[identity profile] rabbitsystem.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] multiplicity_archives
When we switch, we often find that the face of the person fronting overrides the physical one to a degree. That is, from inside, it feels as though we are wearing a different face. From outside, of course, there's no great change. It has its uses - Ellen in particular uses it to figure out who's fronting.
Does anyone else experience this?

Edit: I always sem to phrase these questions badly. I don't mean a change in your appearance. I mean a change in your body-image. So you feel as though you had a different face on. Like your body-face was a mask. Other people can only see the mask, but you feel the real face underneath. (The scientific jargon would be something like 'an alteration in proprioception'.)

Date: 2007-03-22 12:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kyouketsusha.livejournal.com
Yes, when Lili and I switch, we 'look' different. My girlfriend said something to the effect (when she met Lili in person) of 'It's so strange to be looking at her, yet it's not her.' She will try to make my face make the movements and emotions that her face would make, had she her own body. Same goes for the rest of the body, really. She moves differently, carries herself differently, than I do; but she's still aware that it's not "her" body.

Kyou (with input from Liliane)
(deleted comment)

Mirrors

Date: 2007-03-22 08:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] worldnamer.livejournal.com
I do that too. I used to think I was just vain or paranoid. But now I realize it's because I'm not quite settled.

It's odd, because it's like I'm waiting for things to resolve so that I'm one person or another. I often find myself wondering how I can watch myself switching.

Date: 2007-03-22 01:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pyoska.livejournal.com
Not really. We all have different mannerisms and ways of speaking, and we carry ourselves differently when we are fronting, but it doesn't feel any different.

Heather of the SightlessLight System

Date: 2007-03-22 02:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aquilawolf.livejournal.com
There are children that often co-front with me and it is their face on the inside. It can be strange for them also to notice the breasts on the body (for example in the shower) or the pubic hair. They are used to it and we can joke about it, but we avoid looking in a mirror much as that can get to be disturbing.

Infants come up sometimes too (fronting) and the face on the inside feels way different. Tiny nose and the mouth is held different.

There is also a young one that comes up fairly often and her manner of breathing is real different.She gets excited about things and her breathing is real quick. I have to interfene sometimes to get the body the right amount of air.

Date: 2007-03-22 06:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tej-agni.livejournal.com
It's interesting when things like that happen. One of the teens in the group I'm with when she fronts, the body burns up lots of calories fast. So whoever is fronting next gets extremely hungry right afterward and it feels like they're starving and get shakey. They only discovered that as the reason very recently.

-Butterfly

Date: 2007-03-22 03:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cirquels.livejournal.com
yes. we see ourselves as that person. we can feel our face and body change from the inside. i understand completely what you mean by this. and yes. it happens to us.

Date: 2007-03-22 05:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tej-agni.livejournal.com
I think I'm a little luckier than some of the others in our group. I don't know what my true form is, so when I'm using this body I only see the body. It still doesn't feel like mine, but it's all I see. I wish I did know my true form though. :(

-Butterfly

Date: 2007-03-22 06:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kalli-moon.livejournal.com
I love you Butterfly!

Date: 2007-03-25 03:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aww-my-bees.livejournal.com
me toooooooo

Date: 2007-03-22 01:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] liliana-warsaw.livejournal.com
We've experienced that to a small degree. Sometimes when the other fronter here is in control, it feels like I'm wearing his face. We've had that with other parts of the body, too. We even were able to sort of actually *see* his hands (as a sort of transparent overlay) one time when he was at front. It was very startling and when we switched, it went away. That only happened one time, though.

We've also had the experience of looking into the mirror during conversation with each other and seeing the person who is not fronting. (Man, that sounds like a scene from a bad movie... =P)

Date: 2007-03-22 05:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ridetothesea.livejournal.com
You're secretly Gollum, aren't you!?

No, er, actually we've done that too. And it can feel pretty surreal.

Date: 2007-03-22 05:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] liliana-warsaw.livejournal.com
The chick in "Heroes" came to my mind, actually. XD And yeah. It feels really surreal. I thought *I* was at front talking (internally) to my headmate, then looked in the mirror and saw *him* staring back at me. So bizarre.

Oh wow.

Date: 2007-03-22 07:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] worldnamer.livejournal.com
Yeah, I totally get that. When we switch out, it's like the entire body feels different; I've often been surprised that people can't just tell by looking at me. Sometimes, there are things that are even annoying about the physical body because they don't match with an internal image: For instance, Jennifer hates it when I don't shave, because it's such a mental schism for her to wear a beard.

Date: 2007-03-22 10:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ksol1460.livejournal.com
Our experience is closer to [livejournal.com profile] nityinepu's.

Date: 2007-03-23 07:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sethrenn.livejournal.com
You mean like feeling that when you look in the mirror you should see how you really look, to the point of being surprised when you see that it's the body, even though intellectually you know your body doesn't actually look any different? Yeah, that happens to quite a few of us, sometimes to the point of worrying that someone will "notice" some unusual trait we have until we realize that other people only see the body.

~Y.

Date: 2007-03-24 11:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] schadendox.livejournal.com
I think the self-image thing is hardly something exclusive to multiple systems. Okay, singlets have different reasons for body-image not matching physical appearance, but the reactions look pretty similar from what I've heard. I heard about a 90-year-old guy who says his age image is stuck at 19, and he once nearly broke a guy's fingers for trying to grope his granddaughter.

Try asking others if they show up differently in dreams than in real life. I always saw myself as anime-ish with no glasses and short hair (in dreams and general self-image), and I actually got my hair cut because of it.

Also, 'Alteration in Proprioception' would be a good name for a band.

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