Dissociative Identity Disorder on TikTok Just an Imitation? Here’s What the Expert Says

The number of patients with dissociative identity disorder (DID) is rising. However, according to an expert, not everyone who claims to have suffered from it struggles with the condition.

TikTok Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dr. Matthew A. Robinson, a researcher, and physician at McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric facility affiliated with Harvard Medical School, expressed his apprehension about the DID TikTok community. According to Robinson in his lecture, to check for indications of what [patients] refer to as DID, they have received a flood of referrals and requests from parents, schools, and our own adolescent therapy and testing programs.

Robinson's presentation did not discuss the presence of DID. Instead, it concerned a fresh problem for him and other physicians who deal with it - TikTok.

A group of DID sufferers who use the social media platform go by the label "systems" since they share multiple identities, or "alters," with one body.

Systems have made videos on TikTok detailing their experiences with the condition, which have amassed over 5 billion views and gained popularity among teenage audiences.

Robinson believed TikTok was responsible for the significant increase in pediatric DID referrals. In his talk, he speculated that social media might provide fresh avenues for people with real DID to express themselves. However, he also warned that the rising numbers of false DID claims are being fueled by internet and social media trends. In other words, those who assert that they have DID may be wrong, perplexed, or lying.

Robinson, a member of the trauma research program at McLean Hospital, which provides specialized care to patients with dissociative disorders, stated at the beginning of his session that he could not appropriately diagnose anyone using social media. Nevertheless, he employed TikTok to support his arguments. He opened with a video showing a rainbow-haired DID system buying a custom cake to mark their formal DID diagnosis. Robinson believed it was "surprising" because it clashed with the disorder's traditional "hidden" characteristics. Robinson showed a video of a system cycling among eight complex neon clothes, each with wigs and cat-like paws, assigned to their various alters. Robinson thought these "overt changes" in appearance were "not characteristic" of the DID patients that physicians encounter daily.

Robinson proposed that DID TikTok users and the young people they affected displayed "imitative DID," a type of malingering in which individuals appear to have a dissociative condition to gain attention or status. To end his lecture, he played a video of a system playing Guess Who? with a spouse asking their husband to determine which alter was "fronting," or in charge of, their system's body, with the aid of the board game.

Robinson said he had treated several of his patients for DID and always believed that their experiences were real. They don't resemble the sensationalized images made for amusement on [social] media in terms of appearance and behavior.

The netizens criticized Robinson's lecture, and McLean Hospital formally apologized and removed all of Robinson's lectures from its channels. Some trauma experts and hospitals also petitioned to have Robinson's license revoked.

Academics involved in the community were terrified to speak about the issue. One expert spoke off-record saying they don't want to make any enemies.

What Is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is an uncommon psychiatric condition that affects roughly 1.5% of the world's population. Since this disorder is frequently misdiagnosed, a proper diagnosis requires repeated evaluations. Patients often engage in self-harming behavior and attempt suicide.

The condition was previously known as multiple personality disorder and was initially thought to be due to the prolonged experience of abuse in childhood, which causes one to experience many varied and distinct states of consciousness as if many different persons were sharing the same body and mind.

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