Mini-survey
Jun. 16th, 2007 06:42 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
forever-alone.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
multiplicity_archivesWe thought of some questions we'd like to ask, purely for curiosity's sake. Making/answering surveys is one of our favorite e-hobbies. We tried to be real careful with the wording of the questions so that it applied to everyone.
1. What was the first online resource/support group/community you discovered relating to multiplicity?
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
We'll be posting our answers a bit later in the comments, it's dinnertime now.
1. What was the first online resource/support group/community you discovered relating to multiplicity?
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
We'll be posting our answers a bit later in the comments, it's dinnertime now.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 12:35 am (UTC)Well, there was the Sybil book and soem psychiatrist/psycologist that had a bunch of trauma-based stuff on his site online, but as for helpful,
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Yes! We have a half-elf, a faerie/angel, a half-demoness, and a space alien/genetically enhanced being who has purple streaks in her hair and on her skin, plus gills, venomous fangs, and body blades.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
CPU is a computer, has no body, so can only co-front with some one else to work the body, and there are others who prefer to stay back and just communicate through the current front person.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
Around people that we don't know well, and for stuff like grocery clerks and such, there just doesn't seem to be any point disclosing the multiples. We do this mainly by choice, just so as not to complicate life when we're just out running errands or doing the grocery shopping.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
We can flash each other mental images, but I don't think that's quite the same. Also, the physical body is bipolar, and so we do have actual hallucinations sometimes, especially when the body is insomniac.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
I would say mostly younger or same age, though there are at least a couple who seem to be older.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
A lot of our names are based on derivatives or contractions of the body's names, but some got their names from songs or book characters, some picked something they liked, and some we have no idea where they got their names. EX: Jacquelyn Jo McC- is the body name. I used to go by Jo until "Joey" by Concrete Blonde came out and I changed it. We also have Jolyn, Lynne, Mickey, and used to have several Jackie's, but they all opted to rename. Jayne comes from a song called "Ballad of Jayne," Lia is from a book character, same with Gabby (Gabrielle)... That's all I can think of right now.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
If somebody's been up for a long time without interruption, there's a sense of wondering if all the others are really there, but that gets set straight the next time some one else fronts! I think any denial comes mainly from living in a world that denies that functional multiplicity exists and wants to insist that there's only one person in here just because they've only been dealing with that one person for a while.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
Well, since there are actual functional multiples who were trauma-induced, that gives credibility to the trauma theory, but also, I think a lack of cohesiveness and common goals among multiples and a general avoidance of revealing selves as multiple contributes. Though I do fully understand why people hesitate to come out and reveal themselves.
Joey
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 01:11 am (UTC)2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)? Yes.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?) We have an entire internal continent, and a government that rules it. Some of us have internal jobs as well.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system? Usually only in front of people that don't know us, and only to make the day go more smoothly.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting? We care share the sensations of what is happening inside, and I suppose most doctors would consider that a hallucination.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body? It varies hugely.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.) Some of us are walk-ins and came with names. Others were "born" here and chose their own. Finally, when we feel our names no longer sum up what we are, we sometimes ask for a person we love and admire to name us. Our system name comes from a series of conversations with someone very dear to me.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you? Denial of being multiple? HA! NO.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder? Tut tut. Trauma puts money in psychologists' pockets. Healthy multiplicity doesn't. That'll never change.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 01:29 am (UTC)For us it was actually another system, but Multiplicity was the first group that we found with people like us that would help to answer some of our questions and coach us along.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Mmm... not so much. Though we do have a dragon and a kirin, and those do not commonly exist in 'normal world spaces'.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
We have a secondary, gateway system that shares our bodyspace with us. It allows us access to another place, we call Absence.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
It is important, as a part of our job, that people feel comfortable with us - therefore we strive five days a week for eight hours, to be very cohesive and single. Otherwise, when we're around our biological family, which isn't often, because all of them are in denial about our situation, but whatever makes them comfortable right? THe people that share our house and people we trust know and accept us.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
Hallucinate? No... no one can force someone else to hallucinate.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
We have a mix, but it leans more towards the older and same age as the body categories. We only have a few littles.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
Most of us 'came' with our name. Because of our history, it's hard to say where the names first came from, but at this point, we all accept that those names are somehow personifying us.
For our system name, it's whatever the current host/hostess or the frontline generally agrees is the name. We haven't settled permanently on a name that seems to encompass and 'fit' everyone the way we'd like. But Storm Systems came from the idea that 'into each life a little rain must fall' and even though storms can be harsh and devastating, the rain makes the plants grow... sentimental, spiritual meaning as it is.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
The biggest denial we deal with comes from ourside - our family denies our collective existence and this hurts and frustrates us.
Otherwise, Snow insists that we're ALL in denial about what's happened to us. It causes problems once in awhile when she gets fed up with us.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
... Not sure how to answer this question?
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 01:37 am (UTC)God, I can't really remember. Some forum with a lot of images of clouds and rainbows and lots of light blue.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Yes.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
We always have three people fronting; we basically have two systems. And lots of us have titles/roles, like I am a warrior queen (little q :))
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
These days quite often due to the parenting thing; been out at work so long I think most people have forgotten.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
They can try, but most people are pretty clued in to being interfered with in that way.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
Full spread really.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
Individual names... most people seem to have known theirs. Mine was different but I changed it to reflect a fictional character I no longer respect (sigh, but I wouldn't change it again). Our system name is makeshift - the one internal thing we all have in common is Lemarath our totem animal spirit guide, so we used that. Lynn is sort of a separate system, so we're both.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
Years of therapy and it still comes up, although it doesn't 'cause major drama for the most part. I think with us it's often as simple as those of us who didn't really experience whatever trauma tend to minimize or forget it.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
The lack of high-achieving multiples. There are some but they are often closeted.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 01:47 am (UTC)2. Yes. The alfar all have pointed ears. Some of us have fairly crazy eyes, with several irises in concentric circles around the main pupil, which twist and loop into other sets of irises circling two to four smaller pupils. D has light silver colored hair, but that's just a glamour, not her natural appearance.
3. The alfar have a hierarchy, and everyone obeys R and Beast, but that's mainly on the basis of respect. They know what they're doing. We try to make decisions on a group basis when there's time to think it over.
Nihil and Beaker prefer to frontrun as a pair if we're not at work. Sometimes I pair with Steve because we tend to just...fit together. Alethia has been practicing a new technique, in which she serves as a barrier against the outside and someone else effectively frontruns. This helps keep emotional stability after something stressful happens, and dampens some of the quirky energy effects that the alfar have. Everyone currently in the body can front independently if they want.
We each have a role, but that's a post in and of itself. ^_^
4. We are always one person on the outside. Only a few people know, and none of them live nearby. It is necessary for professional reasons in many situations. We've thought about telling some people we're more casually connected with, but we're not sure how to bring it up after knowing them for so long.
5. We've never tried this. I don't think forcing anything on anyone would go over very well in general. Inducing hallucinations on a consensual basis might be fun, though.
6. Our mental age tends to be about the same, though we have one child (8-10 age range) who pretended to be an adult until recently because she was afraid of being rejected. (Most of us aren't big on kids.) Chronologically, we're almost all much older, but we're almost all older souls. Not ancient, just been around a few times.
7. Many of us adopted names of roleplaying characters that we played before we understood that we were multiple. It was our only way of speaking to the world as individuals, so most of us have at least one signature character. We don't have a good system name yet.
8. Lurker believes she is the original inhabitant of the body and the only one with the right to be here. The rest of us have chipped away at her denial of various things by using logic, though we still haven't gotten her to agree that we should be here. She has said that she is all of the doubt that we should be feeling, and that if we accepted what she said we would melt back into her personality. We believe the first part - each of us does have a function in the system - but not the second. She's not out often, thus the nickname.
We tend to be unaware of who's frontrunning after waking up, or when feeling sick. It's hard to be self-aware enough to feel our individual differences at those times. When it goes on long enough, we definitely question whether anyone is there - but remind ourselves that this is an abnormal state of consciousness for us and we should reserve judgment until it passes.
9. Good question. We haven't been around the multiple community for very long, so we can't say a lot about that.
-Shay
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 01:48 am (UTC)-Shay
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 02:01 am (UTC)We came across several around the same time, but here was the first place we found outside our head that really said multiplicity doesn't have to be a disorder, even if (like us) your system has traumatic origins.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
We have two folks who are shapeshifters--a sparrow and a tiger. We also have at least one elemental person and one who can breathe underwater.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
We have a governing council, and anyone who seems mature enough to understand and to make rational decisions is given a vote, if they care to exercise that. Almost everyone fronts through Sara, although she is a person in her own right. It's a weird arrangement, but it works for us. Jobs are a casual thing for us.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
We're so far in the closet we're in Narnia. It's a necessity for us.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
Not as far as we know. Sara tried to hallucinate once because she didn't feel like she could deal with reality anymore, including the reality of all of us, but it didn't work.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
Mostly younger. We don't currently have anyone in our core group who's the same age as the body except for Sara, who's the one who's been aging with the body for most of our chronological life, though there are several close to that age, and there could well be others we the core group don'tknow of who might be body age. We have only a few older than the body. I do wonder how that will change over time, if at all.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
We've actually just agreed upon a system name and are in the process of making a new LJ and putting all our multi-ish stuff there. We picked the name--Kennings--ourselves, but our friends of the Pack Collective officially christened us over teh intarwebz. As for individual names...as far as I know, most of us came with our names. There are a few who didn't have names and either chose their own names or were named by others in the system. Also, there are several folks who won't give their real names but instead use an everyday name so people can refer to them without knowing their True Names, which they say hold incredible power over them.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
Not so much anymore, but when Sara first became aware of the rest of us, there was a lot of it going on. I think for us finding out that multiplicity doesn't have to be dysfunctional took away a lot of the panic about being multiple, so without the panic the denial was no longer necessary.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
I'm gonna have to say I mostly blame society for that. Mainstream people get weirded out by stuff like soulbonding and otherkin, I think, so it's easier for people to just say we must be psychotic if we "think" we have elves or literary characters or somesuch sharing our bodies.
--Alison
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 02:30 am (UTC)Sanctuary MUD.. was probably our introduction that being plural was ok.. and that we weren't the only multiple household in the world.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
pointed ears, wings, fangs(working fangs) um.. yep.. that's the short list.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
Right now, there's no organization.. We're trying.. but it's slow going.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
At work,we sorta try.. luckily our job.. is fairly laid back. so we can switch.. just have to keep someone around that will answer to our usename..
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
The full range from about 3years old to OLD!!!!!
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
individual names: mostly we chose them.. Lots of us were given names.. but well.. chose new ones later on.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
far too freaking often.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
um.. disbelief of others who have households that are different.. we can't show pople.. that we're all equal and valid when we're fighting amongst ourselves.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:26 am (UTC)I don't remember the first thing I "discovered". The first resource I came in contact with was a soulbonder who was willing to help me out when somebody walked in. The first resources I found were on psychological median concepts, I'd guess.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Yes. Otherkin-ism is fairly common for the people who do not identify in a particular group of this body (and for a few who do). Most of us believe that because our internal bodies are flexible, the forms we choose to take are merely what we're comfortable with, although a few believe that they are re-interpreted forms from a past life, etc.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
Visually, my kin've structured a house - you know, a sort of "we live in a body - oh, hm, what do Earth people live in? Houses!" idea, mainly for convenience. Organisationally, we vary, and we've borrowed from various sources - from shared accomodation to a kind of clanlife. We are thieves. :)
Depending on the time of day, it can range from structured to - not structured. Some people have job descriptions, although aside from the public relations people (smarmy word for "fronters"), they're flexible and more like titles than anything.
The hierarchy is also flexible, and depends on how much time you spend interacting with meatspace or otherwise asserting yourself, and it's not very important in the long run. It just means that if you've been sleeping all day for long periods, or going way out back and not bothering to check in, you probably won't get asked whether you want flavoured soymilk.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
Often, and necessity. Although we're "out" to various people in our life, we currently cannot afford to live as a group, because of dangers relating to a currently real threat of people deciding we're nuts and throwing us in a hospital.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
Not that I know of. I'm told that some members can force anxiety on others, but because our communication shuts down when we're anxious or disocciating (in the sense of feeling as if you are dissociated from the world - a couple of us have problems with depersonalisation/derealisation, but it's not linked to our plurality), it's not a good thing to do a lot of the time.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
Older, I'd guess. Most people don't identify as a single age, just as a general age-group. There are children in the group, mind.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name?
Mostly, we gave them to each other. Some of them are names that sound like names we were using, but that we weren't happy to continue using. As far as the system name goes, someone just picked something and ran with it. We tend not to use it unless we need to be identified as a kith-and-kin group beyond "those people over there".
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
It's currently a problem, mostly with the primary PR person. The main factor is probably due to people I confided in early on being dubious or outright decrying me as crazy, including bodily urging me into a hospital (long story). Additionally, if somebody switches rapidly into meatspace after being used to mindspace (instead of, say, easing in), the shock can cause denial. It's a pretty different sensation, after all.
Not sure how to answer the last question, so I won't.
-E.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:32 am (UTC)Ahahaha, it was some BBS thing back in 1995. We didn't post on it, though, because we didn't see anyone talking about anything that seemed very similar to our own experience. The first thing we found that actually did make us go "hey, this COULD be me" was Astraea's Web.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
...yuss? Think that's pretty common really.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
Urrr... I think some people can only front 'through' others. Although for a lot of people, that's only the case at first and they end up being able to front on their own later on. About 'jobs,' I wouldn't really say we have 'jobs,' but some of us specialize. It's less because someone plunked us down and said "Okay, you're the Math Alter/Writing Alter/Protector/etc" as because people just naturally gravitated to doing certain things at the front or in-system because of their temperament. But if someone isn't present to do a certain 'job' at the front that they usually do, there aren't going to be RAR, LAYOFFS or anything. (We've actually known several multiples who did base part or all of their operating system on a business model, and it worked for them. We're just not quite that type.) And then there are people who have jobs in subjective-space away from the front, but those... have little to do with how we work in the daily consensus reality.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
Always. Except when we're around other plurals. Becoming a prisoner of the psychiatric system is one of our worst fears. And we've known people who did, or almost did, for less "weird" things than being plural, so I don't think that's paranoid. It's not that we haven't voluntarily tried to seek help from professionals before, because we have, we're just excruciatingly careful about what we say to them.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
Nyurr... don't think so. Oh, we've had auditory hallucinations when very tired, and we went through this long period where we used to wake up in the middle of the night because we thought we heard someone screaming, but it had nothing to do with plurality.
Woah. I wrote a lot. o.o
Date: 2007-06-17 04:33 am (UTC)Uhhh... if you want me to take a mathematical average of the current frontrunners, it works out to slightly younger. But that's not really fairly counting the people for whom standard ideas about age don't apply.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
...parents named me? *g* (My parents, not the body's birth parents.) Errr, there are too many named people in here to give the whole rundown on how they all got their names, so I'll just speak for myself.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
Eh, we used to have a lot more denial than we do now. A lot of "lalalala you're not real I'm not LISTENING" or trying to convince ourselves that "this isn't really multiplicity, this is just 'me' personifying different aspects of my personality and wanting to think they're different people." On the last part, it was honestly well-meant, because the system was led by some very skeptical types at that time and we wanted to be absolutely, completely, 100% sure that we could rule out everything else and weren't faking it. And then there were the tenuous acknowledgements that yes, there was SOMETHING going on (the tenuous acknowledgements had been going on for about 12 years at that point) that took off at right angles from the idea of "one personality," but we didn't "fit" most of the DID profile and somehow kept jumping from there to "whatever else there is, you just made it up."
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
Woah, be careful where you poke that thing-- are you trying to start a flamewar? o_o Actually, I wrote a reeeaaallly long response to this-- if anyone wants me to post it separately, I will. I'll just say for now that my fears that posting it will result in SUPER FLAMEWAR POWER GO, though I tried not to single out any particular group, are... kind of key to what I think some of the problems are.
~Yushyu
Re: Woah. I wrote a lot. o.o
Date: 2007-06-17 06:04 am (UTC)Now we're REALLY curious...
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:59 am (UTC)There were a few forums on Delphi where some of us first encountered others who shared a body with several individuals.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Yes. Wings are a common feature, among some others.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any?
One major characteristic of our group is that we do change main fronters sometimes every six months. It isn't that uncommon to meet someone new.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
All the time in public. It is mostly a choice for us.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
The real question is "why would someone do that to another group member?"
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
There are a varied range of ages within our group. Of those who usually front, the ages most often are younger than the body's age.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name?
Parents named their children, some named themselves, and others already had their names prior to arriving.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever?Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
Denial of what? I'm sure there are individual issues some are working on, but nothing that seriously affects the rest of us.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
I don't think it's the multiple community. I think it has to do with the medical "professionals" who mostly seem to think they know everything about the experience and usually refuse to accept any experience outside what is in medical books.
(edited to fix errors)
Our answers... finally.
Date: 2007-06-17 06:02 am (UTC)This community. I actually did an LJ search one day specifically looking for a community like this, and I'm very glad I found it.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
So far we've got 3 occurances of this. Thena has white skin and a very unnaturally-colored complexion overall. When A is in one of her less stable forms, she's got reddish eyes and is covered in all this black stuff that I can't really describe. There's also a male headmate who no one seems to be able to identify that just appears as a grayish blur.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
Our system operates around one central idea - hiding. Since we've been through some trauma, I was apparently designated as a filter for all information coming in or out, and most of the others have to front through me unless we're really distressed. I have a horrible memory and the others don't tell me much about the inside, and they rarely get to front around other people. We're slowly learning to undo this, but it's going to take a very long time.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
Almost always, even in therapy because it's such a habit. It's a necessity for us, most of us feel very unsafe around other people, especially if they know we're multiple. Even around people who know about us, we don't usually mention it or present ourselves as separate people because it makes us feel exposed.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
Yes. Anna, our resident practical joker, is able to force a false perception onto whoever's fronting, usually making them look like a fool to anyone who happens to be around. This happened more than a few times during marching band, when I was fronting, and had to read my coordinates for where to stand on the field during practice. I would check the coordinates at least 5 times, and suddenly I'd notice I was totally out of the form. Cue laughter from the headspace. Looking at the coordinates again I could clearly see I was nowhere near where I was supposed to be. Anna always thought that was a riot.
Other than that, Rachel can send elaborate mental images/situations of whatever she chooses to people on the inside, usually with malicious intent.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
The majority of us are right around or several years older than the body, which is 20. Most of us don't have concrete ages though, more of an age range.
(continued in next comment)
Re: Our answers... finally.
Date: 2007-06-17 03:53 pm (UTC)We get that way too. Some of us even shrink back and talk like our PR image when they're chatting with someone they're madly in love with. As if someone's going to crack open the Internet tube and out them. It's awful.
-D
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 06:03 am (UTC)Many of us chose our names or were named by others. I took my name (V) from our previous frontrunner's nickname. Sanji, Johnny, and James were named after fictional characters. Thena was probably named after the goddess Athena, and Silence was named such because she never speaks. Liz names herself after whoever she wants, she's constantly acquiring new last names she likes.
A got her name because she and many of us hated her old name. Our previous frontrunner dubbed her "Alter" (short for Alter Ego) many years ago, but after we all became selves-aware and got out of the "multiplicity is different parts of one person" mentality, we had to rename her. Since I was V, I suggested that she could be A, and she accepted.
We also have a headmate named Anasazi, whose story would probably be interesting, if she would tell anyone how she got the name.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
Pretty frequently, both denial of trauma and being multiple. Since I'm pretty cut off from the others, I struggle with denial most of the time, some of the others not so much. It causes us a lot of frustration, anger, and guilt. Part of it is just not wanting to believe anything happened to us. It also doesn't help that our therapist is constantly cramming the "you're all one person" crap down our throats.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
Cherry thinks the adequate term would be "general wankyness." To be more specific, this covers a lack of cohesiveness, suspicion of other multiples, and general apathy. This is not directed towards anyone specific, but it's just things we've noticed over the years.
This isn't to say there aren't hundreds of groups out there to whom the above does not apply. We've seen way too many systems who aren't concerned with changing the 'helpless abuse survivor' image that multiples are often stuck with. We've seen plenty of systems go out of their way to put another system down because they don't fit into that or any other narrow definition of multiplicity. And we wish we could just move on and ignore these people, but we can't, because the stereotypes and pigeonholes are everywhere. If we're so commonly disbelieved and belittled by other multiples, how can we ever hope to be treated any differently by non-multiples? Infighting is something that needs to stop. Accusations and assumptions need to stop.
(We've lost the thread of logic here... may come back to finish up these thoughts later...)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 06:58 am (UTC)2. No strange features. We're a boring lot; we take after the basic coloring and size of the body, and Mac's just a big guy from Mississippi.
3. Mac, not being one of us, can only front if everyone else steps back and he puts forth a lot of effort. We don't have much of a heirarchy; we just pop in whenever. Damaged Frontrunner, when she comes down, sedates all of us. (Except Mac, who again, isn't one of us.)
4. We act unified in pretty much all situations except in plural company online and among the few friends offline who know what we are. We're hoping to expand, but we're currently in school, and I'm not interested in telling everyone our private business.
5. Us? Hallucinate? Hell, no.
6. We're a small group, so we're evenly split between just before puberty and body-age. And Mac is older, but again, he's not one of us.
7. No system name--though Mac calls us 'the Loony-brain' sometimes, and we'll use the body name for it. Mac's parents named him; the rest of us just had ours. When asked, "What's your name?" We just know it.
8. I used to be in denial. The girls beat it out of me with the Holy Club of Logic. Damaged Frontrunner will deny us, but she doesn't see reality right.
9. The refusal to risk your ass. The fact is, if you want something to change, you have to have some idiot on the front-line willing to get shot at by all sides. And a bunch of people won't risk that.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 07:00 am (UTC)This community is the first online group. We are in contact with two systems who were our first exposure outside of our own ideas though.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Yeah. Ruachim is tinged with blue and white. But she is Winds, basically, if she was to take her name and make it English. So that makes sense.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
Let's see. Certain people, like Ishikiro, Dvora, Hainan, and some others, are only allowed out if one of the stable people like 1321-4 or Carol rides shotgun.
We are a tribal, so we rule through a joint council. People are chosen to council through service to the system, be it internal or external. However, everyone performs some function or some job, even if it's only to take care of having our allotment of fun for the day playing ping-pong in the inner-sphere community centre.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
We can function appearing as one person, although we have communication with two other systems whom do not need us to be one person and have taken the time to learn some of our individual names. Mind you, one of the people in OldWolf's system is Fire and Ishikiro's father, which is why we have contact with either of them ... And there are certain friends of ours at school who understand.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
1321-4 has a lot of control over functions. Then again, he is maintenance, as he has chosen to be. It makes sense for us. And normally with our system, it isn't forcing hallucinations or anything, it's forcing someone back down into stability or whatever it is.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
Varies wildly. Some of the lils are as young as 4. We have a couple of eternals too, they don't have a concept of age that translates into earth time and for all they know they could have been around since a couple million years if not longer.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
Blackwater-Teq' Nations comes from the "past lives" of Fire and Ishikiro. They chose it, and we all agreed, so that is the system name.
Fire got her name as she was abused, primarily through fire and branding, and so she has chosen to remind herself of her anger as a driving force. It's interesting, and reminds us that we are worth something.
Ceannadh chose her name out of the Celtic mythologies, and her "past lives" have all been close to there.
We choose names or have them. Sometimes both, as Unit 1321-4 has a name which he refuses to use, because it's too painful for him to deal with the reality of his entire past.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
Not anymore. D'vora did, a lot, but she has areas of the inner-sphere where we don't have to be in contact with her and that helps her. When she realised that part of this means that we aren't alone, she got a lot more to terms with it. We provide a lot of a support system for one another within the Blackwater-Teq' Nations, and she has found that having friends who accept you without question is good for her. And it stops making the body sick for her to accept it, so it is good.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 10:36 am (UTC)2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)? Several of us are elves, so are taller than normal humans and have pointed ears. Also two of us are amputees due to injuries, I suppose that CAN occur naturally but it's not usual.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?) Nothing formal or set by rules, though there are some who front more than others, by their own choice. Some people have their own internal jobs and they get enough satisfaction from that, they don;t want to front at all. For instance we have one system member whose job is to take care of the children.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system? All the time, and it's a necessity because there's only ONE person (our partner) who knows, and no-one else. Being able to pass as singleton is the main rule we have about who can front: anyone who isn't willing to do that, and isn't willing to answer to the body name, just doesn't get to front at all.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting? What a weird question. No, and I've never heard of anything like it in anyone else's system either.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body? It varies a lot: because some of us are elves we're a LOT older than the body: I'm over 700 years old and some of the others are over 3000. However, it's the 17-21 range that has the most system members, so I guess that means "most" are younger than the body.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.) Our system name corrently is "Nosselinfea" which means "House of many souls" in Quenya (Tolkien Elvish) and was picked by some of the elves here. Most of us already had names when we arrived/were created. The only interesting one was when we found a little girl, aged about 5, in our internal house. We asked her what her name was and she put her finger to her lips, said "Shhh! Secret!" So we called her Secret, and she's never given us her real name (if she has one).
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you? Never. We've been aware of it too long, and there's too much that can't be explained any other way, denial is no longer an issue.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder? Not enough vocal non-trauma based multiples. Also, multiples like ourselves, who don't have any mental health issues, never get to see a medical professional or therapist, simply because we don't need to. So, people like ourselves completely slip through the cracks and are never counted. The only ones the public ever get to see or hear about are the ones with problems.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 11:02 am (UTC)an online forum called the Sword and Serpent Tavern, even though we never posted there; we also found LJ as a whole because some of the members had journals here.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)? yes. we have a number of members who aren't human, and some of our human members have unusual appearances.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
we've had the same two main fronters for the past six years, and this doesn't seem to be something that is going to change; out of our entire system only a handful will front, and usually only by cofronting with one of the twins. we are overall quite organized (enough to hold down a job and more than one relationship, pretty much) when it comes to communication, and we have a pretty strong set of internal governing rules (though no formal hierarchy or anything like that).
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
most of the time, when we aren't with our partners or friends that are aware. we certainly aren't out at work.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
hallucinate? not sure.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
there's quite a variety; a lot of us actually ageslide. for the most part we're the body's age and older.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
a lot of us are walk-ins; they got their names the conventional way for wherever they are from, though some of them changed their names after coming here. our system name tends to change a lot.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
denial? of being plural? sometimes it does happen, yes, though not usually with most of the people who've been around for a while.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
trauma-based multiplicity is deemed more 'interesting' by the media, I think. who wants to hear about us? we're pretty boring (at least ^we are), I guess. and has anyone read a book as popular as the trauma ones about healthy multiplicity? we've never seen one.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 12:47 pm (UTC)2) I toyed around with pointy ears back when Rob was 10 or so, but I think that was just a kid goofing around. Actually, a separate self-image for me is... well, you couldn't quite say it's just for fun, but almost. Since I'm Rob's brother, I think of myself as looking a lot like him.
3) I'm basically the default fronter. Johnny can only front if both of us concentrate, though co-presence is easy.
4) The thing is, people mostly only meet one person. The only times I front are (a) around clued-in friends, obviously openly; (b) around total strangers, who don't know the difference; (c) around family, the only time I really pretend.
5) Nope, no hallucinations.
6) I'm chronologically four and a half years younger. Emotionally I bounce around, that's a good average figure.
7) Rob named me. And, being four, he spelled it wrong - my name is Johnathan. I won't even tell you my original last name, before Rob adopted me as a brother. I guess it could have been worse, in theory, but it was pretty goofy.
8) I'm told that my ex-boyfriend, who seemed pretty credulous when I came out to him, was after we broke up telling people behind my back that I was making it up (most of them, I hadn't even told about Johnny to begin with.) I thought that was a bit rich coming from a vampire.
As for the cause, on top of all the reasons it happens to everyone else, I have too much trouble fronting - most people we know haven't actually met me, which can't make it easier to believe.
We also have one median friend (he wouldn't use that word, but it fits) who says he has trouble relating to us as separate people instead of a gestalt, but that's not really denial, just trouble adjusting.
9) I haven't met any multiples who come off that way, but I've heard not all communities are as good as this one.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 02:19 pm (UTC)We believe it was lj multiplicity, then again we could be wrong.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Coby has yellow eyes. But we don't know why, but we have heard that that can happen naturally too. So we're not sure if it counts.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
Well, for us most the main fronters are Alika, Emmiline, and Carol. Once in a while Debora, Charles, and Annie. But the rest just throw in their input every once in a while. They don't particularly like to take the front. It's less responsibility on their part.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
We never pretend. We just are who we are. Some people tend to think we pretend to be different, but that's because we switch a lot.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
Not in our case. The body we are as a whole sometimes goes into this mode where the eyes glaze over and such, some with out multiplicity would call it "spacing out", but we only "space out" when we're switching fronts and it takes a while for the person fronting to take it. But that's the closest we can come to a hallucination.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
All of us are older than the body we live in, even the original fronter Carol. She is older than her/our body is.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
We all chose our names. Accept Coby, Annie and Alika. Coby and Annie were childhood friends of the original fronter Carol and they sort of became part of her after time. Alika was a character in a story Carol was writing and Alika herself came from the soul of the system waiting to be built. Thus. Our system. The system name we wanted to be simple. So we named it All Of Us. It's easier that way. Not so complicated.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
We don't really have denial issues.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
I have yet to find a trauma-induced system. Let me know when they actually find one.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:58 pm (UTC)this one
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Not that I know of, but the others may see this in their friends pages and answer differently. I'll be surprised if I see this, but not surprised in a bad way.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
none
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
We don't pretend to be one person, per se. We don't run around stating that we're not but if, for whatever reason, the subject were to come up we will readily let people know we're multiple.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
Not that I am aware of.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
younger... the body/host ages. The others do not, though some age-slide. Just none age-slide to be older than I (the host) am.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name?
All but one told me their names as they made themselves known to me. I'm not sure how they got their names, though. The one who had no name, I named. Our system name, Hawini Tsiwoni, is Tsalagi (Cherokee) for "inside talking".
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
From time to time, I wonder if I/we are really multiple. It used to happen a lot more often than it does now. But I also think if I even have to wonder "Am I really multiple?", then I have my answer right there. ;o)
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
I'm not sure how to answer this. I do have Dissociative Identity Disorder. My thinking on this is simply that the non-plural population relates multiplicity to mental illness only. And perhaps they think that if a system claims to not be trauma-based, that system is in denial. It took me a long time to accept that there are simply healthy, non-trauma-based multiples. I hope the general population will one day accept this, so that my friends who are of that group of multiples will feel more accepted and validated by society as a whole. Sadly, I don't think this will happen any time soon. Society hasn't even accepted the trauma-based multiples as anything other than dangerous, sociopathic head-cases, which most of us are not. I wish there was an effective way to present both groups of multiples to society, in an honest and non-exaggerated light. Shit like "Sybil" and "The Three Faces of Eve", unfortunately, are what a lot of people go by.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 04:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 08:10 pm (UTC)In particular, your answer to #5 is very interesting, just the sort of thing we were interested about in the first place. Looking at the answers so far apparently it's not a very common thing. Are the two of them discouraged from fronting because they cause those hallucinations?
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 06:04 pm (UTC)We took it to mean the multiple community at large and not this forum itself.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 09:15 pm (UTC)This community and a few others on LJ.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
Yes and no. We have many shapeshifters in our system. Usually the shapes they take are similar to what naturally occurs with slight variances. I won't go into detail as it would be confusing to explain in a brief manner.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
We really don't have much structure at all. The main characteristic we have, however, is that we have a main front runner (me) who is always present. Others will co-front or front through me. There are also some members who rarely or never front at all and simply communicate.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
Always. This is how we have always functioned, mainly due to the fact that we have a main fronter.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
We do experience hallucinations, though I don't know that it's due to someone else causing them. One member is able to create tactile "hallucinations" (a sensation of him being in physical contact with the body, such as a hand touching the shoulder).
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
Mainly older than the body. Though most ages are unknown and simply assumed to be older.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
A first no one had real names. Just descriptions. It wasn't until about a year ago when we started coming up with names. They were all chosen. I chose names for those who do not speak often, though some have since revealed their true names (or names they prefer) through dreams.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
I don't experience denial so much as a feeling that maybe it's all made up. Mainly this is caused by feeling our system is so very different from other systems that perhaps it's all just a fantasy. It's upsetting, because I don't want it to be a fantasy and I know, deep inside, that it's real. I just have this terrible gnawing doubt sometimes.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
Hmm. I don't really know how to answer this, but I think society is probably afraid to admit that something considered so "crazy" could actually occur naturally.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 03:49 am (UTC)This place, heh.
2. For systems that have internal bodies/self-images that are different from the external body's, do any of you have features that do not naturally occur in the external world (ex. naturally purple hair, blue skin, stuff like that)?
No.
3. What special structural characteristics does your system have, if any? (For instance, is there a hierarchy? Can certain people only front through others? Do you have certain internal 'jobs'?)
Well, this system is just Vi and I, me having been born into the body... Vi considers me more important since it was originally my body and I have control over it more often, and she feels as though she's invading a lot. I think that's silly, but... *shrugs* I don't know if that counts.
4. How often in your public life do you pretend to be one person, if ever? Is this a choice or a necessity for your system?
If we're out and Vi is fronting, she always pretends to be me unless she's around someone I know well enough to know that we're multiple. We're not around other people very often though.
5. Can anyone in-system force anyone else to hallucinate, particularly while fronting?
No... I'm psychotic - I have auditory and visual hallucinations regularly - but Vi has no control over this and she doesn't see or hear the things I do.
6. On average, is the system composed mainly of people older, younger, or around the same age as the body?
As I said before, it's just us two... We're identical twins, so we're the same age... Though Vi has only been around for about 11 years.
7. How did you get your individual names and/or system name? (Obviously larger systems won't be able to list all the stories of how everyone got their name, so... pick your favorites/most interesting? If you were born/created already having a name, that's fine too.)
Vi's name came from the name of my "real" twin sister who died at birth, whose name was Viveka. I believe Vi is Viveka's soul.
8. How frequently do issues of denial come up in your system, if ever? Does this cause a lot of problems for your system? What do you think is the main factor that causes this denial for you?
Vi went through a phase in which she was constantly wondering why she didn't have her own body, and if truly existing was limited to living in a separate single body... She's doing better now though.
9. What, if any, is something within the multiple community itself that you feel is contributing to society's refusal to see multiplicity as anything other than a trauma-induced disorder?
I don't know. I had some heavy trauma in childhood and that is one of the reasons Vi was born, and until I joined this place, I thought all multiples were that way. :/
no subject
Date: 2007-06-19 05:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From: