welcome!
a little birdie told me u wanted 2 be educated on dissociative identity disorder (also known as DID)
(this is explained in the most recent and accurate theory, the structural dissociation theory.)
as a child u have multiple states of mind. (eg. one to show affection, one to eat, one for sleeping, the basic necessities) typically, these states of mind combine to create one personality. (fyi, personality is fluent lol)
if the brain experiences something it considers traumatic (to the point it feels like the child won't be able to survive anymore) it will decide not to integrate the states of mind as a form of a coping mechanism.
and as a part of that, the brain puts amnesiac walls in between each state of mind. this makes it possible for at least one state of mind to continue living a normal life, with no memory of any trauma.
these states of mind are often referred to as alternate states of consciousness, shortened to alters. there are other terms like headmates, family, etc.
alters are typically assigned with a role, sometimes they instantly know what it is, sometimes they don't.
a role for an alter with no traumatic memories whatsoever is an ANP. standing for an apparently normal part.
while on the opposite spectrum, we have what's called an EP, which are alters who hold trauma, and are sometimes still reexperiencing it.
there are many other roles to cover, but here are some common ones!
host- the one using the body the most. sometimes an ANP.
co-host- usually there to cover for the host.
physical protector- is the first to come protect the body from physical harm when needed.
spiritual protector- keeps the body and fellow alters calm
primary protector- an overall protector. solves conflict among alters, takes care of certain matters, etc.
gatekeeper- in charge of trauma memories, sometimes controls who is using the body.
fragment- an incomplete alter. sometimes emotionless, sometimes only has one job, (eg. cooking, showering...)
little- child alter.
traumaholder- self explanatory.
introject- an alter created from a source, like a human, someone from history.
fictive- form of introject, but coming from a story. (eg. anime, movie, game, etc)
NOTE: THERE ARE MANY OTHER ROLES, BUT THESE R VERY IMPORTANT AND COMMON
++ THERE CAN BE MULTIPLE PPL W THE SAME ROLE
not every system (group of alters) has a headspace/inner world.
an inner world is a place created by the brain for the alters to stay. however, it will be more difficult for some alters to access than others,
the headspace will differ from system to system. some will have literal galaxies, while others would be only one building.
some traumatic memories are hidden deep within the headspace, which only some people can access.
alters have their own appearances in the inner world. everything is just like the external world. they will also have their own voices, etc.
alters can also have their own relations with each other. they are real people. with their own thoughts, etc.
anyway, fronting is a term that is used for when an alter takes control of the body. (eg. chai is fronting right now.)
which also explains switching/switch basically meaning the change of who is currently fronting.
positive triggers - basically, let's say i was fronting, walking around in a mall. then, out of the corner of our eye, we see a toy store. out of nowhere, SWITCH! a little (child alter) comes out thanks to the toy store.
they aren't always a good thing though. it really sucks being in the middle of something in the inner world and being forced to come out/front.
negative triggers - ptsd triggers, but they cause an alter to front entirely and reexperience the event right there.
dormancy - when an alter stops fronting for an extended amount of time.
oh also, co-consciousness or being co-con is when an alter is observing what is ongoing, but isn't fully fronting. (kinda like being in a passenger's seat.)
communication between alters vary a lot. think of me (chai) as a sun. the planets circling around get further and further. mercury being someone i could talk to easily, and neptune being someone i can barely communicate with.
ok please do not expect them to tell you about their trauma.
if they do, PLEASE do not invalidate them. what your brain classifies as trauma will always be different in comparison to others.
DID is supposed to be a covert disorder, so you will probably not notice their switches or any symptoms.
do not get mad if they get confused on who is fronting, etc. it happens all the time.
DO NOT positively trigger someone intentionally. that is like, a big betrayal of trust. please do not.
don't always expect that you're talking to the host. it isn't difficult to ask, "hey, who is this?"
treat an alter just switching in as someone who just entered the room.
please ask politely if you'd like another alter to front. it can make one feel so bad so easily.
don't say stuff like "your alters". no one owns them.
and please, do not ignore their disorder. don't act like nothing ever happened.
ok so someone in the system (fyi his name's anz he's gay hit him up) has a positive trigger for like,,, pride flags and just being gay and idk how that works, but it's amazing.
there have been many instances in which i have talked to friends about a specific alter, then they instantly go co-con and say "..hello mf." LIKE $%#$^$&%^*^7
once i was fronting in like may at school, then i ended up fronting again months later, in december, in fucking TOKYO. it was so weird, bc i was just in an amnesiac state up until i suddenly appeared in TOKYO?!!
sometimes, two people try to front and sometimes one person controls part of the body and the other does another part and boy, it gets chaotic.
hey thanks so much for reading this! i hope u treat the system that sent u this (or any system u run into rlly) well, and there's still a lot i haven't covered, so feel free to ask the system that sent u this, or hey u can dm me on twitter (@ENBYCHAL)
