, but those on the left refuse to ever condemn it for fear of echoing conservatives

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#65

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

> I am truly worried for online youth culture, and for that I’ll be called a reactionary.

The fastest way to get everyone to ignore you is to preemptively complain of conspiratorial repression by the ignorant. If you have something useful to contribute, do. If people disagree, then retort. But don't sit here moaning about how nobody's going to believe you. Science requires evidence and persistence, not the immediate acceptance of conjecture.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#66

Post by rhn_mk1 »

codr7 wrote: post #31
Foxmilk wrote: post #3

I wonder how many of these people are just creating and interacting with tulpas without realizing it. For anyone who isn't familiar, there is a subculture online of people who create what subjectively seem to be autonomous personalities that frequently manifest I'm the form of hallucinations. Think fight club sort of. My ex tried it out. Called me one day at work, terrified because this dragon was following him aroun…

I thought the idea was to integrate, not splinter your consciousness. Why would you want to make yourself more confused? There is only one you; pretending otherwise, while perfectly possible, can't possibly lead anywhere worth going. I find these trends among people who are too young to know better deeply troubling.

Who decides what the idea is? What about the post invokes confusion? You come off as extremely dismissive of what doesn't fit your preconceived notions.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#67

Post by naravara »

rob_c wrote: post #35
MaxLeiter wrote: post #18

I found the intro on multiple personality disorder and tiktok interesting, but the article is really about politics, which isn’t reflected in the title. I lost interest when he mentioned leftists

Trying to replay a-politically (with the knowledge that nothing happens in a political vacuum in reality). It can be successfully argued that the political left have adopted the drama and status of victimhood in a way that hasn't been done before in mainstream politics and given the strong correlation between political affiliation and age I think it's a concerning edge to the topic of mental health, or perception the…

> It can be successfully argued that the political left have adopted the drama and status of victimhood in a way that hasn't been done before in mainstream politics

It absolutely has. The martyr/persecution complex is a central elements of dominionist Christian politics.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#68

Post by drewcoo »

reilly3000 wrote: post #57

The phenomenon of mental illness & trauma-based clout is intriguing and I don’t really understand it. Certainly a conservative trope for the balance of my life has been one of victimhood, from the notion of a persecuted majority to the plight of small business ownership. If it’s a liberal trope to be victim of one’s genetic makeup and life experiences the logical conclusion is that one shouldn’t feel remorse for not…

> We really celebrate the stories of those who have overcome adversity

Or maybe, like Mother Theresa, we value suffering.

https://ivarfjeld.com/2013/03/04/mother-teresa-no-saint-but-...

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#69

Post by zozbot234 »

naravara wrote: post #61
causality0 wrote: post #26

I think quite a few identity-centered mental illnesses might actually be particular delusions, and in some cases we may be grouping people subject to one mental abnormality with others who are under the delusion they have that abnormality. That could explain why certain subsets of people exhibit symptoms which don't match the normal presentation. For example, and anecdotally based on my personal experience, people un…

> The ones I hypothesize are actually subject to a delusion of being transgender don't act like that. Their personality shifts radically after transitioning and they behave like an exaggerated caricature of their target gender and have a very difficult time navigating small group dynamics of their target gender. If they’re on the autism spectrum, though, they’d have trouble navigating small group dynamics regardless…

What parent describes seems more akin to gender-related disphoria. There's actually some very real controversy among trans activists as to whether disphoria should be viewed as a necessary condition for trans status, as currently asserted by most in the medical community.

Re: “Multiple personality disorder” probably doesn't exist

#70

Post by meowface »

MaxLeiter wrote: post #18

I found the intro on multiple personality disorder and tiktok interesting, but the article is really about politics, which isn’t reflected in the title. I lost interest when he mentioned leftists

Fair reaction, but just as an FYI, Freddie deBoer is himself a prominent leftist blogger. So this is kind of an "intra-leftism" dispute. That arguably makes it a little less eye-rolling to read as one might find from a rightist critiquing the left, or vice versa.
Post reply on HN