Dissociative Identity Disorder - Tumblr Posts - Page 16

today marks four years of knowing we have DID :33

Hello y’all! Gonna info-dump about a disorder I have now! (There’s a specific mutual that this is for and if you see thing you’ll know it’s you :D)

So I have P-DID, aka Partial-DID, aka Partial-Dissociative Identity Disorder

Before I can go more in depth about P-DID, first I need to explain regular DID, so

What Is DID? (Btw I’m not a professional so this is may be worded wrong but I’m trying my best)

DID is a dissociative disorder that forms when a child, roughly between the ages of 2-8 but those can have some wiggle room, goes through extreme and/or repetitive trauma. Basically, this disorder causes a split of the base identity into at least 2 distinct identities, but there can be any number of identities, or alters as I will refer to them from now on. A person with multiple alters is referred to as a system.

With DID, but not required of every system (there are other disorders that can cause systems, like OSDD and UDD) there are memory walls. The effect of these memory walls is to, well, block off memories between alters. The strength of the amnesia differs from system to system, with some not remember anything unless they are in front (or driving the car that is the body), while others can remember what other alters do crystal clear. Not only does the strength change from system to system, it can also change from alter to alter. Meaning that the wall between alters A and B might be strong and A won’t remember anything B does and vice verse, the wall between alter C and D could be thin or nonexistent so they share memories.

That’s the basics of DID, if anyone wants a more in depth explanation of that, or anything else in this post either, let me know and I’ll happily do so.

Now, what is P-DID?

P-DID is exactly like it sounds, Partial-DID. This means that some of the effects of the disorder are not as pronounced as regular DID. What does this mean?

It can, but doesn’t have to, mean little to no memory walls. It can, but doesn’t have to, mean less alters/less defined alters. It can, but doesn’t have to, mean that there is less switching of front (when alter A takes control of the body after alter B was out and vice versa).

What does that mean for my experience?

In my system, there is significantly less switching. Instead, 95% of the time me, the host (meaning the alter who is in front the majority of the time) is in front while the other 5% of the time a different alter is in front. Instead, the majority of the time I am usually co-con with someone else (co-con means co-conscious, when 2 or more alters are in the brain seat at the same time, or it could be both in the driving seat, or one in the driver one in the passenger ect. It means we are both conscious of the out side world at that moment).

It also means that between me and Most (not all) alters, there is very little memory wall. I remember the majority of what the others do when in front and vice versa.

It Also means that while we have a large number of known alters (and a probably larger number of unknown ((to me)) alters) most of them are fragments, or not as defined alters.

What is my experience like?

Like I said earlier, I am usually co-con with someone else. About 60% of the time, I am not alone in the front and 35% of the time I am (5% left for when I am not in front at all).

More over, in that 60% when I am co-con, about 30% of it is when someone else is in the driver seat instead of me, so I am left to watch what they do but not do it myself. I can give feed back and talk to them and such, but ultimately they are in control until I am back in the drivers seat.

I also experience little memory wall, when it comes to the front at least. There are only about 2 alters who I remember little to nothing when they front. This made it a bit difficult for me to even figure out I had the disorder since I had very few memory gaps. Instead, the memory wall that is there between most of the alters an I is an emotional memory wall.

For example, this means when I think about a trauma that I did not experience/it’s not my job to hold, I can remember what happened, sometimes in excruciating detail, but I do not feel the emotions connected to it. I can remember that we were upset or hurt or whatever during the event, but I do not feel anything for or from that event myself.

I only figured it out because I remembered a short period of time where I wasn’t the host, and instead someone of a completely different gender than me was. This, for pretty obvious reasons, led to me being confused and questioning it until eventually someone reached out and told me that yes, I was in fact part of a system. This took many months of questioning and even talking to a different system and asking questions before they finally told me.

How does having P-DID affect my day to day life?

Honestly? Not very much. Sometimes I’ll feel random emotions and be confused before I remember that there are others in my brain and it’s probably them, or I’ll have occasional bad memory and suddenly someone will tell me the thing I need to remember (or more often than not hear someone laugh at me for forgetting, the bastards).

Sometimes I’ll starts disassociating really hard and then suddenly someone else is moving our body and talking with our voice.

Another big way it affects me is that as it turns out I am a fictive. A fictive is an alter that is made based off of something that already exists, whether that’s a whole other person or a character from a book, game, movie, ect. This means that I Do Not match what the body looks like on the inside, this was another way I figured it out because everytime I looked in the mirror I would go “hey wait a minute, that’s not my face” before realizing that yes, it was in fact my face.

That’s the most of it for now, if anyone has any questions, or wants further explanation, you can either comment/reblog asking for that, or you can DM me directly :)

Thanks for reading, and for the one specific mutual I hope this helped in any way at all

So if I made a movie with a plural character I should have one present like this?

I’m gonna say something….. controversial

systems of all kinds that have aphantasia, here's it to you guys.

it can be hard seeing everyone talk about visualization and most advice being about visualization, when you just can't do that.

you're not broken or less of a system for that.

you're a part of the natural variation of systemhood and plurality. your experiences are just as important as anyone else.

and!! i hope your day gets better

regained control of my phone

also, does anyone have recommendations for games that include characters with or elements representing dissociative identity disorder?

Would like to help a friend with some reviews.

Doesn't matter if the portrayals are positive/accurate or negative/inaccurate. it's all part of the review process.

DO NOT REPOST THIS COMIC. IF YOU WANT TO SHARE IT, PLEASE DO SO FROM THE SOURCE.

Here is my submission for @zakeno’s Mental Health Zine to help fight stigma in the professional field. My contribution is about my experiences with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which is sadly highly stigmatized and misunderstood, even within the mental health field (despite there being tons of concrete research to support it). Coming out about having DID is a thing that makes me very nervous, admittedly, but I want people to know that Dissociative Identity Disorder is very real and we deserve to be acknowledged and not feel like our existence has to be hidden or shameful.

I’m posting this comic in full is because DID deserves so much more recognition than it gets, but please go check out the kickstarter for the full zine and consider supporting it:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1056477701/the-animated-brain-mental-health-in-the-animation

Since I was limited to 5 pages for this specific project, this is only the very bare bones introduction to DID, and there is easily a million more things that can be talked about in how it presents and affects people individually, but hopefully this is a comprehensive introduction based on my personal experiences.

Even though this is only 5 pages, it was one of the most difficult projects we have done and took a few months because trying to get everyone as an alter to contribute when they were fronting to show our range in skills was a waiting game. Sadly, we were running out of time so sort of just had to have whoever was out at the end finish it (which was mostly Devyn).

Like briefly talked about in the comic, DID forms in response to repeated childhood trauma (generally by ages 6-9) when failing to integrate a singular sense of self is needed for survival. This failure to integrate experiences, memories, etc. leads to these self states being able to function independently from each other and control the body at different times with varying levels of amnesia between switches. As time goes on, the more each part experiences different aspects of day to day life, the more and more differentiated and developed they can become from each other. Even though alters can be highly distinct and can function as if they were individual people (and boy can it feel that way on top of a lot of us preferring to be acknowledged as separate from each other in our body), the reason it’s called Dissociative Identity Disorder and no longer goes by its outdated name, Multiple Personality Disorder, is because alters aren’t actual separate fully-fledged personalities, but instead a single individual’s life and experiences split up from each other in a bunch of dissociated self states.

If anyone is interested in knowing more about DID, I always recommend this website as a great source: http://did-research.org/

I’ll also throw in the Myths and Misconceptions page: http://did-research.org/did/myths.html

Spoilers: No people with DID don’t have secret killer alters and are no more dangerous than literally any other person. DID is a defense mechanism/way you develop to navigate your environment, and for us specifically, we continued to be victims of abuse and mistreatment even until recently due to our amnesia and lack of awareness hiding the knowledge when people were harming us.

Happy Mental Health Awareness Month, everyone! 

You ever been thinking about something then *holy shit* cannon interaction between my head mates years before we knew we were a system ?

At least, years before I the host new, hence reblogging of this to make this post.

So me and some friends had a fictional superhero TV show just called "the series" and we had a character called Tsukuyomi (I think that's how it's spelled in English )

And he had the powers to duplicate himself and objects ditto (Ben ten) style and control shadows

And I remember he had a "shadow side" that he could tap into when he was really stressed that would make him more powerful but was really emotionally draining.

And I remember having to explain to my friends that the shadow side was not evil but merely misunderstood in its destructiveness and I was very insistent because I thought we were just projecting onto the character

And I remember creating a scene where in the void a child version of the character hugs the shadow side and tells him (shadow side) that he (child) accepts him (shadow side) and it was super sweet.

But now......I know that location. That's a spot within headspace

When I asked about this they both agreed !? Which means they both knew years before I did that we are plural. Although they didn't know the word at the time.

Cannon interaction between our trauma bearer and syskid 3 years before I knew, and in retrospect it's so obvious as well.

I’ve seen this floating around and just thought I’d add my two cents:

Having autism and not having your needs met is traumatic

Having schizophrenia and not having your needs met is traumatic

That does not mean you split from those disorders, if you have DID, it’s from trauma. Period.

Childhood trauma starts it, but after your brain learns that way of coping it can split over non-traumatic but stressful situations.

Stressful situations including psychotic episodes, and overstimulation meltdowns or long spans of hyperfixation in autism

These things don’t cause DID, but you can still split from it if it’s how your brain has learned to cope

Don’t invalidate your trauma or anyone else’s, it’s anti-recovery

Idk why DID is one of the only ones where there’s genuine discourse from people on whether or not you need trauma.

Like you guys do realize the continuum is not “systems-> systems with trauma”

The real continuum is “ptsd-> CPTSD -> OSDD-> DID”

Like the pre requisite to all of them is trauma.

Why is this even an argument???

If our host gets a job, but we switch or co-front during work hours, it means more than one of us is working. Therefore, systems should be paid the hourly wage multiplied by how many system members there are. In this essay I will

it’s okay to not know who you are or where you’re going. it’s okay to split a million times. it’s okay to need to simply bed rot and stay in your own inner world for a while. it’s okay to take a day to dissociate and disconnect from the world.

sometimes just surviving is enough. having just enough effort to keep living is enough.

Ours go into a void, not the void in-between layers that's a different void, we have like a bubble with a void in it where dormant alters just sort of float in a coma-like state until they're ready to come out of dormancy

Systems tell me where your dormant alters go do they have like a place in the headspace?

Ours go into a cave (which is surprisingly common)

Truths & Myths: Pluralpedia Part 1

Welcome to our "Truths and Myths" series! In this series, we aim to debunk misconceptions and provide accurate information about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). We will mainly focus on DID as it is the disorder we are most familiar with on both a personal and research basis.

Each post will highlight the accurate and inaccurate parts of each term, from the best of our research ability. Then, at the end, we will explain the full story of what DID actually is and provide our sources. We will be taking requests for terms anyone would like us to review. Otherwise, we will use random terms we find.

This first post is an exception to the random terms as we wanted to go over the formation of a DID system.

 To develop Dissociative Identity Disorder, a child must experience overwhelming, severe, and repetitive trauma during their childhood. Having a dissociative disorder such as DID, PDID (ICD-11), or OSDD (DSMV) is the only way to have forms of dissociative identities.

As previously mentioned, DID can only be formed from trauma.

However, it has been suggested that individuals with a natural ability to dissociate or use dissociation as their primary response to trauma are more likely to develop DID. This innate ability allows them to reach a high level of dissociation and form dissociative identities. It is important to note that there is currently no confirmed link between this ability and the development of DID, but it is a proposed logical theory that would need more research.

Furthermore, certain biological factors can make an individual more susceptible to trauma, such as being born biologically female or being neurodivergent. For example, biological females are statistically more likely to experience s*xual abuse, which may have been the trauma they experienced as a child that led to the formation of their system.

Additionally, it is crucial to clarify that Dissociative Identity Disorder cannot be present at birth, and therefore, one can not be born with a system.

The theory of how personality is structured suggests that the personality comprises "modes" that contain cognitive, affective, behavioural, and physiological representations. These modes also represent a plan for encoding experiences and responding to internal and environmental demands.

For example, a person may have a "mother mode" activated when caring for a child, and this mode would have planned what care a child needs. However, the person will also have other modes, such as one associated with demands about their work or demands for defence in verbal ways. In a regular adult, all modes are connected to each other and are under a "conscious control system," which allows for an integrated self-state. This is why it may feel you have fluctuations in your personality or feel differently around your family than your friends. They are different modes, but importantly, they are all integrated together, unlike in an individual with DID.

DID occurs when this coupling process of modes is disrupted by dissociation caused by trauma. This results in smaller, more isolated pockets of modes, leading to multiple conscious control systems that represent different and discontinuous modes. Each of these systems has its own aspect of self, reflected by the modes within it.

One's I specifically used to write my explanation:

Though I suppose technically, in the way the theory is currently proposed, people who have DID never had a "singlet" phase. Otherwise, they would not have been able to form a system or develop DID.

Revisiting the etiological aspects of dissociative identity disorder: a biopsychosocial perspective. (Section under Dissociative Identities)

McLean Hospital. (Section under What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?)

Other external sources that also validate my claims but were not used specifically in the writing:

Cleveland Clinic. (Section under What causes Dissociative Identity Disorder)

The coupling process can be disturbed when a child tries to displace their thoughts, feelings, and emotions onto a “not me” in order to escape what they are experiencing and carry on with life and allows the child to remain for example creative or have a sense of humour even in very difficult circumstances. This leads to disconnected feelings and disorganised attachments to primary caregivers, which means the integration of modes is impossible.

NHS (Section under Causes of Dissociative disorder. It is important to note that this covers all dissociative disorders, not specifically DID)

Better Health Channel. (Section under Causes of Dissociative Disorders. It is important to note that this covers all dissociative disorders, not specifically DID)

Thank you for reading our first part to this series. Feel free to send us an echo to our page or leave in the comments any questions or suggestions for future parts to this series.

Made from the collaborative efforts of the system who run this blog.

Black Holes: A metaphorical view of Trauma in Dissociative Identity Disorder. Part 1

Written by Olive. This is a personal and educational post.

This post covers in more detail why new dissociative identities may be formed in adulthood and define integration in terms of the end-goal treatments for DID.

When trying to understand the complexities of life, metaphors are very powerful tools to visulise our experiences. We find many aspects of Black Holes can be an analogy for the way trauma interacts in the lives of individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). In this post, we will explore the anatomy of black holes and explain how we relate each aspect to our lives, whilst providing an educational light on the disorder’s realities. 

Singularity.

At the centre of every Black hole is a point known as the singularity. This point is considered to be where all the mass of the black hole is centred under infinite density. When something passes the event horizon of the black hole, it will travel inwards towards the singularity.

At the heart of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) lies chronic, severe childhood trauma. We envision this trauma as a singularity, events from which all experiences are affected and the initial formation of alters. Even alters formed later may stem from this foundational trauma. The trauma is deeply stored within us like an infinitely concentrated source of pain. It disrupted our childhood integration, leading to remaining fragmented, and continues to hinder integration efforts today. 

The Event Horizon.

Past the event horizon, considered the boundary that defines the black hole, the escape velocity required to overcome the gravitational force of the black hole is greater than the speed of light. This means nothing can escape from a black hole, not even light. 

Trauma is not always visible, it can be mental, emotional, or even physical and does not leave a lasting effect on the body. This can be reflected by the fact that light cannot escape from a black hole therefore it cannot be seen and is only observed from objects around it. Victims may not be believed if they do not have “physical evidence” on their body but evidence of trauma can be seen from the history of the environment around them. 

The event horizon of a black hole can be likened to the window of tolerance for individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Once something breaches this threshold, causing overwhelming stress or trauma, it can lead to fragmentation in the brain. It's crucial to understand that the nature of these experiences can vary greatly. They can be as seemingly insignificant as a photon of light or as impactful as an entire planet. Similarly, some black holes may exist near planets without consuming them, reflecting how different individuals respond differently to potential trauma.

This metaphor illustrates how anything can be traumatic for a system, potentially causing a split later in life. The severity of the trauma does not need to match that of the initial childhood trauma for it to cause further disturbances in integration. Everyone has a unique window of tolerance, which is why not everyone with severe childhood trauma develops DID, but all individuals with DID have experienced chronic severe childhood trauma. 

This can result in systems having dissociative identities that are very specific, such as being the only one to handle money, or whose whole role is to complete a mundane task of life, such as being the one to take a shower or hoovering because this may for some reason overwhelm an individual, such as the fact it is repetitive or it could be overstimulating. Even the thought of being in a situation that could reactivate traumatic memories can cause the brain to split, such as dreading a visit to a family member, this shows examples of fragmentation being a defensive mechanism because the individual will now be able to handle the situation and did not need to be retraumatised for the brain to become aware that the current system is overwhelmed by this task. This conceptual framework is supported by the work of Van der Hart, Nijenhuis, and Steele (2006) in “The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization”, where they discuss patients developing new dissociative identities in adulthood and the theory that later in life structural dissociation becomes a mental defense tool, despite beginning from traumatisation. 

Hawking Radiation.

As is also presented in the work of Hawking (2018) in “Brief Answers to the Big Questions”, in quantum theory, space is filled with matter and antimatter pairs, such as a proton and an antiproton, that spontaneously appear, collide, and then annihilate each other. If this spontaneous appearance occurs near the event horizon of a black hole, the matter particle can either fall in or escape and appear to be radiated by the black hole. Theoretically, the anti-particle is traveling backward in time so if the anti-particle falls into the black hole this can also be a way it loses mass. As the anti-particle travels it will eventually in time reach where it first appeared and then travel forward in time because the gravitational field scatters it. This process is known as Hawking radiation, and it explains how black holes dissipate over time and why the very first black holes formed in the universe are no longer present. 

The process of Hawking radiation can be likened to the slow yet significant role of processing trauma. To be effective, it must proceed at a pace an individual can handle, and it may never feel certain when a breakthrough in trauma recovery will occur. However, it brings hope that healing from the trauma that caused DID and its symptoms is possible. Through therapy, dissociative parts can become more integrated, meaning they will have a greater connection of memories without amnesic barriers and better communication. This can lead to either functional multiplicity, where all integrated parts work together while maintaining multiple dissociative identities, or final fusion, where all dissociative identities fuse into a single, unified personality. A clear distinction between fusing dissociative identities and integrating them is further supported in the work of Llyod (2023) in “Integration and Fusion in DID/OSDD: Part Two”, which verifies my use of the word ‘integration’.

Written by Olive. This is a personal and educational post.

Bibliography

Van der Hart O, Steele K, Nijenhuis E. The Haunted Self : Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization. W.W. Norton; 2006.

Lloyd M, The CTAD Clinic. Integration and Fusion in DID/OSDD: Part Two. YouTube. Published December 17, 2023.

Hawking S. Brief Answers to the Big Questions. Hachette UK; 2018.

Food for Fangs: Unmasking Vampire Parts.

Personal and Educational Post.

Written by Blade.

The way dissociative identities present as individual parts reflects how trauma has affected the brain. Their traits stem from what was needed to protect against trauma or overcome stress. These traits or ways of perceiving the world may be disguised or interpreted by the brain in the presentation of different types of alters. This allows the individual to remain unaware of their trauma, as the brain may create a narrative that feels understandable and logical, reducing the likelihood of questioning these details. It may be the way the individual's brain allows itself to feel things the host personality was not allowed to during abuse. 

However, there are many misconceptions about the way parts present in Dissociative Identity disorder. This series will cover non-human parts. This part 1 post is about Vampires, written by Blade, a vampire alter. This post will also primarily only cover parts when in executive control, as we feel discussing internal worlds is a different section more suited for the post of their own.

"Can vampire alters consume human food?" 

This question often arises due to the misconception that vampire alters truly believe they are vampires trapped in a human body. However, this is not the case. While an alter may present as a vampire, they are still aware of their human biology. If an alter is unable to understand or realise their role within the system fully, it could result from high levels of dissociation, such as derealisation and depersonalisation. It is crucial to address and work through these issues, as allowing a trauma-based reaction to persist outside of the traumatic experience can be harmful. 

Do they eat human food?

Depending on the role an alter has within the system, they may be required to consume food if they take executive control for an extended period. However, there may be trauma associated with food, and this discomfort may manifest through the vampire alter. Some may have the role of holding these feelings to prevent others from experiencing them, as it may cause less distress for them as a vampire who does not have an innate connection to the concept of consuming food. This is what my part did, I was disgusted at the idea of food and I only began to feel normal hunger after some therapy focused on my individual. This was also not questioned by other members of the system because it felt normal that a vampire would not want to eat human food or find it repulsive. 

But aren’t Vampires always hungry?

Although not all vampire alters are hungry all the time, this could be another trait of protection that is allowed through a vampire part. As discussed by Howell EF (2011) in “Understanding and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder”, a non-human part may form a protective state that is allowed to express an emotion or feeling that the host part is unable to. Expressing hunger or being allowed to feel hungry may be something that the individual was not allowed to do so the brain displaced that feeling onto a part suited for that position of dealing with that pain, or the child/adult experiencing more trauma related that feeling as being like a vampire.

“Vampire Alters crave blood”

This relates to the point I made earlier: vampire alters are not actual vampires from mythology, so they do not crave blood. However, there may be aspects of their role that give the impression they crave blood. This could include being around procedures involving blood, being around mentions of blood, or being tasked with clearing a wound if it occurs. In the mind of a child or an adult experiencing additional trauma, a vampire would be the most suitable alter for this role, as they would naturally be comfortable around blood. However, to a part that is unaware of this trauma, or even to the vampire alter themselves, they may feel them being around as an impression that they crave blood like in myths. A vampire alter may also be assumed to crave blood if they happen to also be a persecutor who causes physical harm that results in blood.

 A person's craving to drink blood, known as Clinical Vampirism, is a rare condition that has been documented through case studies. However, it is often associated with a delusion or as part of mental health conditions such as schizophrenia. But, there was a case study on a man who suffered from vampirism and was later diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). His violent tendencies, stemming from his vampirism, manifested through his other identity, leading outsiders to believe that his dissociative identity was a real vampire as an alter. This perpetuates the misconception that vampire alters are always like their mythical counterparts. However, the introduction of the case report clearly states that there is no established link between vampirism and DID, and they should be treated as separate conditions. This case study serves to show that vampirism is possible in patients with DID even if DID did not cause the vampirism. We have included the case study in our bibliography to provide sources, but we must issue a trigger warning for extreme violence, SH, su*cide, and trauma of all ages. Additionally, the use of the r slur in the introduction should be noted as it may be offensive and we do not agree with the use of the word. We will have linked more reading on the topic including other case studies of people with schizophrenia and one study that talks about the different levels/types of vampirism documented. All the same trigger warnings apply.

Although vampires do not have an inherent desire to drink blood, some may find comfort in consuming red foods. This may serve as a way for their brain to establish safe foods and comfort through this alter without it seeming out of place or may have been the brain thinking the only way the individual would be able to consume these foods was if they were a vampire and hence the trait is given to the vampire alter. In my own recovery, addressing my relationship with food was important. I eventually discovered that my comfort food was tomatoes, and I found it easier to consume foods like Gazpacho, which is in liquid form. This allowed me to find comfort in eating while also embracing my vampire identity because it felt like a natural progression towards something more positive, as it also involved addressing past trauma but brought comfort too in being a non-human part.

This post serves as an important reminder that DID is a trauma disorder so everything about an individual will be shaped by trauma. It is not a fantasy or roleplay in which dissociative identities are made or exist by.

Bibliography

Howell EF. Understanding and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder. Routledge; 2011.

Sakarya D, Gunes C, Ozturk E, Sar V. ‘Vampirism’ in a Case of Dissociative Identity Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 2012;81(5):322-323. doi:https://doi.org/10.1159/000335930

O’Brien C, Hallahan B. Delusions of Vampirism in an Adolescent and Treatment with Clozapine: a Case Report. Cureus. Published online October 2, 2023. doi:https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.46352

Halevy A, Levi Y, Shnaker A, Orda R. Auto-vampirism--an Unusual Cause of anaemia. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 1989;82(10):630-631. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1292349/?page=2

Hervey WM, Catalano G, Catalano MC. Vampiristic Behaviors in a Patient with Traumatic Brain Injury Induced Disinhibition. World Journal of Clinical Cases. 2016;4(6):138. doi:https://doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v4.i6.138

References 3-5 are the extra case studies referenced in the post.

Written by Blade.

This is a personal and educational post.

Truths and Myths: Pluralpedia Part 4, Alter Roles.

This is an educational post.

Written by 🤍. (Temporary emoji placeholder)

And at the same time

A part that is designed to hold trauma, known as an emotional part, may remain stuck at the age when the trauma occurred. This can be part of the process in which the individual part repeatedly relives the trauma or unconsciously reenacts it in their actions when taking executive control, even though the trauma has ended but they are unaware. As a result, they are unable to age past the age of the trauma. Later in therapy, trauma can be processed and this can relieve that part from their need to be fixed in time

Further discussed in Van der Hart, Nijenhuis, and Steele’s book (2006) “The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization”. The authors disscuss a patient whose child emotional part would reenact situations from the trauma in an attempt to prevent it from happening again. Additionally, they discuss that some emotional parts can experience severe nonrealisation therefore that part may literally experience themselves as being the age they are stuck at, in the book this is used in context of child parts.

According to the NHS (2024) website on eating disorders, there are many potential causes for them, including various traumas. An individual experiencing an eating disorder or in recovery may also experience trauma or stress, on a psychological, physical, and social level. As a result, an alter may split due to the eating disorder as parts are fragmented due to trauma. This alter may serve as a protective/caretaker part, ensuring the survival of the body, but it may also be a part that has split off due to denial of the eating disorder. This part may be used by the brain to hide the parts of the individual that are heavily affected by the trauma of the eating disorder.  This can also allow the affected parts to recover at their own pace, as they are aware that the body will be fine. However, this alter may also serve as an unhelpful crutch, causing other parts to believe that they do not need to recover or are not ready to do so. In reality, it is crucial for all parts to recover in order to aid in trauma healing and move towards a more sustainable life. Relying too heavily on one part can result in their exhaustion as they will be using their available resources to focus and take care of the needs of others. If this is their only role, it may result in a lack of self-awareness of their own needs, making it difficult for them to meet them. This point is supported by Van der Hart, Nijenhuis, and Steele's book (2006) "The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization" when discussing caretaker parts in systems. It is important to allow a part to take a break, otherwise they may begin to dread their role or task, leading to unpleasant or even stressful experiences. Therefore, it is necessary for parts to have the capability to share responsibility for tasks, even if only for a short time, to give the main part a chance to rest, another reason why recovery for those parts heavily affected should be encouraged. This idea and self-care is discussed more in W AT’s book “Got Parts: An Insider’s Guide to Managing Life Successfully with Dissociative Identity Disorder”. 

The term "called out" may refer to this alter being triggered when food is present or is brought out when a part is triggered by food, allowing it to take control of the situation. Alternatively, it may refer to the switching technique learnt in therapy, where communication between alters is improved to the point where one alter can reach out and ask another to take control. However, this is a complex skill, as it is considered, to master and there will always be a risk of failure, so it cannot be guaranteed to work every time. Based on this, it can be assumed that the term refers to the act of this alter stepping into either calm or avoid a trigger.

Van der Hart O, Steele K, Nijenhuis E. The Haunted Self : Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization. W.W. Norton; 2006.

NHS. Overview - Eating Disorders. NHS. Published 2021. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/

W AT. Got Parts? : An Insider’s Guide to Managing Life Successfully with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Loving Healing Press; 2005.

Echoes in the Multiverse . Echoes in the Multiverse. Tumblr. Published June 16, 2024. Accessed August 2, 2024. https://www.tumblr.com/echoes-in-the-multiverse/753468998583271424/what-is-switching-technique-in-your-last-post-you?source=share

Bibliography link 4 is to a post we made discussing more about the Switching technique and the resources we used to write that post and expand our own knowledge we gained in therapy.

I think the only positive that’s come out of bein’ isolated from everyone fer the past two months is that system communication has been at an all time high, because we only have each other to talk to and burn the time with

Thanks fer bein’ a great source of conversation

-🍾

This is so true! I love abnormal psychology because it dives into disorders that are not commonly talked about like schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder, etc. but besides that class, the disorders were never talked about in other classes. So I take the time to read about them. I don’t study psychology for the heck of it. I am truly interested in these mental disorders and had no idea that the lack of courses that specialize in them has led to a lack of actual specialists that can really help people.

one of craziest things about the mental health industry is that while getting their education, counselors and psychiatrists spend about two minutes learning about the "rarer" psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. the justification behind not studying it is because so few people experience these conditions, and that mental health professionals who want to treat them have to specialize in them.

this is a problem because whether we like to believe it or not, mental health professionals are looking to make money, and there's not a lot of money in targeting a specific part of the population. additionally, people in rural or even a number of urban areas do not have access to specialist who need it. it's just like with any rare health diagnosis, unless you live in a a super densely populated area with a lot of resources, you're not going to get the help you need.

i can confirm this as someone who knows many mental health professionals, and they've been transparent for their lack of education (one even told me that they spent literally an hour in school learning about DID). i've never had the opportunity to meet with someone who specializes in my diagnosis (schizophrenia) due to where i live. and even if i did, i wouldn't have the money. specialists often do not cater to even the most basic insurance like medicaid or medicare, and the reality is that most people with rare mental diagnoses do not have the funds to pursue the help they need.

the point of this post is to bring awareness to some of the struggles that people with rarer psychiatric diagnoses face. we are quite frankly fucked over by the system, and moreover capitalism. please keep this in mind before judging us for "not seeking help" or telling us to "get therapy." we already have so much going against us, and face so much stigma.

I love seeing those posts where people are like “if you have headmates or whatever you should be on meds because that’s not okay” posts. Like neurotypicals just think that there’s some magical pill out there that will ‘cure’ anything they don’t consider ‘normal.’ Meanwhile, in the land of reality, my shrink thinks it’s pretty healthy that I’m finally getting to know my headmates, and has no intention of putting me on magic pills, because as long as I’m not hurting myself or anyone else, who cares what neurotypicals think is ‘normal?’ Actually, let’s be real: who cares what neurotypicals think at all?

Hey, Facebook did a good thing again