Please change pfp if you have/support those who have DID

Sorry, pictures will not upload, check back for an update :)

@sadleafycup sorry didnt see it on time

@sadleafycup

I am not part of a system but I am more than happy to help out in any way I can. I like this idea a lot :)

More pfp's!

DID Support profile pictures

https://ibb.co/R2T6Gv8

https://ibb.co/YtHwNNh

https://ibb.co/HCxyLGw

https://ibb.co/M9pQ2Dc

https://ibb.co/zm5VJ8J

https://ibb.co/L9Jr3VX

It's nice to support people and all, but why does a mental disorder caused by trauma have a "pride"-like flag? Seems...fetishizing. Treating trauma like it's an lgbtq+ identity or something? Makes me uncomfortable. Especially given that DID is very rare, and the influx of young people claiming to have it just because they found an online community that influenced them into thinking it (aka Tumblr mostly), it feels to me like having a "flag" is really making it like a fad...idk....just really don't like it. You don't see "pride flags" for other mental health disorders

@deepbreaths22 @ThePizza @mytwistedsoul @Fullhousesystem

Thank you so much for standing with us on this issue :)

And to everyone who wishes to hate on the system pride flag please understand that we are already going through so much already with this new protocol, and that we do not need more hate added to that. We have a pride flag because like many other group of people that have pride flags, we are heavily misunderstood and deserve support. Thank you

@Fullhousesystem @Glossytears @Fireskye13 @deepbreaths22

You may have already received this message, but I thought I would pass it on just in case. @sadleafycupl will be writing a post explaining the problems with the new DID protocol and asking for consistent communication about the steps being taken to fix this problem, addressed to the higher ups at 7cups. Here is sadleafycupl's message:

Hello, I was wondering if you would like to send me some of your thoughts on the new DID protocol for one mass message/ forum post in which we hope to have others collaborate on as well. If you know anyone else who would like to contribute please have them pm me

@Hope @memelord500 @Fireskye13 @1HopefulCreature1 @Joe33 @Fullhousesystem @sadleafycup @knockoffwolf @Hyacinth22 @AnimalsForLife111 @ThePizza @sunflower2480 @RevanentOfTriquetra

While we can understand where they're coming from in terms of tailored support for specific issues, we think the whole thing of not letting people with alters or people who dissociate in group rooms as unfair and discriminatory. It wasn't a very clearly worded or clearly expressed post, so there was a lot of confusion around it in which could have been avoided. It made a lot of people frustrated and stressed out, also angry, which wasn't helped when people weren't replied to regarding their questions. We think it's ridiculous, our friends have left because they felt unwanted. Many of our friends have DID and now they cant talk to us or get group support because of it. Many of us just wish for the rule to go away. It feels like they think DID is the infection and cups is the body and the rules are the medicine to get rid of it. So many of us find it repulsive, discriminating,and find the wording of the protocol (both the updated and previous version) to be extremely vague. We feel this policy is disrespectful, and discriminating against people with not only DID, but all dissociative disorders. As well as being completely unsupportive and not to mention just rude. We personally feel like this is an attack on the entire mental health community and specifically those with dissociative disorders. We have friends with dissociative disorders here on 7 Cups. We never thought we would lose them to something easily avoided and fixable. In the beginning, many of us were confused about DID. You know changed that? Interaction when we spoke to a friend's alter or even just to the host of the system. We finally understood it. We request the rule makers of 7cups to please interact with people who have dissociative disorders, understand them, and then make the rules. We all are humans. Humans are intelligent beings. We communicate with others to make them understand our side of a coin, and to understand their side of the coin. So many of us do not understand why this new protocol even came into existence without talking to people with dissociative disorders. Their opinions and feelings were not asked before this protocol. Please communicate with systems. Making an important decision about all members with dissociative disorders without taking their opinion into consideration does not seem fair. We ask for you to please try and communicate, understand their side, help them understand your side. You are weighing a few peoples slight convenience over some people's mental health or even lives as a whole. Plus, it's so unclear that it's hard to tell what you mean but best we can tell is that alters are no longer allowed in chat rooms and anyone with alters might not be allowed. It feels, and is, like kicking people out of shelter. It gets rid of the meaning that 7 Cups holds dear - community, welcoming, and inclusion, respect and equality, and that people are free to be themselves. We understand that we need to think about the whole community and keep in mind the needs of everyone. So what seems to be a good compromise to me, is what certain leaders (mods) are already doing in rooms, and adding a dissociative disorder specific group chat room. From Littles not being allowed in chat rooms, to all alters now facing the same, we are feeling more and more excluded every day. We joined 7 Cups in search of a safe, inclusive, and validating community. However, slowly but surely, this ideal seems to be slipping through the cracks of equality. We hope to stand for every single system on this site when we say: We will not be silenced. We will not be overlooked, we will not be ignored. We will not be shoved to the sidelines, or kept in the dark where we've hidden for too long. This site's purpose was to offer people a safe place, away from the discrimination of the real world if I remember correctly. Offering them a safe space, lending an ear to listen, and being there for them regardless of who they are. On the teen side, we did talk about this issue a lot. It was more of a safety concerning issue for both parties involved– the person who's experiencing the dissociative symptoms (which could be anyone by the way, it doesn't tie only to DID) and the other teens feeling kind of uncomfortable regarding the age regulations and yada yada. What was concerning wasn't the presence of the teens dealing with DID and other dissociative disorders, it was certain more specific aspects, like alters who are adults, and breaking rules. The latter could be done by any other person, not necessarily experiencing any dissociative symptoms or even any other disorder. By implementing these new rules, protocol, call it whatever, you're not helping in any way. This protocol is completely vague. many loopholes, and not well-thought or well-written or even well-explained points. Which causes even more confusion around the site. It's obvious that many people, even the ones who complained about the age regulations and adult alters issue, are clearly against this. By banning a whole category of people, a whole group of human beings, you are not doing any good. This does not solve the age regulations issue effectively, but it's more of a discriminative rule that makes what once was a safe space for these people, a nightmare. These people are being discriminated upon in the real world. So they come here, only to be discriminated upon too? Are we forgetting the main purpose of this site? And going towards building a community that is the exact same as the real world? That spreads hate and discriminates? Is that what we're doing now? Things are just getting more and more difficult for the community of systems on this site. It hurts to see so many people absolutely devastated by this policy. We are assuming that much of it is error in wording and communication, but even still, this negatively impacted everyone that we have spoken with in group support rooms since then. Some of our closest friends are a part of a system on here, and we have come to know them well. They have great communication within their system and with others regarding switches, dissociation, and what needs to be done to ensure their comfort and safety. They complied immediately with the age rules, though it clearly hurt them. This is just too much. We have seen many people say they are considering leaving 7Cups because of the detriment that this has done to our community. How can we better manage the community here on 7Cups to ensure support of everyone? This is the most important question to ask ourselves at any time, regardless of this recent update. This policy does serve to answer the question! We can now see that it's "Not like this." Yes, we jest, but we do believe that this undermines the support received by the community of systems on the site (we would like to remind everyone that it is not just those with DID who have systems). What we had before this was certainly certainly lacking in some areas, but as for this topic in particular, it made sense. Alters in crisis should be treated as such, and while it does seem to do more harm than good, we understand the reason for the age restrictions on alters. We propose we allow systems to fully participate in group support, including for support regarding dissociative disorders. It is our understanding that the purpose of this new protocol was to improve the experiences of members in chat rooms and to take safety precautions, which is a good thing to work on. But the solution that was reached is not an appropriate one. There is a lot of confusion and hurt surrounding the new protocol for the community of systems here on 7cups; many did not find the post to be clearly worded and after reading some responses to the post, and it sounds as though the staff of the Trauma community (which is the parent community of the DID community) were not consulted before this decision was made, nor were any systems who use this site. Excluding one group from the chat rooms where they can get support is not an acceptable solution. Telling other members to report any systems participating in chat rooms in a way that is against this new protocol is not an acceptable solution-- because the protocol is not appropriate, not because we should let people get away with breaking the rules. Dissociative disorders such as DID, OSDD, and DDNOS are barely discussed in society; when they are, it is almost always the spreading of harmful stereotypes and misinterpretations of the disorders that paint a picture of dangerous criminals and "monsters". We are not suggesting that every single alter in every single system is perfect, because they aren't. But among people without these disorders there is not a single person that is perfect either. Alters are human beings just like the rest of us-- except nonhuman alters, but all alters still deserve to be treated with kindness, respect, and validation. For many systems, 7cups is the only place where they are validated and accepted for who they are; here, systems can be unashamed of being a system. But if this protocol is enforced, systems will be excluded, and their one safe space and place of refuge will be gone. Please don't take a safe place for systems away from 7cups. To us it seems like you were trying to do a good thing with this protocol, but you are continuing to get negative feedback surrounding it. Please, listen to the community and work with them to make positive changes. Communication and collaboration with systems and the people who staff the Trauma community and DID community will ensure that a fair and just solution is met. We are good friends with people from different systems here, and we can assure you that this has had a deep negative impact on them. We do not want them to leave the 7cups community because they feel unwelcome or discriminated against here. That is the opposite of the mission of 7cups. Talking to systems and staff members here at 7cups will give a better insight of what the dissociative disorders community needs. Thank you for reading our words. Please take action to fix this.

(credit is given to the collaborative writiers based on the color of their tag and the color of the corresponding section)

@memelord500 @Fireskye13 @1HopefulCreature1 @Joe33 @Fullhousesystem @sadleafycup @knockoffwolf @Hyacinth22 @AnimalsForLife111 @ThePizza @sunflower2480 @RevanentOfTriquetra