DID FAQ      !!
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What is DID?
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is the disorder that was previously recognized as multiple personality disorder. It's characterized by the presence of two or more dissociated self states, known as "alters", that have the ability to take executive control and are associated with some degree of inter-identity amnesia. DID is caused by chronic childhood trauma and is highly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder.

What is a System?
A system is a collection of alters within one body. The entirety of a DID system includes all of the alters within one body.

What is Switching?
In DID, a switch is when a person changes from one alter to another. This is usually caused by a positive or negative trigger that initiates or activates a switch.

What is a trigger?
Negative triggers are sensory stimuli connected with a person's trauma, and dissociation is an overload response. Even years after the traumatic event or circumstances have ceased, certain sights, sounds, smells, touches, and even tastes can set off, or trigger, a cascade of unwanted memories and feelings.

Positive triggers, on the other hand, can sometimes be developed over time. These are things that involve an alters favorite things, or things that bring them joy. Hobbies, food, music, etc. Not all systems have Positive triggers but our system does!

What is Fronting?
When an alter is fronting, they are controlling the body, and their emotions and thoughts are the strongest in the forefront of the mind's awareness. Some alters front frequently, while other alters never front at all.

What are Emotional and Apparently Normal Parts?
Apparently normal parts (ANP) are the rational, present-oriented, and grounded parts of the individual that handle daily life or, in the case of DID and so multiple ANP, aspects of daily life. The jobs of the ANP include social interaction and attachment, taking care of others, work, play, exploration, learning, and taking care of physical needs.

Emotional parts (EP) are the parts of the personality that represent the dissociation or that contain the traumatic materials (memories of the trauma, internalized beliefs and perceptions, learned responses, etc). EP are often drawn forth by reminders of the trauma and may not experience much of everyday life. Because of this, they might be far less developed than ANP.

What is an Internal Self Helper?
An internal self helper is an alter that holds vast amounts of knowledge about the system, alters, trauma, and/or internal workings. Internal self helpers are often viewed as the first alter to be created or as the normally pseudo-separate internal voice of logic and reason that all people possess. Internal self helpers may or may not also serve as a gatekeeper.

What is a Gatekeeper?
A gatekeeper is an alter that controls switching or access to front or access to certain alters or memories. The existence of a gatekeeper is highly stabilizing for a system because gatekeepers can to some extent prevent unwanted switching, failure to switch when necessary, or failure to switch to the correct alter. They can help to prevent traumatic memories from bleeding from the alters who hold them to alters who could not yet handle them. Because gatekeepers have control over which alters have access to front, they themselves are often or always near front and so witness everything that happens to the system. They might experience vast amounts of abuse and might present as ageless, emotionless, and nonhuman as a way to process this and cope. Gatekeepers may or may not also serve as an internal self helper.

What is a Host?
The host is the alter that most commonly uses the body. Host alters are responsible for most aspects of daily life, though teams of fronter alters might divide up daily life into more manageable and specialized units such as socialization, academia, work, and taking care of the body. If the host has spent years unaware of the existence of other alters and the trauma that created them, the host might have an extremely hard time coming to accept their DID. This alter might be used to viewing themselves as the only entity in their body and will likely at least at first view themselves as the core. This may or may not be correct. According to the theory of structural dissociation, all hosts are apparently normal parts.

What is a Protector?
Protectors are alters that protect the body, system, host, core, or other specific alters or groups of alters. Physical protectors might take or try to prevent physical abuse or become aggressive in an attempt to defend against physical abuse. Verbal protectors might take verbal abuse or lash back verbally in order to counter verbal abuse. Emotional protectors might take emotional abuse or comfort other alters to soften the effects of emotional abuse. Sexual protectors might take sexual abuse or attempt to instigate sexual abuse in an attempt to feel more in control of the situation. Caretaker alters are a unique type of protector that is focused specifically on taking care of younger, weaker, or more vulnerable alters or external children.

What is a Persecutor?
Persecutors are another specific type of protector that are often not seen as such. Persecutors are alters that purposefully harm the body, system, host, core, or other alters, sabotage the system's goals or healing, or work to assist the system's abuser(s). Persecutors might hold self hatred or provide an outlet for internalized abusive and negative messages. They might believe that hurting the system or other alters is the only way to control them or teach them how to behave and so prevent further and more extreme abuse from outside abusers. They might be reenacting abuse or trying to ensure that future abuse isn't more harmful due to being preceded by a period of relatively little abuse. Some persecutor alters are introjects of abusers and may or may not understand that they are not actually the abuser themselves.

The Host
Dani
She/Her
(Apparently Normal Part)

The Gatekeeper
Anastasia/Mystery
She/They
(Internal Self Helper & Emotional Part)

The Protectors
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Gabrielle/Patience
She/They
(Emotional Protector & Apparently Normal Part)

Lilith
She/Her
(Caretaker & Apparently Normal Part)

Lorelei Rose
She/Her
(Sexual Protector & Emotional Part)

Cadence
She/Her
(Spiritual Protector & Emotional Part)

Aries/Ares
They/He
(Physical Protector & Emotional Part)

Other Alters
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Alice
She/Her
(Emotional Part)

Lilith
She/Her
(Caretaker & Apparently Normal Part)

Pyrrah
She/Her
(Apparently Normal Part)

Aura/Serenity
They/She
(Apparently Normal Part & Twin Alter of Ivory)

Ivory
She/Her
(Persecutor, Emotional Part & Twin Alter of Aura)

Siren/Aurora
She/Her
(Emotional Part)