Question, Holmes?

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

We read back through the entries a ways. There are questions about 'creating' other system-members to do certain things or just to create them and whatnot.

Our question is, do any other systems seem to function where during times of high stress or emotional duress, they form temporary, semi-permanent or actual permanent additional system-members or sub-systems?

Wondering.

Oh yes. We're distalpulses. Hi.

Comments

Hi to you too.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

Sometimes we have people fronting during such times who normally don't, or only seldom.

Sometimes we temporarily reorganize our operating system, but it has to be a very high stress situation. It's happened once in the last ten years.

Re: Hi to you too.

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

Drama; it eats us for breakfast almost daily.

But seriously, we're young yet and still have a lot of instability... so maybe it's just us. Our OS doesn't quite work right as of yet.

You're alright. Don't worry.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

Please don't mistake life difficulties and strong emotions, disagreements and arguments with others or between people in your group, etc., for "drama". There's a big difference. If you label these things as "drama" you undermine your own self (and selves) respect.

You can get your operating system together. It takes trust in each other and everybody's willingness to share responsibility. Your operating system may also need to change or be changed as you have different life experiences or situations. Please feel free to ask all the questions you want.

I have to agree, or at least we will be.

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

Actually, we did mean external drama rather than family/communication/cooperation difficulties. We've had a lot of external problems and stressors as of late and it's just been awful for our cooperation. You know how it gets when a lot of people in a small space are irritable and stressed and feel frazzled? High strung and frayed nerves and snappish.

Thank you for the encouragement tho. Means a lot to have that put right out there.

Re: I have to agree, or at least we will be.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

Believe me, we have been there in spades. I wouldn't have called it drama when it was happening (except a couple times when roommate over-reacted to certain quite ordinary things) but in general we think of drama as "I h8 u all & Im gna take all my pills" sort of thing.

What you're talking about is not drama but stress and that can really screw up your OS and communication for sure. You need some place to get away to or take some time every day that is like your time. What we used to do was take a lot of baths, with scented oil & so on. We spent a lot of time at work and in the public library. Are there similar things you could do? To be alone with each other?

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

Mmm... scented oils.

It's not something we'd thought about. We live with one significant other and do a lot of travel between bio-family, work and the other significant one in our lives. It doesn't leave a lot of time to be just US and maybe that's some of the problem. A lot of time for everyone else, a lot of us wanting to make family and lovers priority, but less time of our own.

Alone time would be good. Not sure why we didn't think about it before it was mentioned, but I guess it's one of those things where it dawns on you... and then you feel a bit silly for not realizing.

[vox-vocis-vita.livejournal.com]

I/We do the baths thing a lot too. System communication seems to be a lot easier when I'm relaxed. Being the parent of a small child makes it pretty hard to find time to relax though, so I cherish every moment I get to myself.

I totally recommend taking some time for yourself to anyone thats stressed or having issues with system communication. Bubbles baths are very nice. We like scented candles too. I should look into some bath oils or something as well. ^^

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

We finally actually have a working bathtub too and with how stressy it's been, it sounds like a heavenly way to unwind on our weekend...

[browncoatrebel.livejournal.com]

We don't intentionally create others, but during high-stress times it does happen. The permanent ones tend to be the earlier splits, but we have some later splits who are still around.

[random-element.livejournal.com]

I know that I split off someone new after living three months with my best friends' now exboyfriend. But I do know that the system consiously created about four or five people to help with jobs they couldn't do as a whole, or for safety precautions. Mind you, that was done by vote of a counsil, and through "therapy" sessions involving hypnosis (Which, by the way, I do not recommend unless everyone is in agreeance, and even then to proceed with caution) But yeah, they're consious, and have helped the system heal so much from the SRA we went through. In time, they may be...well, integrated would be the wrong word...assimilated naturally back into the system when their job is over, but they may not either. As for sub systems, I can't say I've ever formed one out of regular stress, but yes, people I have created purposfully and accidently in high stress, but it's so rare that it's almost irrelevant. If you're splitting off people, say left and right, you have to wonder, are you splitting them, or were they all ready there and you just didn't know it. And if they weren't, see if maybe something more is going on in your day to day life.

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

anything's possible, i think.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

I had a friend in another system did that. Split eight ways. Temporarily integrated, but later the new people wanted to be independent, and now they are.

[posywink.livejournal.com]

Hello there. Welcome.

Most of the people in our group did not arrive under such conditions. One noteworthy exception is Nicky, who was the first person to join our creator. He showed up at a high-stress moment, and to this day, we consider that the catalyst that got everything going.

We should also note that a few of us came in during an especially pleasant situation, but we guess that's not really what you're referring to.

-- Nicky and Eugene

[pilgrimchild.livejournal.com]

Yep it has happened to us a few times. Under extra high conditions of stress, someone new seems to be formed, or else has been there all of the time maybe and just comes out of hiding, and takes over for a while because no one else is able to handle it. So they take over until the extra high stress passes. Its an annoying and yet helpful coping mechanism.

[ridetothesea.livejournal.com]

Yes, once. During a very difficult time about three months ago, we had one person divide into two (though we're under the impression that they were both there, but just blended together). It's complicated, and we can't explain it well, but yes.

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

That...

Actually makes sense, all things considered from our side. Thanks.

[weirdiguess.livejournal.com]

Can't say so. Age sliding, change in fronting tendancies, but not new system members.

~Selene

[sethrenn.livejournal.com]

Possibly, not so much created as discovered or rediscovered certain people in times of stress. This has only happened a few times, maybe twice that I can think of. In the past, our response to stressful situations was often to cut back on the number of frontrunners.

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

We've often wondered if it's created or just... uncovered? Revealed... We're not exactly sure, since we actually don't know diddly about what's all going on 'in the back' so to speak. But yeah, wondered that.

Pretty icon. Looks a little like Higuri You's work. Is Clamp?

[little-heather.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think so sometimes. This is the only way I can explain why people show up and we know they are new and then they leave again shortly after. Some have stayed though. Our system got too big for us though so now we try to discourage this from happening.

lh

[cyanocitta.livejournal.com]

Hello. :)

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

hi there, small cute one. :D

Actually

[spookshow-girl.livejournal.com]

Couldn't say. We're frequently under high stress, but I'm the sort of person who likes to keep busy, and that's a factor.

Some people come and go, due to her practices, but that's not exactly something we'd consider the same.

There have been other odd happenings, but we're not exactly sure if they're explicitly stress related.

--Me

Re: Actually

[distalpulses.livejournal.com]

Even if uncertain of the reasons, we appreciate the comment, we're really just curious. Of course there was a touch of method behind the madness of the question, but really, we're also very interested in how the same works for other people - it's interesting and some might have better ways to handle it, you know?

Re: Actually

[spookshow-girl.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. In light of that, I'll be clearer.

She's something of a spiritualist/medium. I'm not. Thus, most random people have something to do with her, and if it was tied to stress, it's probably the eqivalent of someone burying their nose in the bible to not deal with the world around them. In other words, an escapist expression of religious beliefs.

Note that I said most random people have something to do with her. However, that wasn't always the case. There were a few cases where they actually did not feel any particular tie to her, nor did they require any assistance from her in order to be present.

And, being somewhat private, this is about as detailed as I desire to get.

--Me

[sharpsight.livejournal.com]

N) I was created as a deliberate experiment, to see if a tool mind could be created to be used solely for fronting, instead of the Triad (the three inhabitants at the time) all co-fronting at the same time. (This took place shortly after they discovered the Internet presence of other systems, such as Astraea's Web, and learned about the concept of fronting as viewed by others.) Then, they learned that while I was actively thinking, they were unable to think in parallel (currently, the Council--five of us, one from the Triad--tend to... what is the word? Timeshare? Multitask? One thinks, then another thinks, then another.), and set me the task of finding out how to fix the situation. As time passed, I got the strong impression that if I didn't succeed I would be scrapped and they would start experimenting from scratch, and... well, a lot of unpleasantness resulted. The main point of this paragraph: a system-member may be created to do a certain thing, and they may excel at it, but that doesn't mean that they will be content with only being a tool (or that they won't change).

Also, a note: for some, any creation/introduction of new members can be viewed as a threat, adding unknown quantities into the (sometimes) already-unstable balance.

I created the three youngest members of this system all at once several months after the demise of one and shortly after the complete disappearance of another of the Triad, in the hope of bringing back stability to this brain, as well as making tie-breaking possible again(the number five chosen in the hope that it might be less susceptible to weight-throwing than three, while still being small enough to not suffer the problems of demarchy for large numbers).

The above may or may not help, depending on your situation and/or your definition of high stress (certainly not applicable to the first situation, possibly for the second), but... just in case.