(no subject)

[uncertainwonder.livejournal.com]

So here's my question:

For those of us whose systems are trauma-based, do systems always develop naturally as a defense and dissociative mechanism? Or is it possible for the perpetrators to *intentionally create* alters to abuse, leaving the original kid unaware of what's going on?

Comments

[shandra.livejournal.com]

Hypothetically of course, I think it's entirely possible that there are groups of people who have some kind of fairly deep folk wisdom about trauma and its uses (and a perhaps smaller group of people who have tried some scientific inquiry). In fact, given a lot of belief systems that have existed and persisted (such as voudoun) even against the face of colonialism or other pressure, it would surprise me a lot if there *weren't* such groups of people in very small numbers who would have that kind of expertise.

And certainly trauma can cause dissociation and in multiples dissociation can be used to isolate members of a multiple system so that they have only a particular set of experiences, like being only-good-for-rape or something like that.

Whether that *creates* a person or kind of uses a particular person that might have come into life in a different way, is a kind of religious argument I'm not sure about making. :) But I think the results are close enough to say sure: I think it's entirely possible that some people are skilled enough in torture to create that kind of scenario in some of their victims.

However I tend to think of it like gardening: they might be able to take a cutting, and plant it, and prune it and train it and shape it. But the minute they lose access to the garden, the plant may damn well start growing in its own direction.

Shandra