Software Vault: The Diamond Collection/The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO/cdr50/dissoc.zip/DISSOC.TXT

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Archive-name: dissoc-faq/part1
Last-modified: 1994/10/13
Posting-frequency: bi-monthly

alt.support.dissociation FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
========================================================

Last modified on 10/13/94

Several people have contributed in one way or another to this FAQ, and
I will always accept proposals for changes/additions to this FAQ,
although I reserve the right to edit (with the author's approval) any
submission I may receive before placing it in the FAQ.

This FAQ is for information only, and no portion of it may be
reproduced for any other purpose but information, nor may it be
reproduced in any other form but electronically, without the
direct permission of the persons writing any sections that you
wish to reproduce. Authors of the various sections will be
credited in each section.

FAQ-Keeper and author of several sections: Tina Sikorski, aka
Maelstrom. (sections I've written will be marked tls, my
initials)

Direct Contributors: The Sapphire Gazelles, Anita Easton, Peter
Barach.

Indirect Contributors [people who have not written a section
but who have contributed ideas or snippets of information that
I have included.]: Dan Holzman, Andy Latto.

Some of the "official" definitions in this FAQ are paraphrased
from the DSM-III-R. I do not have a copy of the DSM-IV at this
writing, so people who would like to contribute changes made in
the DSM-IV on this topic are much more than welcome to e-mail
me, or post here.

Section Contents Key: - Still needs to be written * Updated
since last posting + New since last posting


==== Contents

Section 1: alt.support.dissociation   Purpose of newsgroup
(includes short history)   Who belongs here?   Posting
guidlines/etiquette   Posting anonymously to
alt.support.dissociation

Section 2: Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders (Formal)
Definition of Dissociation   Definition of Multiple Personality
Disorder (MPD)   Other Dissociative Disorders   Related
Disorders - Treatments for MPD and other Dissociative Disorders

Section 3: Multiplicity, an informal look   Dissociation versus
MPD   An overview of MPD/multiplicity   Dealing with multiples:
a suggestion

Section 4: Dissociation and Dissociative states (informal)
What, precisely, _is_ dissociation   What to do when
dissociation causes problems   Common problems and issues for
dissociated persons

Section 5: Learning about Dissociation   The Internet   Books
Organizations

The sections are each accorded their own notes. This portion of
this note could be considered Section 0, and will always
contain an overview of the FAQ.


======================================================================
=

Section 1: alt.support.dissociation   Purpose of newsgroup
(includes short history)   Who belongs here?   Posting
guidlines/etiquette   Posting anonymously to
alt.support.dissociation


**** The history of alt.support.dissociation, and its purpose
(tls)

The reason I had for suggesting/creating this newsgroup was
originally going to be to discuss JUST multiplicity (aka MPD
aka Multiple Personalities aka Multiple Personality Disorder
aka Dissociative Identity Disorder) and the problems arising
from it, how to deal with it, what to do about it, etc. etc.
While discussing it on alt.config, someone mentioned calling it
alt.dissociation and including other forms of dissociation in
addition to MP. I thought this was a very good idea, because
people who dissociate, no matter what the form of their
dissociation, are fairly likely to run into the same sort of
problems that people who are multiple experience.

The newsgroup is primarily for discussing how to deal with any
problems and/or issues that might arise due to dissociative
states and processes, no matter what the degree of dissociation
or what the issue/problem is.

Other psychological states or disorders with similar issues
and/or problems will probably be mentioned here from time to
time.

**** Q: Who belongs here? (tls)

Anyone with an interest in being here, of course. A more
specific list is: people with dissociative processes, including
but not limited to multiple personalities; their SOs (that's
"Significant Others" btw), friends, colleagues and the like;
therapists/psychologists with insights into dealing with
problems and issues arising from dissociation, and other
interested parties (although that probably covers just about
everyone).

**** Posting guidelines and etiquette (tls, based on both her
own opinion and other peoples comments)

This is based, in part, on observations made by posters to
other groups with a similar topic.

Do not ridicule others. Because many of the posters here will
be multiples, they may come across as odd to others. Be
understanding that  some of the people posting here may be
letting, for instance, a younger alter post, or one who is
severely depressed, and so forth...or they may describe things
that seem unreal to you, but it is what they are experiencing.

Do not suggest that, because someone has not been diagnosed
with a dissociative disorder, that this automatically makes
them wrong about what they are going through.  This rule
applies to therapists/psychologists as well as other posters.
Especially for therapists/psychologists: do not attempt

to diagnose someone, unless they are asking for an opinion on
what they are experiencing. Those of us who are multiple who
will be posting here don't want to be told we are not...don't
you think we'd know? [OK, it could be something related
instead, but if the multiplicity model fits us, and it works
for us, why not let us use it?]

Many people do not consider their dissociation, no matter what
the degree, to be in and of itself a problem, and for many
people it is not. It is merely a different way of dealing with
the world, in their case. They might, however, seek out a group
such as this for suggestions on how to solve issues related to
their dissociation.

Do not post about potentially disturbing subjects without
giving some sort of spoiler. A spoiler is a caution/warning
that the contents of the post may be disturbing for a specific
reason.

When discussing the reasons that one dissociates (whether it is
multiplicity or other forms of dissociation), it is sometimes
helpful to examine the events that led to dissociation (or,
with multiples, initial splits and later splits). Some people
reading this newsgroup may not be at a stage where they can
handle particularly blunt descriptions of some of the more
common incidents that lead to people dissociating. So, to allow
people at all various stages of discussing both their own
backgrounds and listening to others to participate, it would be
preferred that explicit topics, such as sexual encounters,
abuse, suicide attempts, cutting and other forms of self harm,
and other potentially triggering topics be spoilered with a
page of non-explicit material including a brief warning as the
type of topic that is going to be discussed.

In addition, some specific topics relating to multiplicity may
be difficult for people to deal with. These would include the
process of merging alters, integration and fusion of alters,
and so forth.

A warning to people from ASAR: Do not necessarily expect the
extent of spoilering you would get from the people of ASAR. In
particular, do not expect that mere discussion of multiplicity
itself is going to be spoilered, because that is, after all, a
good portion of what this newsgroup is for.

Please try to curb your desire to flame people. If you disagree
with someone, express it in a rational manner. This is in
keeping with general USENET etiquette, but given the recent
problems on ASAR, I feel it bears repeating. At least twice.

** A note about Names.

A topic of much concern to people, particularly those choosing
to post anonymously, is that of names. I would ask a favor of
everyone choosing to post here, and to use #dissoc [I think
this applies to ASAR as well, but hey, I'm not in charge of
helping shape ASAR.]  If someone has a name that they use here,
regardless of whether or not it is their body's given name,
their alter's given name, or a name they use to identify
themselves here, it is undoubtedly something of importance to
them. They identify themselves with it here, in regards to
their issues and problems. It carries a strong psychological
attachment for them.

So, if you are new, and someone is using the name you are used
to using, find a way to make your version unique. A suggestion
on ASAR made by someone that I thought was very good was, for
MPs, use the collective name as your posting name (the one in
the From: line), and sign it with the alter name, or precede it
with the alter name.

Obviously this cannot be enforced. This is not a moderated
group, and even if it were, I don't know think that would be an
appropriate part of the moderator's duties. But it is now a
part of the asd etiquette...so keep it in mind.

**** Posting anonymously to alt.support.dissociation (tls)

Because of the sensitive nature of the topics to be discussed
here, some people may not feel comfortable unless they have a
way to post anonymously.

It is possible to use the server at anon.penet.fi and the one
at twwells.com to do this.  (ASAR and alt.abuse.recovery
readers should recognize these two.) The various cypherpunk
remailers will also allow you to do this, I believe.

Information on how to use the anon.penet.fi server is available
by e-mailing [e-mail]. I will also be periodically
posting a summary on how to use the penet.fi service.

Information on how to use the twwells.com server is available
by e- mailing [e-mail].

There are other anonymous servers that I do not currently have
complete information on, however, if you finger
[e-mail], you will get information on the
cypherpunk remailers, some of which allow posting to newsgroups.

Part 2 of the alt.support.dissociation FAQ
==========================================

Section 2: Dissociation and Dissociation Disorders   Definition
of Dissociation/Dissociative Disorders   Definition of Multiple
Personality Disorder (MPD)   Other Dissociative Disorders
Related Disorders. - Treatments for MPD and other Dissociative
Disorders

**** Q: What is dissociation? (tls)

[Note that this is the formal definition of a dissociative
disorder. The DSM considers dissociation to a large degree to
be a disorder. Your mileage may vary. For a different view of
dissociative processes, see the informal section on
dissociation.]

A dissociative disorder is a sate in which there is a
disturbance in the normal integration of one's identity,
memory, or consciousness (thoughts/ideas/beliefs). Said
disturbance may be short-term or long- term, may occur suddenly
or gradually, may occur once or recur.

**** Q: What is Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)?
What is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)? (tls)

NOTE: Dissociative Identity Disorder is the new name for
Multiple Personality Disorder, as of the DSM-IV.

Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is also referred to as
"having multiple personalities".

According to the DSM-III-R:

"The essential feature of this disorder is the existence within
the person of two or more distinct personalities or personality
states. personality is here defined as a relatively enduring
pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the
environment and one's self that is exhibited in a wide range of
important social and personal contexts." [....] "At least two
of the personalities, at some time and recurrently, take full
control of the person's behavior."

Other things listed as distinctive features include:

* Possibly not being aware of any other personalities, or being
aware   of only some.
* Memory loss for alters when switches
occur
* Only one personality being able to be in control at once

Things of note include:

* Quite possible for each personality to have widely varying traits.
* Most personalities have distinct names of their own
* The various personalities themselves may have seperate disorders
[Note: There is uncertainty expressed as to whether or not certain
accompanying disorders may be an associated feature of MPD, or if it
is
simply a disorder that personality has.]
* Care must be taken in distinguishing between "inner voices" being of
  hallucinatory or delusional origin, or actually being that of the
  personality.

Age of onset of MPD is nearly always in childhood. The degree
of impairment may be minimal or extreme, based both on the
personalities and their interaction as well as the number of
personalities (although the latter is a secondary
consideration).

Predisposing factors: in nearly all cases, there is abuse or
other severe emotional trauma preceding the disorder.

Prevalence: thought to be much less rare than previously
thought. [No other information available.]

Differential Diagnoses.

Psychogenic Fugue and Psychogenic Amensia have some similar
symptoms, but do not have the shifts in personality that MPD
does, and are generally not chronic.

Schizophrenia, which in part can include
fragmented/multiple/disordered thinking and can include the
perception of "voices in one's head" as well as a feeling that
one is controlled by another entity or entities.

Borderline Personality Disorder, which is marked in part by
severe instability in mood, action, and thought.

**** Other Dissociative Disorders (tls)

Other Dissociative Disorders listed in the DSM-III-R include
Psychogenic Fugue, Psychogenic Amnesia, and Depersonalization
Disorder.

Psychogenic Fugue is marked by the assumption of a new identity
and the inability to recall one's previous identity, and
involves a complete switch of home and/or work locale. Usually
this is caused by some severe psychosocial stress (such as
severe marital problems, being involved in military conflict,
or some type of disaster). Psychogenic Fugue is usually
short-lasting.

Psyhogenic Amnesia is marked by a sudden inability to recall
important personal information, when not due to organic causes.
Usually this is caused by severe psychosocial stress, as noted
above for Psychogenic Fugue.

Both Psychogenic Fugue and Psychogenic Amnesia are most common
during wartine or after a natural disaster.

Depersonalization Disorder is marked by persistent or recurrent
alteration in the perception of one's self, such as a feeling
of detachment from one's actions or thoughts, or feeling like
an observer of the same. Alternatively, one may feel as if one
is an automaton, without conscious will of one's actions, or
feel as if one is dreaming. Generally, Depersonalization
Disorder is caused by severe stress of some sort.

Dissociative Disorder NOS

This category includes any number of disturbances that may have
a dissociative symptom or symptoms, but that cannot truly be
diagnosed as any of the above disorders, nor a related one.

[Note: If I were to see a therapist, they might well not
diagnose me as having MPD, for the reason that I do not
experience the type of time loss/memory loss that is considered
to be a characteristic of MPD (or at least, I experience it
very very rarely), nor is it impossible for me to have several
personalities function together/in unison. They might therefore
decide I fell into this category. This is only one such
example. Another might be a sort of altered state of
consciousness in which one function directly after a trauma of
some sort, in which one focusses on a single aspect of one's
self or actions to get through the shock of trauma.]

**** Related Disorders (tls)

[Note that I am not a psychologist, and that one might well
disagree with my definition of related disorders, but there is
one in particular I would like to include here, because I
believe that the results of the disorder may be similar enough
to Dissociative Disorders, particularly MPD, that people
suffering from it may find some sort of help here.]

A Call to Psychologists/Therapists: if you feel that I am
inappropriately calling these related disorders, please don't
hesitate to let me know, but please do include the why.

Mood Disorders of all sorts seem to bring up similar functional
problems. Borderline Personality Disorder does as well, and is
probably the disorder resulting in the most similar problems
and issues to MPD. [Opinion] Identity disorder also would seem
to bring up similar issues.

Borderline Personality Disorder is marked by an instability in
mood, self-image, and relationships, and includes much
indecision about serious issues of identity, such as one's
goals, sexual orientation, self- image, values/ethics/morals,
and so forth. It is generally characterized by some number of
the following symptoms:

* Instability in one's personal relationships * Impulsiveness
to the point of self-damage, such as impulsive sex acts,
substance abuse, and the like.
* Instability of mood,
particularly short-term episodes of depression,
anxiety/panic, or irritability.
* Inappropriate or uncontrolled
anger.
* Recurrent attempts/threats of suicide or
self-mutilation
* Identity disturbance/marked uncertainty
about: one's self-image, sexual   orientation, long-term goals,
career choices, values/morals/ethics
* Chronic boredom or
feelings of emptiness
* Anxiety about and frantic efforts to
avoid real or imagined abandoment.

Identity disorder is considered a disorder of
childhood/adolescence, and is marked by "severe subjective
distress regarding the inability to integrate aspects of the
self into a relatively coherent and acceptable sense of self."
[DSM-III-R]. Symptoms include:

Severe stress regarding uncertainty about (3 or more of):
* long-term goals
* career choice
* friendship patterns
* sexual orientation/behavior
* religious identification
* morals/value systems
* group loyalties

Impairment in social/occupational/educational functioning.


**** Treatments for MPD and other Dissociative Disorders

NOTE: This is likely to be the most contradictory of all the
subsections. Although some agreement has started to be reached
among therapists and psychologists, there is still a great deal
of skepticism about the validity of MPD and what the goal in
treatment is. I'm not sure if this applies to other
dissociative disorders. However, since I don't have any sort of
official treatment policies, for now, this section remains
blank. Any takers? Preferably more than one, so we get opposing
viewpoints, which I will then collate.

Part 3 of the alt.support.dissociation FAQ
==========================================

Section 3: Dissociation, a less formal viewpoint
  Dissociation versus MPD
  An overview of MPD/multiplicity
  Dealing with multiples: a suggestion

**** Dissociation versus MPD
(tls)

In discussions with people on this topic, the conclusion I have
reached is that dissociation in general includes multiplicity,
and you could consider, in a way, "dissociation" to be a
spectrum of a way of viewing oneself.

An analogy I drew one night that has met with the most
understanding in trying to describe this is temperature.

Firstly, temperature is a scale that is, theoretically, without
end, so the analogy is not 100% accurate. But, if you picture
complete integration of one's thoughts/ideas/beliefs and so
forth on one end (often referred to as "normality", although I
prefer to use the term "singularity"), and picture utter
fragmentation on the other, you get a decent idea.

Now, like temperature, one's degree of dissociation may vary
somewhat. For instance, within the spectrum of dissociation is
a sub-spectrum of multiplicity. One may be just barely
multiple, having perhaps only a handful of alters (maybe even
only one), or one may have hundreds. Another scale to measure
by (this is another place the analogy falls apart,
unfortunately, but bear with me) is the degree of integration
among the alters---how much they can cooperate and share. (Note
that I use the term integration to mean that, rather than
becoming a single person, which I refer to as fusion.)
Multiplicity not necessarily being a stable state, you can vary
over time. More accurately, dissociation itself is not a stable
state.

An example of dissociation not being stable is the feeling of
being removed from one's actions that someone who has suffered
a shock or trauma may feel. This is usually a short-term state,
but it does, the way I understand it, qualify as temporary
dissociation.

ALSO like temperature, the way dissociation is perceived by the
person experiencing it may differ from the way it is perceived
from the outside. I may call 80 degrees (F) hot and 30 degrees
cold, but to someone else, 60 degrees may be cold, or 100
degrees may be hot (and 80 degrees only "warm").

So, in reality, its not a "versus" issue, but an issue of
degree and of perception. You may not consider yourself
multiple, for instance, even if you have a strong "inner child"
(if you don't know, it will be discussed later), whereas
someone else may consider you multiple. In MY opinion, it is
the person who is experiencing the dissociation that determines
what they are.

An aside: you will note that in my writing I tend to use "I",
even though at the moment this is being written, there is more
than one alter in control and writing this. Someone might
observe it would be more accurate to say "we", but I use that
(or we use that, if you like) in certain circumstances only.
Because we experience a great degree of integration, "I" is
just as accurate, as far as I'm concerned...we are acting in
concert when this sort of thing happens.

For more discussion of dissociative states, see part 4.

**** FAQ about multiplicity, answered from the viewpoints of
multiples (tls and the Sapphire Gazelles)

This section may appear seperately on other related newsgroups.

TERMS (definitions may vary somewhat)
* alter/persona: one person/aspect of the multiple.
* birth person: the alter that was present originally, before
splitting
   (not everybody has one)
* host: the body and/or the "main" alter (not everybody has one)
* shell person: an "outside" alter that is run by "remote control"
* MP: Multiple Personality/ies
* multiple/multiple unit: referring to a single multiple system
* multiple system: defined below
* integration/co-consciousness: refers to a degree of cooperation
between
  alters that includes the ability to coordinate actions between
alters,
  as well as communication between them and the ability to share
  information.
* fusion: merging all the alters into one

Q: "What is/are MP/MPD/multiple personalities, multiplicity?"

Multiple personalities [also known as multiplicity, MP (for
Multiple Personalities) and MPD (for Multiple Personality
Disorder, something most people who ARE multiple find
insulting)] means basically what it says: someone who has
multiple persons/personalities living inside of one body. These
are referred to here as alters. (As of the DSM-IV, this
condition is called Dissociative Identity Disorder, but most
people here will probably not use the official term.)

Multiples, and people who come to deal with them, are aware of
these different alters as completely separate people, rather
than different facets of the same person. For instance, someone
who was utterly professional and cold at work but who was a
rocking metal-head partier at home would not (necessarily) be
multiple just because of the wide difference in the way they
acted in different situations. In fact, some multiple systems
have within them alters who are very similar to one another,
differing so slightly that sometimes the multiples themselves
have difficulty telling them apart.

The differentiating factors can vary greatly. One of the
possible ways to tell them apart is names, but many multiples
have several alters of the same name. Some might _all_ have the
same name.

The various alters can be of the same or different gender as
the body, including being of no gender at all. They often have
different likes, dislikes, tastes, etc. They often have
different body language, speech patterns, and sometimes,
voices. There are cases where eye color differs. Many have
different abilities, physical and mental. They may be of widely
varying ages. Sometimes they will self-identify as having
separate racial/cultural backgrounds or native languages. Often
they have different religions. Some studies have shown that
different alters have different brain wave patterns (EEG
readings), although this is a topic under dispute.

There can be as much variance within a multiple system as there
would be in your average room full of people.

Q: "How does this differ from different moods in a singular
person?"

Example: A singular person may be, at heart, a quiet,
introverted person. If sie is suddenly very chatty, there will
be a reason for this, such as extreme comfort with those
around, or nervousness. Or sie may be a chatty, extroverted
person, and if sie is quiet then sie feels ill or
uncomfortable. A multiple, however, may have alters who are
extroverted and alters who are painfully shy, or even mute or
autistic. The differences you see may be/often are due to
different alters, not moods.

A person who has varying states of being for various situations
might well be dissociated to some extent, but not be multiple.
There isn't really a clear dividing line between simple changes
of mood, dissociation, and multiplicity (see above for a
discussion of dissociation vs. multiplicity). One interesting
theory is that everyone dissociates to some degree, depending
on situation; another is that, in way, everyone is multiple.

Q: "What precisely do people mean by 'the birth person'?"

The birth person, is the alter that was present from the
beginning, the one born into the body, who was present before
the multiple system was created. Some multiples believe they
were born multiple. In any event, the birth person may be the
host (although certainly not always) and/or the main alter
(again, certainly not always) and therefore often goes by the
name of the body, at least officially.

The birth person may be still at the age where the original
split occurred, having missed all the time in the interim. The
birth person may not be accessible to those alters who are
generally out.

Q: "What is the core personality?"

The core personality is often the same as the birth
personality, but we have been informed that this is not
necessarily the case. The multiple who so informed us tells us
that in their case, the core was _created_ to be the holder of
the memories and, later, the main adult alter. However, this is
not the same as their birth person.

After this explanation was given, I (Maelstrom) think it makes
sense...that is much like how we work. Flower or I
(Changeling/Tina) or the two of put together could be
considered the core person/people...but neither of us are the
birth person. We are from who most of the alters are descended,
however, and, eventually, will probably be the two into whom
any leaving alters merge. To us, this comes closer to what we
think of when we hear "core personality" then our birth people
do.

Q: "Do all multiples have a birth person?"

Some multiples do not think they have a birth person, or
consider all alters to be part of the birth person. Whether or
not this means they do not have a birth person, or that they
just aren't aware of one, I'm not sure. However, I'm not sure
it matters...what matters is how the multiple in question views
themselves.


Q: "What causes multiplicity?"

In many (if not most) cases, severe trauma at an early age (by
early, we mean before, say age 5), although there are
definitely exceptions to this. Please bear in mind that
"severe" is a relative term.

In people who developed their multiplicity as a result of
trauma, the trauma was very likely some sort of abuse:
physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, or
religious/magickal. Usually this abuse began at a very early
age and was long-standing.

Other trauma, such as witnessing a death, or the abuse of
someone close to you, or possibly just living in a family where
there is a great deal of negative emotion expressed, could
probably be sufficient.

Some people who developed multiplicity as a child did so
because they had a dissociative role model, perhaps a parent.

Some people explore identity or alternate identity games, like
role playing, acting, pretending, or alternate social
structures to the point where they begin to question their
original identity.  In some cases, these identities can take on
aspects, experiences, and problems which are essentially
identical to those experienced by multiples who experienced
trauma.  This effect seems to be most prevalent in people who
explore in their adolescence.

Some multiples are unaware of any initial trauma.  Whether such
trauma exists and the memories blocked or whether no such
trauma exists is impossible to determine.

It is also possible to partition one's adult life so rigidly as
to create the effect of multiplicity.  This sometimes happens
if the person uses multiple names, has multiple residences,
multiple jobs, multiple social contexts, or simply separates
work and social life distinctly.  After a period of time, each
facet grows it's own relationships, experiences, and skills
which may or may not overlap into other life contexts.  This
rigid partitioning can also closely resemble the experience and
presentation of multiplicity.

Q: "If abuse at an early age can cause multiplicity, why aren't
all     people abused at that age multiple?"

Everyone deals with trauma in a different way. A constant among
multiples seems to be that they are intelligent and creative in
a particular sort of way. While there are people who were
abused who are intelligent and creative who did NOT become
multiple, they probably found a different way of dealing with
it (repressing the memory seems fairly common; sometimes,
sadly, the way they deal with it is "not at all").

What seems to happen in most cases is that, to escape the
pain/trauma/abuse, the multiple splits off a portion of their
"self" (soul, mind, however you would like to look at it), so
that _that_ portion can deal with the abuse/trauma and they do
not have to. [It is possible that the split- off portion may be
the portion that does _not_ have to deal with the abuse; there
is at least one case like that known to the Gazelles.] This
initial split often occurs at the moment of trauma/during the
abuse. The split off portion somehow attains reality as a
person, possibly through pure creative force.

This is not necessarily the _only_ way that initial splits
happen, nor does the split have to be into just two
people...the original could fragment into many parts, all at
once, for instance.

Once the splitting mechanism is in place, many multiples split
easily, often even creating an alter for dealing with specific
non-abusive people and situations.  This allows the multiple to
have the "perfect" person for each situation.

Q: "How many alters can a multiple have?"

Err...infinite numbers, I suppose. Each alter, from the birth
person on, can split again and again into 2 or 3 or 5 or more
parts, and so on and so forth. Further stress usually causes
further splits.

Some multiples seem to create alters, rather than split them
off. That is, an alter will appear who really has little in
common with any of the existing alters, and doesn't seem to
have split off from them.

Sometimes the alters merge into a new (or into an old) alter,
lessening the number, either because they need to form a alter
that combines the qualities of others, or because the degree of
separateness is no longer needed, or for no reason at all.

The highest number of alters within a system we are aware of is
something around 700, and we have heard claims of multiple
systems with alters in the thousands.  The lowest is, as you
might expect, 2.

Many multiples fall in the double-digit range, that is, 10 to
99.  It seems it is rare to have less than 5 alters. There are
a number of multiples that have a count in the lower hundreds
(100, 200, maybe 300), but it also seems to be rare to have
more than that.

Q: "I've heard of something called a 'walk-in person', what's
that?"

Despite the lack of belief many people have for this, there are
a large number of multiples who have what seem to be alters
that did not originate via a split or creation by the multiple
system, but rather came in from the outside.

It seems that, when one or more of the alters need help that
the system itself cannot provide, sometimes an outside source
(a ghost, a spirit, a "mythical" beast) shows up, moves in,
unpacks, and says "Where can I start?"

You don't have to believe it. But think of it as a kind of
guardian spirit, only this one lives inside the mind. (And try
not to let your skepticism get in the way.)

Q: "What's an internal landscape?"

An internal landscape refers to how the multiple "sees" the
inside of hir mind. It's where the alters live. It can vary
greatly both from multiple to multiple as well as from alter to
alter (for instance, one alter might live in a castle with a
moat and a drawn draw-bridge, whereas one "right next door"
might live in a city block). These are their internal homes,
where they go when they are not helping run things, or when
they are hiding, or whatever.

Some people think that their internal landcape is actually a
link to the Astral Plane. Some people don't believe there is
any such thing. I'm not sure it matters.

Not all multiples have an internal landscape. (For that matter,
not everyone with an internal landscape is multiple.)

Q: "Can you explain how the various alters run the
body/interact/etc.?"

No.

Oh, sorry. This differs so much from multiple system to
multiple system that I don't know where to start.

For some, each alter takes turns experiencing and performing
actions and talking and so forth, sometimes without the others
knowing that it is happening. For some, the alters can jointly
run the body, either in tandem (picture two or more alters
sitting around in a control room, discussing rapidly what to
do/say and sharing the feelings), or by partially
merging/overlaying.

For those who have alters who are co-conscious, the degree of
consciousness experienced may vary by alter, by situation, or
just by whim. The alters sometimes may choose how much they
feel/decide/interact.

The alters not currently helping run things may or may not
retain memories, emotions/feelings, and so forth. They further
may or may not have any access at all to such, either
vicariously (like watching a video) or more personally
(accessing the memories and feeling as if it DID happen to
them) or something in between. They might talk to one another,
they might not.

Q: "Isn't this confusing?"

Yes. :)

When several alters are out at once, they may talk at the same
time, causing incredibly garbled sentences to emerge. Or they
may listen at the same time, causing, for example, each of two
alters to catch every other word in a sentence. When this
happens, neither of them will understand what was said.

Additionally, switches may cause disorientation, even within
multiples that are co-conscious to some degree.

For multiple systems that are particularly
integrated/co-conscious, it may be difficult to have a sense of
self at times. It is possible to not be sure who was "doing",
and who was just watching. This seems to be exacerbated with
greater similarity between alters.

People who are dissociative but not multiple probably find
themselves with similar feelings to those who are somewhat
integrated/co- conscious.

Q: "Do I have to lose time/have complete amnesia between alters
to be multiple?"

No.

Despite what the DSM publishes, many multiples do not lose
time, or only some of their alters do. Often, it is only the
alters who are out the least often who miss periods of time.
Particularly in the case of integrated/co-conscious multiples,
even alters who do not experience a particular act as their own
can be in some way made aware of the passage of time and the
actions during that time.

Q: "What is 'switching'?"

Switching refers to a change in the configuration of who is "out",
"up front", or "in control" in a multiple system.

Switching may be as drastic as a complete switch between two
alters, where the new alter has no idea where sie is or how sie
got there. It may be as mild as a shift in the configuration,
where one of the several alters currently out departs and a new
one emerges.

For some, switching involves little or no effort, nothing is
lost during the switching, and switching out of control does
not necessarily mean the alter doing so will lose anything
either. For others, switching involves anything from a brief
fuzziness of recent memory or a small perceptual jump to a
complete sense of disorientation/fugue including time loss, not
knowing where one is, or what one was doing.

Q: "Isn't schizophrenia the same as multiplicity?" [or: Some
things "the average person" might mistake multiplicity for.]

Schizophrenia: It's not. Although some of the symptoms may look
the same, both to outsiders and the multiple. For a more
detailed discussion on this, see Section 2 of the FAQ.

Manic/Depressive, Bipolar, or Cyclic Disorders: Commonly
referred to as mood swings. Multiplicity may involve what looks
like mood swings if the alters are not in similar states of
mind, and one or more alters may themselves have mood swings,
but it _is_ a seperate disorder.

Other forms of dissociation: These are so close to multiplicity
that there is a large grey area between them. However, there
are people who are dissociative who do not in any way consider
themselves multiple.

Q: "How can I tell if I'm multiple?"

NOTE and CAUTION: We (Maelstrom and the Sapphire Gazelles) do
NOT claim to be able to diagnose a multiple in 3 easy steps.
However, these are some classic symptoms/signs that one is
multiple. This is not meant to be a complete list, nor does the
absence of a symptom from this list mean you are not multiple.
If in doubt, and it is of concern to you, you may wish to
discuss this with a therapist.

A brief listing of some common symptoms:

* losing time/being in a new place or situation with no memory of how
  you got there
* feeling "little"/like a child
* sudden disorientation/feeling as if you missed something
* memories seen as happening to someone else
* memories available only sporadically, possibly including non-abuse
and
  recent memories
* inadvertent use of the word "we" to refer to self
* frequent out-of-character actions that surprise even you
* actions that are overset with a haziness, as if you aren't really in
  control of what's going on; feeling removed from one's actions
* other people noting one or more of the above in you
* likewise, other people discussing with you things they say you
did/said
  but that you yourself have little or no memory of, provided that you
  were not under the influence of any sort of drug at the time

Q: "What is an inner child? Is this the same as being multiple?"

An inner child is a portion of oneself that retains a sense of
being a child to some extent or another. In Maelstrom's
opinion, people who have this inner child are dissociative, but
not necessarily multiple. Some peole think that everyone has
some sort of inner child, even if it is a rather dusty and
disused portion of the self. Some people might disagree that
the inner child is a dissociated part of one's self.

**** Dealing with multiples, a suggestion.

When dealing with someone who is multiple, remember that each
of those alters are *different* people. They just happen to be
wearing the same body. One may do or say something, and another
may either disagree or not even remember what happened. Some
alters have very specific jobs and you will only see them when
they need to do those jobs (or you may never see them if they
have internal jobs). Some may not even be aware that the others
exist. You may like some, and dislike others. Nevertheless, try
to some extent to keep in mind that you are dealing with
separate people. Sometimes its hard, but it *is* possible.

Part 4 of the alt.support.dissociation FAQ
==========================================

Section 4: Dissociation and Dissociative states (informal)
  What, precisely, is dissociation?
  What to do when dissociation causes problems.
  Common problems and issues for dissociated persons

**** What, precisely, is dissociation?
(tls)

A very difficult question to answer.

You will find that many people have many different views on
what consitutes dissociation, who does it, and whether or not
the simple existence of dissociative processes in a person
constitute a problem (or when they do).

However, this is my own personal viewpoint, with some input
from others that helped me shape this section.

Consciously or not, temporarily or not, dissociation is a
process in which you assume a role or roles that are markedly
different from the one you might usually have. This includes a
wide spectrum of things.

An example of an every-day dissociative process would be,
perhaps not surprisingly, actors. Actors often immerse
themselves in their roles, and while they are on stage are
actually the person they are portraying.

[Note for the politically correct: You may notice that this example
is male. Deal. It was convenient.]

Joe Smith, Actor. Joe Smith is portraying Hamlet on stage, and
the play is in progress. During this time, he is no longer Joe
Smith, the actor, but instead _becomes_ Hamlet. He is thinking
what Hamlet would think, saying what Hamlet would say, using
his speech patterns, his body language, his belief system, his
views of the world. For a short period of time at he, they _is_
Hamlet. After the play is through, he becomes Joe Smith, actor,
again. Possibly when he goes home, he becomes Joe Smith,
private person who is little if anything like "Joe Smith,
actor."

While he is on stage/being Hamlet, he is using dissociation to
keep Joe Smith's thoughts, body language, etc. out of the way.
He has become Hamlet to give a truer representation of Hamlet.

Likewise, the simple act of daydreaming could be considered a
form, albeit a very minor one, of dissociation.

Most people probably dissociate to some degree or another
hundreds of times during their life. And most of those would
not be reading this newsgroup.

So let us focus a bit more on the type of dissociative states I
expect people reading this newsgroup would have.

There are, as talked about in Section 3, multiples. Multiples
are people who have dissociated fairly extremely (although
there is, of course, a wide variance with multiples). There are
people who dissociate just enough to be able to deal with
wildly different situations in a smoother way. There are people
who use dissociation as a tool, deliberately inducing in
themselves a dissociative state (possibly to the point of
multiplicity) so that they can perform in a way that their
usual state of being might not allow.

A good example of this might be people who are psychic or who
perform acts of magick. [Note to skeptics: Feel free to be
skeptical. Maybe they aren't actually performing feats of
psionics or magick, but they _think_ they are, and this is the
tool they use.]

In any event, sometimes the dissociation can lead to problems.
What happens if you create this dissociative process and it
begins interfering with your usual state, or with other
dissociative processes you created. What happens if this
dissociation _becomes_ your "usual state"? What happens if you
no longer _have_ a "usual state"?

Regardless of the way your dissociation was formed, I hope that
the posts in this newsgroup can help you learn more about these
dissociative states and how to deal with any problems or issues
that might arise from them.

**** What to do when dissociation causes problems. (tls)

Please bear in mind that I am not a psychologist or therapist,
nor do I think that my suggestions are necessarily right for
everyone. However, I have also never been to a therapist, and
as a multiple myself, I cope with it just fine even without
therapy. Remember that this is an informal look of things one
can do to cope with the problems and issues arising from
multiplicity and related conditions.

If you are experiencing severe problems and
dysfunction/impairment of day to day living, I _would_ urge you
to seek out a therapist or psychologist that is sympathetic and
understanding of these types of disorders. If you cannot find
one easily, you could come to the Internet for suggestions, as
a stopgap measure (although some have found healing solely from
the Internet).

I would like to stress to people that they should not
automatically label dissociation (yes, that includes
multiplicity) as a problem. For many people, it is not.
Sometimes the dissociation opens up new issues or causes
problems for a person, but sometimes it does not.

This newsgroup is primarily for the people for whom it does
open up new issues or problems.

**** Common problems and issues for dissociated persons (tls)

This is not meant to be complete.

Some issues that seem specific to multiples (but might in a way
apply to other related conditions).

* Alters with different religions, especially if one or more have
  even a small amount of religious intolerance.
* Alters with different goals in life
* Alters with different sexual orientation (including no interest)
* Alters with large differences in likes or dislikes
* Alters who, themselves, have a psychological problem
* Course of healing: should it include integration/fusion?

Some issues that might well apply to all dissociative disorders.

* Recovering lost memories/lost time periods
* Re-settling into life after an abrupt change (whether via fugue or
  the actions of an alter)
* Deciding on a course of action regarding exploration of issues
mentioned
  above (i.e., sexual orientation, uncertain goals, religion)

Part 5 of the alt.support.dissociation FAQ
==========================================

Section 5: Learning about dissociation
  The Internet
  Books
  Organizations


**** The Internet
(tls)

Various places on the internet, most notably this and related
groups, will contain information on dissociation, multiplicity,
and related issues and disorders.

** Related newsgroups

alt.sexual.abuse.recovery
alt.abuse.recovery
alt.abuse.transcendence

These three newsgroups are for the discussion of abuse and
issues arising from it, and support of same.

alt.sexual.abuse.recovery is commonly referred to as ASAR, and
is primarily for discussion of sexual abuse by survivors of the
same. Survivors of other forms of abuse have been welcomed
there (especially if they experienced more than one type of
abuse _including_ sexual). The group also welcomes SOs, and
just plain interested parties. PLEASE read the FAQ before
posting. alt.abuse.recovery is, unfortunately, a VERY
low-traffic newsgroup, but is for the discussion of any kind of
abuse, and issues arising from it. alt.abuse.transcendence is a
more blunt newsgroup and discusses non-traditional approaches
to recovering from abuse.

alt.support.abuse-partners

Persons who are SOs of abuse survivors encounter their own
difficulties, and this group is for the discussion of those
issues and problems.

alt.support.depression
alt.support.anxiety-panic

These two groups are related in the sense that both depression
and anxiety/panic attacks seem to be common among multiples
(and may be common with other dissociative disorders, although
I'm not sure).

sci.psychology

Information on psychology can be found here.

alt.psychology.help

A somewhat informal support group.

** World Wide Web (WWW) sites.

http://www.tezcat.com/~tina/psych.html

This is one of the pages I keep at home, and will have either
pointers to interesting information or information I myself
keep online, including this FAQ. It is currently under
construction and only has pointers to a very very few things.

**** Books (and other literature)
(Contributed to by tls, Sapphire Gazelles, Daniel Holzman, Anita
Easton)

We are missing authors for a few of these books, but the title
alone might be sufficient.

Books specifically about multiplicity:

_When Rabbit Howls_ by The Troops for Truddi Chase
_The Flock: The Autobiography of a Multiple Personality_ by Joan
Frances
Casey w/Lynn Wilson
_Katherine, It's Time_ by Kit Castle
_Sybil_
_The Three Faces of Eve_
_I'm Eve_ (sequel to _The Three Faces of Eve_)
_Multiple Personality Disorder from the Inside Out_ (The Sidran
Foundation)


Author   : Ross, Colin A.
Title    : The Osiris Complex : Case Studies in Multiple Personality
Disorder

Author   : Duncan, C.W.
Title    : The Fractured Mirror : Healing Multiple Personality
Disorder

Author   : Kluft, Richard P./Fine, Catherine G.
Title    : Clinical Perspectives on Multiple Personality Disorder

Author   : Locke, Mary
Title    : Thirteen Pieces : Life With a Multiple

Author   : North, Carol S./Riu, Daniel A./Ryall, Jo-Ellen M./Wetzel,
Richard
D.
Title    : Multiple Personality Disorder : Psychiatric Classification
and
Media
            Influence (Oxford Monographs on Psychiatry, No 1)

Author   : Marshall, Alan
Title    : People in Pieces : Multiple Personality in Milder Forms and
Greater
           Numbers

Author   : Bryant, Doris//Kessler, Judy/Shirar, Lynda
Title    : The Family Inside : Working With the Multiple

Author   : Casey, Joan Frances
Title    : The Flock/the Autobiography of a Multiple Personality
ISBN     : 0449907325

Author   : Hocking, Sandra J.
Title    : Living With Your Selves : A Survival Manual for People With
Multiple
            Personalities

Author   : Pia, Jacklyn M.
Title    : Multiple Personality Gift : A Workbook for You and Your
Inside
Famil
           y

Author   : COHEN, BARRY M
Title    : MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER

Author   : Castle, Kit/Bechtel, Stefan
Title    : Katherine : It's Time : The Incredible True Story of the
Multiple
Pe
           rsonalities of Kit Castle

Author   : Mayer, Robert, Dr.
Title    : Through Divided Minds : Probing the Mysteries of Multiple
Personalit
           ies--A Doctor's Story

Author   : Gil, Eliana
Title    : United We Stand : A Book for People With Multiple
Personalities

Author   : Ross, Colin A.
Title    : Multiple Personality Disorder : Diagnosis, Clinical
Features, and
Tr
           eatment (Wiley Series in General and Clinical Psychiatry)

Author   : Putnam, Frank W.
Title    : Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder
(Foundation
           s of Modern Psychiatry)

Author   : Braun, Bennett G., M.D. (Editor)
Title    : The Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder (Clinical
Insights
Mo
           nograph)

Author   : Bliss, Eugene L.
Title    : Multiple Personality, Allied Disorders, and Hypnosis


    Author:     COHEN & GILLER
    Title:      MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
.
    Author:     BRAUN
    Title:      TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
.
    Author:     KLUFT
    Title:      CHILDHOOD ANTECEDENTS MULTIPLE PERSONALITY
.
    Author:     KLUFT
    Title:      CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES ON MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
.
    Author:     PUTNAM
    Title:      DIAG & TREAT MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES
.






Books about dissociation in general:

Books about related disorders:

Newsletters:
_Many Faces: A Newsletter for People with Multiple Personality
Disorder_

**** Organizations
(tls, but contributions are made by members of organizations in some
cases)

**The Sidran Foundation (e-mail: [e-mail])

The Sidran Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization
devoted to advocacy, education, and research on behalf of
persons with psychiatric disabilities. One of the focuses of
the organization is survivors of trauma, and they therefore
focus on such issues as PTSD, dissociation, and multiple
personalities.

The Sidran Press publishes texts about dissociative disorders,
and by contacting the e-mail address above you can request
informative literature and a catalog of their publications.

I have been in contact with one of the people who works for the
Sidran Foundation after her recent posting about it, and am
currently planning on working with them to establish a Web site
containing information about them as well as on-line copies of
their free information and catalog. For now, persons interested
in their information can find it on my Web page.

**ISSD: International Society for the Study of Dissociation
[Information provided by Peter Barach]

This is an organization whose focus is the study of
dissociative disorders. They have two annual conferences: One
which meets in Chicago every November (this year Nov 3-6), and
another which meets in a different outside-US location in the
spring (this year Amsterdam May 10-13). The organization has
about 4000 members. Membership is open to degreed professionals
and also to "lay people" who have an interest in dissociation
(which includes a number of nontherapists who have dissociative
disorders). The organization publishes a quarterly journal,
DISSOCIATION, which includes scientific articles on the topic,
a membership directory, and a bimonthly newsletter. It's not a
support group or an advocacy group for MP's. Therapists,
though, seem to find it supportive of their work in the field.
For information about membership, write ISSD at: 5700 Old
Orchard Road, First Floor, Skokie, IL 60077, or call them at:
708-966-4322 There's not an e-mail address, and I think anyone
there can answer your questions.