• The recent epidemic of MPD is a psychological fad. - The rise of cases of DID patients is due to the increase in knowledge about the disorder and therefore therapists are able to diagnose appropriately, instead of the common misdiagnosis of schizophrenia (a diagnosis which has also declined in number).  The knowledge and action against child abuse has risen, thankfully.  Victims now are coming out to expose the "family secrets" that have lasted for generations.  Why are they coming out?  Many secrets so carefully kept for ages such as homosexuality, transgender issues, depression and other mental disorders, and child abuse among many others are now open and public in these empowered times.  Topics not dared to be spoken of a hundred years ago are now commonplace and primetime fodder (i.e., Jerry Springer).  Now that child abuse is now being looked into and THANKFULLY action is being taken to stop it, people are discovering the effects of the abuse.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety and other disorders are found to be related to child abuse, and that includes DID.  I know of absolutely no one who has gotten money, fame, any kind of positive attention due to multiplicity.  Sybil hid her secret her entire life, and her true identity wasn't revealed until she died.  [Keep in mind: no multiple or symptom of it is "typical".  We did not receive the "How To Be A Multiple" guidebook when we were born like everyone else seems to have.  We are all different, like all non-multiples are.]  As soon as someone reveals that s/he has DID, that person is reviled, distrusted, assumed to be a threat, and rejected from family, friends, and society.  They lose jobs and are called a liar.  No, there is NO benefit in revealing this, other than supporting others who have it or loving someone who has it.
• MPD is an iatrogenic (therapist induced) disorder, unknowingly created by the interaction of a therapist and patient. - This is the same argument as "False Memory Syndrome," "MPD does not occur naturally", as well as "Persons who have been diagnosed with MPD are victims of bad therapy, but not of MPD itself."  I will note that putting the same argument in different forms for sake of adding numbers to the argument, does not fool anyone.  The fact that there can be more facets to a person does seem more fantastic than someone hearing voices.  Fantastic or not, it is true and cannot be denied.  False Memory Syndrome is not a real syndrome, nor is it recognized by any in the medical profession.  It was a term made up by a woman accused of abusing her daughter in an attempt to discredit her.  Many victims, in the face of the violence and hate received from their families when the abuse was finally admitted, retracted their stories so they could be accepted and loved by their families again.  There have been some therapists who have suggested memories to people and false memories have been introduced in attempts to categorize the client, but for many therapists around the world to create false memory syndrome for diagnosis of DID?  That is even more of a fantastic idea.  There is no way that patients all around the world can tell their therapists the same exact stories of Satanic Ritual Abuse (for example), who have never met each other nor had any other source of information introduced to them.  What would it profit, anyway?  What is the motivation?  To say that different alters have been created ONLY after beginning therapy is false.  It's extremely difficult for an adult to create an alter, and usually only in life-threatening circumstances.  In cases of DID, alters learn to never act "out of sorts" as a matter of survival.  They keep the multiplicity away from their awareness and other's awareness to prevent anyone from finding out the secret of abuse.  The abusers who caused the DID will not believe in the alters, accuse the victim of lying, and punish the victim.  Also, if anyone acts out of character, they fear being "locked up".  "The Three Faces of Eve" is a mass of misrepresentation.  In fact, "Eve" had a number of other alters that never presented themselves to her therapist, and she later went on to write about the rest of the story from her own point of view. See I'm Eve, by Christine Sizemore.  It's suspicious that whenever someone talks about some problems they get hearty support, and on others they are accused of trying to get gain.  It gets tiring.  Also of note, alters are not created in therapy, they are discovered during the healing process.
• If true MPD exists, it is an extremely rare phenomenon, affecting perhaps fewer than a dozen people in North America. - Abuse is not rare, and it's effects are not rare either.  DID is simply another effect of abuse, a way for a child to survive the abuse.  Not everyone gets the same disorder, as they are different people with different abuse histories, with different ways of dealing with trauma, and very few of them are healthy.
• Deterioration during therapy - The diagnosis of DID is always a shock, of course.  When a person discovers their other selves, they are remembering the abuse each insider suffered, which of course makes them feel worse.  Therapists, family, and friends convincing them that it is a terrible illness does not help either, and makes the client feel ashamed.  I have seen a woman receive this diagnosis, and then get treated like a ticking time bomb by her entire community.  She was coddled, overprotected, and each behavior or feeling she had was analyzed by all.  They expected her to act strangely and react to stimuli strongly.  Can you imagine what state of mind that woman is in now?  Heaven help her.  She doesn't have a snowball's chance of becoming empowered in that environment.

If you are getting challenged about the validity of your diagnosis, here are some recommended responses to the most common arguments or questions.  The answers are from other multiples I have asked who are offering their preferred responses.

1. "MPD doesn't exist."  Response:  "You don't exist."  Just kidding!  Remember that this person is actually saying that he doesn't believe it exists, not some truth everyone knows.  Simply refer him to the DSM-IV and remind him that is the Bible of the mental health profession and was compiled by the leading experts, and they felt it was prevalent enough to include as a real diagnosis, with real symptoms.
2. "Oh, your therapist just made you think you were MPD."  Response:  "No, I really am MPD ... but my therapist DID make me think you're a jerk" or "So, your therapist just made you think you're an asshole?"  Whoops, Freudian slips there...  What I meant to say is, "Hmmmm.  Clearly, my MPD threatens some part of your world.  Would you please tell me what that is, so I can say something really rude to you, too?"  Gee, that isn't what I mean, either.  *Drums fingers*  This person is actually in some part of his mind complimenting you.  He's saying that you don't act like what he expects a "crazy person" to act like.  Let him know that your therapist is the one with the degrees and is quite competent to make diagnosis, and that s/he does not create disorder (yes, disorder, and not disorders), merely treats and heals what is already there.
3. "You've just gotta get over it and get on with your life."  Response:  "Sure.  I'll do that when you manage to get a life."  No, no, that won't do.  What they are really thinking is "I don't want to deal with this or accept that my friend is hurting.  Make it just go away."  Very childish, isn't it?  Let him know that making really bad things go away means to heal the damage that was done, and that is no easy task.  You can't make a broken leg heal by walking on it and trying to ignore it.  Make sure he understands that "getting over" something NEVER means ignoring it, and that souls are more important and vulnerable than legs and need special care.
4. "That's a vastly overdiagnosed disorder."  Response:  "Oh, and your huge expertise in MPD comes from-m-m-m-m..."  or  (said with dripping sarcasm) "Of course it is.  After all, so many other things look just like having multiple personalities." *eyeroll*.  Here he is expressing his feeling that he is an expert.  He's pretending he has done a statistical report and follow-through of all people diagnosed with DID.  Of course he didn't in reality, but this is obviously an egotistical statement and doesn't deserve as much respect.  There is no personal concern in this statement.  Seriously, those first responses are probably appropriate at this time.  He will usually say he has talked to one or more psychiatrists or other people he feels are experts about this issue.  Tell him you need to leave because ignorance is contagious, his comment is proof.

5. "HAHAHAHA!  MPD doesn't exist!  People just pretend they have it to get attention."  Response: "Of course they do.  Everyone wants to bring a hoard of negativity, ridicule, prejudice, and disdain into their lives.  Now, if only I could be (pick another group that often gets discriminated against) too..." or (speaking a bit louder) "Can I ask you to say that again?  The loud voices inside were just telling me to kill you."  The first one is best.  The second could have negative results.  The person saying this is simply asking for an @$$ kicking.

6. "And who diagnosed you?" -Usually accompanied by THE LOOK, you know the one I mean.  Response: "None of your business."  And it isn't, unless he's a new psychiatrist or therapist.  Physical doctors will probably ask this of you, but regular Joes will as well.  You can tell him IF he needs to know.  They might say they want records transferred or some other lame excuse.  Inform him your mental health is not public domain and he is not building any doctor-patient rapport by questioning everything you say and to stick to his medical profession.  Just nicer, if you can find a way.  If it is a psychiatrist who questions the diagnosis because of his own feelings of the diagnosis, tell him you are not interested in getting a new diagnosis every time you come to a psychiatrist or other mental health provider.  With experience I say that DID is the absolute last thing anyone will want to admit a client has.  Schizophrenia is a catch-all diagnosis and you'll fall into that UNCURABLE label with all the drugs that go with it if you're not careful.  It's on a need-to-know basis, and no one other than you and your therapist really needs to know.  I want to emphasize that although DID/MPD are the only "official" names for it, I am not a disorder! There is no disorder here. I don't like to hear people say "I am a victim of DID..." No. You are a victim of abuse, that's it. The DID is going to STAY a disorder until you work with it. Those therapists that force simple integration and send the patients on thier way? They split again because it wasn't done naturally. Read "I'm Eve" for a good example.