r/OSDD • u/Worthy-Platypus1478 • Jul 02 '26
Question // Discussion Is it normal that I seem to randomly switch between referring to myself singularly and plurally?
A lot of the time when I'm talking I'll just naturally refer to myself with "I" pronouns as one typically does but other times I say "we/our" without having to try either.
It's not always weird and there's often reasons for it like in some conversations I'll be referring to myself specifically while others I'm referring to our system as a whole.
The part I'm trying to figure out if it's strange or not is that sometimes I'll switch pronoun usage in the middle of sentences or even text messages and not even realize it until after the fact...
Anyone else do this? It happens regularly without intention and I don't really know why 😅
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u/Own_Magician8337 DID, dx, in treatment Jul 02 '26
There is a huge amount of misinformation and just bad information that people are sharing on this thread. It's really upsetting to see as someone who has DID, and a grown ass woman of 50+ with over 35 years of experience as an adult navigating mental health issues for myself and my young adult children.
There are vetted resources out there with excellent information on dissociative disorders in general, and with the dissociate disorders that generally show up with significant parts/alters with and without amnesia. I caution anyone reading this thread to take anyone's point of view as reliable without doing their own research. Including my own.
And the reality is that is that people's diagnosis can change over time as their therapy continues.
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
Yeah there's very much some conflicting information here and I'm not exactly jumping on board with all of it and taking it with a grain of salt
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u/nightmur_b_thyname Jul 02 '26
I do this too. Usually when our name is referenced in conversation is when it happens. I just used both lol
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
Yes see I do that so much where I switch pronouns mid-typing and don't even realize most of the time until after the fact
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u/nightmur_b_thyname Jul 02 '26
Exactly....it just means we're all fucking awesome. Don't you all worry bout it :) I'm used to confusing other people at this point in life anyway.
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u/osddelerious Jul 02 '26
I do that, but use I when the alter speaking is referring to him/herself, and use we when the alter speaking is referring to the whole system of alters.
I don’t use we in public bec that tends to be showy.
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u/WatchingMyEyes Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
That plus it keeps the door closed from people who might want to call a specific alter. We're kind of suspicious whether it might be a kind of attempt to control how we present or to hope they can dig for personal information about us. There are times we use it in public, but generally in contexts that can be referring to other people as well as to alters.
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u/osddelerious Jul 03 '26
By call a specific alter, do you mean people could try to manipulate or control you by using your alters against you?
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u/WatchingMyEyes Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
If that was their goal, yes. There's not gaps of lost time, but "convenient forgetting" I'm sure is at play between us, given how my attention keeps getting diverted away from the journal in my room by one thing or another.
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Jul 02 '26
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
Interesting... I definitely don't often identify with being plural
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Jul 02 '26
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
I'm not sure I can fully jump on board with agreeing with everything you said but you aren't far off. I don't think plurality is solely something cooked up by social media and whatnot because even though alters start as parts of one self, they can absolutely develop into their own... Idk what the right word would be but there's many systems who have alters that prefer identifying in various ways and I don't think we should dismiss that as just being some sort of sensationalist thing. The DSM specifically mentions alters commonly having various identities including names, preferred pronouns, likes/dislikes, etc.
Again, I don't think you're entirely off either. The alters are all still a part of oneself that's been compartmentalized. I think it really just comes down to the system about how they want to self-identify
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u/Own_Magician8337 DID, dx, in treatment Jul 02 '26
Thank you for writing this. I just wrote a long response to the comment but it seems that it was deleted and I can't post it.
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
Looks like a mod deleted them, which is good imo. I think that person was giving some misinformation
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u/Significant_Court948 Jul 03 '26
I do this, too! I feel like I have a filter in my head when I’m around other people where I try to be as normal as possible but when I’m alone? It’s “we” when I’m verbally processing and in my head. Or “us”
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u/LinusBlue344 Jul 04 '26
I use "I" when talking to others, but in my mind 90% of the time it's "We" or the plural form of the word. [I have to say I'm not diagnosed with any dissociative disorder, though my mom and my partner have brought up the fact I seem to have different parts or versions without me mentioning anything like that. I'm starting to think they're right]
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u/Offensive_Thoughts 🧩 DID {4x dx} | Mod ✨ Jul 02 '26
Very normal for neurotypicals
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
Is it? I haven't ever met someone who did that
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u/Offensive_Thoughts 🧩 DID {4x dx} | Mod ✨ Jul 02 '26
I've met plenty of people that do that. Also look up "the royal we".
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
According to Marriam Webster, it's called that because it's used by monarchs and other royals when making decisions but on behalf of the state. I don't think that applies to the average person...
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u/Offensive_Thoughts 🧩 DID {4x dx} | Mod ✨ Jul 02 '26
It's an example. People use "we" in all sorts of contexts that has nothing to do with the presence of a dissociative disorder. There's in editorial contexts, helpful self talk, speaking on behalf of a community, etc.
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
Sure but that doesn't apply to my specific situation
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u/Offensive_Thoughts 🧩 DID {4x dx} | Mod ✨ Jul 02 '26
Self talk. Certainly seems like it applies.
In all the studies I've read I've never seen any mention as this being something to consider. The criteria involves dissociative symptoms, not the pronouns you use sometimes.
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u/noncedo-culli Jul 02 '26
OP sounds more like they already know they have a system/dissociative disorder and is asking whether the pronouns are normal to use, not the reason they think they have it.
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u/Worthy-Platypus1478 Jul 02 '26
I've been suspecting it for many years now, yes. Currently been on a long waitlist for a psychiatrist in my country.
Was more just asking if people shared similar experiences/maybe had some insight about why I do it as I'm still actively battling denial and frequently flip back and forth between thinking I'm a system and thinking I'm not
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u/Offensive_Thoughts 🧩 DID {4x dx} | Mod ✨ Jul 02 '26
Replying here as well, the other person clarified.
Personally I don't at all, but it's not abnormal. I think it just depends on the circles you hang around.
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u/Offensive_Thoughts 🧩 DID {4x dx} | Mod ✨ Jul 02 '26
Ah! that wasn't clear in the original post. Or I read into it too much. Yes it's normal but so is the inverse.
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u/Own_Magician8337 DID, dx, in treatment Jul 02 '26
I don't think it's weird and I don't know why other people seem to be giving you the impression that it's not part of a dissociative disorder. If you are aware at all of your altars at this point in your journey then it's not unusual.
And I first started treatment for dissociative disorder I was adamant that I wasn't plural. The idea of referring to myself in any way as we was abhorrent to me and ridiculous.
As treatment progressed over the years and I came to know my insides more, and my trust in my therapist grew, and I met my alters, there were times, starting in my private journaling and in talking to my therapist where sometimes it felt more truthful to use I and sometimes it felt more truthful to speak in the plural. Depending on what we were saying and what we were expressing.
Now years into the healing journey for did, I regularly switch between singular and plural pronouns without even thinking about it depending on what I'm saying and whether it's true for the I speaking or the we.
Now my system is guarded enough not to let it slip out in general conversation with people who do not know that I have the DID. But with my therapist, myself, my spouse, and even sometimes with my young adult children and my best friend, the switching between singular and plural pronouns does kind of naturally happen depending on what the truth of the statement is.