I understand that the language is important. You were very kind to me back in April when I lost my T, so I was pretty surprised to read you'd want to punch me. Obviously words can evoke an emotional response and I have apologized.

But everyone with DID has different preferences and I think that unless you've told someone what yours are, it's unfair to jump down their throats for using different language. You may hate the words I used, but they are in common usage in culture, if not by therapists. People's experiences with this are quite different and I think that's why the words they prefer also differ. I had no intention of offending anyone and was responding to the OP's concern with the word "disorder," and providing a link I thought others might find helpful. Clearly there was no disrespect intended.

My loved one's experience is of the sort you said you can't relate to at all, and described as a "very dramatic" "portray[al]," -- as in acting? -- involving "nonsense" and perhaps not DID at all, since it wasn't very well hidden and her people cannot "pass" for one another. (Yes, they've survived and functioned, but people have noticed many things over the years.) The very young children in the system speak like very young children, in pitch, pronunciation, and verbal abilities, and there is a toddler who comes out who barely can speak at all. They consider themselves to be separate people living in one body, so for them, your language would be offensive. But again -- only if you knew them, they'd told you this, and you didn't respect their preferred language.

Apologies that this is not on the subject of the original post. I wanted to say something about acceptance, here. And honestly I just feel upset at the whole "I want to punch you" thing and think that is not an okay reaction.