A split is when a system creates a new alter. Splits can occur when a trauma or a stressful situation occurs. Sometimes, they can even seem unexpected. For instance, my brother was stressed out when he was homebound and had his system begin. He got so stressed out that Tiky, his alter, took over for three months. When he came back, he was overwhelmed with the amount of time that had passed and felt like he needed to catch up. The stress that kept growing eventually overcame him, and he had a split. Splits are the minds way of dealing with stressful situations.
Each alter and host has it’s own personality and age. Let’s explore them within my own system. I am a hard worker, helpful, enjoys colored hair, wears dark clothing, and has a fiancé. Sally is flirty, hostile, loves curse words, likes pink, enjoys gore, and will bribe just about anything for food. Some similarities between us is that we love mom, enjoy movies and TikTok, and love sleep. Sally also represents some characteristics of myself in childhood; tone deaf, loud, silly, stubborn, protective. Either way, she is now and forever will be a part of me.
Did you know that alters could have disabilities? We have already established that every alter has its own unique personality; therefore, they would have their own habits and preferences. So why not have their own disabilities? My brother recently got diagnosed for DID a couple years ago. Something that I found to be interesting on his results was that the doctor had separated his findings between Tiky and Cui. For Cui, he wrote that he had ADHD, autism, a neurological disorder, and was remedial in school. For Tiky, he wrote that he had ADHD, autism, and was progressing quickly. At first I did not understand why he wrote that each persona had ADHD and autism. If they shared the same brain, wouldn’t they be the same? A thorough investigation through TikTok would lead me to find that SOMETIMES that can occur. And sometimes each alter can have varying disorders from each other. Who knew?!
I found this article on the various types of alters. I wanted to use this site to show what type of alters Sally, Tiky, and Mickey are. Starting off, Mickey, my brother's later, used to be an infant alter; his abuse is kept in emotions and sensations. Tiky is a child alter, an ISH, and a soother. An ISH stands for the Internal Self-Helper, who speaks to the therapist about how the other alters work together. A soother is someone who cares and protects the other people and alters in their life. Sally is a child alter, a disabled alter, and a protector. Disabled alters occur when the abuser gives instructions that are taken in a literal sense (you didn’t see = blind). Protectors are defensive, avoid harm, and can be hostile. If you find these interesting I included the link to all the types of alters below.
My brother has an alter by the name of Sky. Originally, Sky was calling himself No Name. Why No Name you ask? Well, Sky is a hybrid. He is part computer and part human. Sometimes, alters can take the form of something we find comfort in, even if it is not alive. If you were in a traumatic situation and had one item that always brought you comfort, like a book, you might create an alter that takes that form. Therefore, Sky became part computer, something my brother finds safety in. In the same way, a nun-human alter can be formed when we see something that cannot be harmed in any way. For instance, there was a person who has an alter that is a tree. Why a tree? That tree may be the only thing they see that is never harmed in any way shape or form.
Some alters take on the form of their abuser in order to gain control of the situation. This can be both scary for the system involved and harmful to those around them. For example, an alter may have been the trauma holder for physical and verbal abuse. In order to feel in control, they will turn around and do those exact same behaviors to those around them. So what do we do in these situations? It is important to teach them why that behavior is wrong and it may even help to remind them of what it feels like to be treated that way through reflection.
Did you know alters can age? Sally turned six this week! Which led me to the question: What makes an alter age? According to the site I linked below, alters age in three different ways. Some alters are frozen in time and do not age while some age every year like normal. Sometimes they age on their birthday and sometimes on a day of very special meaning. The most interesting aging option, however, is aging based on how trauma is processed. For Sally and Tiky, after every milestone in their trauma healing, the next day they are older. The amount of trauma they process allows them to heal and grow to an appropriate age. For more information I have linked the site below.
Did you know that appetites vary between personas? Sally eats WAY more than I am able to. But how does that work? I haven’t quite figure that part out yet, but me and my brother have both experienced some interesting scenarios linked to food. When we switch, there is a completely different feeling in our stomach of how much food we can eat. This past week, I was so full after eating three meals, yet once Sally gained control my stomach felt like it was still empty and ready to inhale more food. I don’t really understand how that’s physically possible; however, my brother is always stuffed after Mickey has his bottle of milk.
Another interesting food dilemma is that taste preferences also change between alters and host. Sally loves chocolate while I can only have a little bit at a time. My brother prefers pie over cake, yet Mickey loves cake. It is quite interesting to see how we are all so different although we share the same body.
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