alt.sexual.abuse.recovery,alt.support.personality,alt.support.abuse- partners posting etiquette alt.abuse.recovery:3756 alt.sexual.abuse.recovery:52846 alt.support.personality:174 Archive-name: dissoc-faq/part1 alt.support.dissociation FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) ========================================================= === 1.0 Contents/Overview Section 1: alt.support.dissociation 1.0 Contents/Overview 1.0.2 Notes 1.1 Acknowledgements 1.1.2 Copyright Notice 1.2 Purpose of Newsgroup 1.2.1 History 1.2.2 Who should post here? 1.3 Posting guidelines and etiquette 1.3.1 Spoilers 1.3.2 Flaming and Harrassing Posts 1.4 Posting anonymously to alt.support.dissociation Section 2: Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders (formal) 2.0 Overview 2.1 Dissociation 2.1.1 Definition of Dissociation 2.2 Dissociative Disorders 2.2.1 Multiple Personality Disorder 2.2.2 Psychogenic Fugue and Psychogenic Amnesia 2.2.3 Depersonalization Disorder 2.2.4 Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified 2.3 Related Disorders 2.3.1 Personality Disorders 2.4 Treating Dissociative Disorders Section 3: Dissociation and Multiplicity (informal) 3.0 Overview 3.1 An Essay on Dissociation 3.2 Problems and Issues 3.3 The Multiplicity mini-FAQ Section 4: Abuse and other Trauma 4.0 Overview 4.1 Abuse 4.1.2 Different Types of Abuse 4.1.3 Effects of abuse 4.2 Trauma 4.3.2 Stress Section 5: Resources 5.0 Overview 5.1 The Internet 5.1.1 Newsgroups 5.1.2 Web Sites 5.1.3 IRC 5.1.4 MUDs 5.2 Publications 5.2.1 Books on Multiplicity 5.2.2 Books on Dissociation 5.2.3 Books on related topics 5.2.4 Other Publications 5.3 Organizations *** 1.0.2 Notes The posting of the FAQ is broken into several parts due to its length; I have tried to avoid breaking in the middle of subsections and will break at the beginning of a section whenever feasible. Currently, the FAQ is broken into 4 parts, thusly: Part 1: Contains section 1 Part 2: Contains section 2 Part 3: Contains section 3 Part 4: Contains sections 4 and 5 Within each part, you may search for the name (or number) of a section to go to its beginning; to do this in trn, while in an article type g, then the word you are searching for. I do not know how to do this in tin; if someone does, please e-mail me the directions and I shall add them. * Abbreviations There are a number of abbreviations you are likely to see on this newsgroup. This is a list of some of the more common ones: DID: "Dissociative Identity Disorder" EA: emotional abuse IRC: internet relay chat, a world-wide network of real-time chat channels MP: multiple personalities MPD: "Multiple Personality Disorder" PA: physical abuse RA: ritual abuse SA: sexual abuse aar/a.a.r.: alt.abuse.recovery aat/a.a.t.: alt.abuse.transcendence asar/ASAR/a.s.a.r.: alt.sexual.abuse.recovery asd/a.s.d.: usually, alt.support.dissociation. asdep/a.s-dep/a.s.dep: alt.support.depression, another support newsgroup asdis/a.s-dis/a.s.dis: alt.support.dissociation; this form is used due to possible confusion with === 1.1 Acknowledgements Primary Author and Editor: Discord, aka Tina Sikorski (tina@tezcat.com) Many people have helped, both directly and indirectly, with the writing of this FAQ. Not the least of these have been the readers and posters to the abuse support groups, the users of the IRC support channels, and the users of SANCTUARY MUD. Some of these people contributed sections or aided in their writing, while others made suggestions for things to include within the FAQ. I appreciate all of them, but at this point to list everyone who contributed suggestions might take a whole section in itself (and besides, I'd forget them all). That having been said, in the case of people contributing sections of the FAQ, they are credited in that section, except in the case of those wishing not to be credited. All sections not otherwise marked were primarily written or compiled by Discord. The book list is a compilation of many many people's suggestions for additions, however, I would like to thank Anita Easton, who provided a rather large section of the booklist. The mini-FAQ on multiplicity was co-written by myself and Sapphire Gazelles, based on my original (very incomplete) multiplicity FAQ from ASAR. I have since edited it beyond the original co-writing, but her (their) contributions were of immeasurable help. Some of the information in the formal section on dissociation is taken in part from the DSM-III-R. I do not own a copy of the DSM-IV at this time; some of the information might therefore be considered outdated by some people. *** 1.1.2 Copyright Notice This FAQ is copyright (C) 1995 [as a whole] by Discord; the multiplicity mini-FAQ is copyright (C) 1994 by Discord and Sapphire Gazelles. Reproduction -in whole- via electronic means [email, newsgroups, and the Web] is allowed provided this copyright notice remains intact. Reproduction in part via electronic means is allowed provided that the source (this FAQ) is credited and the copyright notice is preserved. Individuals may produce and retain a single hardcopy for personal use only. Any reproduction for profit without the permission of the FAQ maintainer and section author(s) is a direct violation of this copyright. To obtain permission to reproduce this FAQ, send e-mail to tina@tezcat.com. Electronic archive maintainers: a notice of inclusion on your archive is appreciated. Please contact me for the most up-to-date copy of this FAQ. === 1.2 Purpose of Newsgroup *** 1.2.1 History In mid-1994, I suggested (anonymously) a group for the discussion of multiplicity (aka MPD/Multiple Personality Disorder, aka DID/Dissociative Identity Disorder, aka multiple personalities). It had not, at the time, occurred to me to discuss the rest of the range of dissociation, but in discussing the need for the group, someone (I've forgotten who) brought up the possibility. I thought that this was a very good idea, and altered my proposal thusly; with no serious objections, the group was created as alt.support.dissociation (and my thanks to Jonathan Grobe, who newgrouped it for me). It is important to note that from the outset, I did not intend this to be a discussion of multiplicity in and of itself, but rather for the discussion of the issues surrounding multiplicity (and, later, dissociation in general). That is to say, while the world at large might consider the dissociation itself to be a problem, I consider that to be a secondary issue; the newsgroup is primarily for the discussion of how to deal with the problems that might be caused by dissociation, as well as any other issues surrounding dissociation, even if one might not label those issues "problems". Other psychological states or disorders with similar issues and/or problems will probably be mentioned here from time to time, and are welcome to be discussed here. *** 1.2.2 Who should post here? Anyone with an interest in being here, of course. A more specific list is: people with dissociative processes, including but not limited to multiple personalities; their SOs (that's "Significant Others" btw), friends, colleagues and the like; therapists/psychologists with insights into dealing with problems and issues arising from dissociation, and other interested parties. === 1.3 Posting guidelines and etiquette Do not ridicule others. Because many of the posters here will be multiples, they may come across as odd to others. Be understanding that some of the people posting here may be letting, for instance, a younger alter post, or one who is severely depressed, and so forth...or they may describe things that seem unreal to you, but it is what they are experiencing. Do not suggest that, because someone has not been diagnosed with a dissociative disorder, that this automatically makes them wrong about what they are going through. This rule applies to therapists/psychologists as well as other posters. Especially for therapists/psychologists: do not attempt to diagnose someone, unless they are asking for an opinion on what they are experiencing. Those of us who are multiple who will be posting here don't want to be told we are not...don't you think we'd know? [OK, it could be something related instead, but if the multiplicity model fits us, and it works for us, why not let us use it?] Many people do not consider their dissociation, no matter what the degree, to be in and of itself a problem, and for many people it is not. It is merely a different way of dealing with the world, in their case. They might, however, seek out a group such as this for suggestions on how to solve issues related to their dissociation. *** 1.3.1 Spoilers Do not post about potentially disturbing subjects without giving some sort of spoiler. A spoiler is a caution/warning that the contents of the post may be disturbing for a specific reason. When discussing the reasons that one dissociates (whether it is multiplicity or other forms of dissociation), it is sometimes helpful to examine the events that led to dissociation (or, with multiples, initial splits and later splits). Some people reading this newsgroup may not be at a stage where they can handle particularly blunt descriptions of some of the more common incidents that lead to people dissociating. So, to allow people at all various stages of discussing both their own backgrounds and listening to others to participate, it would be preferred that explicit topics, such as sexual encounters, abuse, suicide attempts, cutting and other forms of self harm, and other potentially triggering topics be spoilered with a page of non-explicit material including a brief warning as the type of topic that is going to be discussed. In addition, some specific topics relating to multiplicity may be difficult for people to deal with. These would include the process of merging alters, integration and fusion of alters, and so forth. A warning to people from ASAR: Do not necessarily expect the extent of spoilering you would get from the people of ASAR. In particular, do not expect that mere discussion of multiplicity itself is going to be spoilered, because that is, after all, a good portion of what this newsgroup is for. *** 1.3.2 Flaming and Harrassing Posts Please try to curb your desire to flame people. If you disagree with someone, express it in a rational manner. This is in keeping with general USENET etiquette, but given the recent problems on ASAR, I feel it bears repeating. At least twice. Posts of a harrassing nature will be responded to by e-mailing the administrator of the site of the harrassing poster, with a copy of the harassing post, as well as a brief explanation of why I find the post to be harrassing. A copy of the note will be cc'd to the poster. While not considered harrassing, posts that are seriously off-topic will be responded to with an explanation of why I feel the note was off- topic. Repeated posts on that topic by the same person will be forwarded to the administrator of the poster's site. If you find a post to be harrassing, please refrain from following up to it with a flame; if you feel you must do something about it, forwarding a copy of the post to the administrator of the site in question is not a bad idea, however. Following up to the note, while it may relieve your anger/outrage, will not help the newsgroup. If you receive harrassing e-mail due to a post on this newsgroup, my suggestion is for you to do the same; forward a copy of the e-mail to the administrator of the site of the harrasser. If you are not sure who to send the post to, a note to root@ will usually be sufficient. Many sites have a specific news administrator, usually news@. === 1.4 Posting anonymously to alt.support.dissociation Because of the sensitive nature of the topics to be discussed here, some people may not feel comfortable unless they have a way to post anonymously. It is possible to use the server at anon.penet.fi and the one at twwells.com to do this. (ASAR and alt.abuse.recovery readers should recognize these two.) The various cypherpunk remailers will also allow you to do this, I believe. Information on how to use the anon.penet.fi server is available by e-mailing help@anon.penet.fi. I will also be periodically posting a summary on how to use the penet.fi service. Information on how to use the twwells.com server is available by e- mailing anon-help@twwells.com. A periodic posting on how to use twwells.com is posted by the administrator of that service. There are other anonymous servers that I do not currently have complete information on. There was at one point a way to finger an account to receive information on the cypherpunk remailers, but the address I had for that is no longer valid; I am not sure where to get this information any longer. When I have it again, I will repost it. Ed Carp runs an khijol, an anonymous site. He posts periodically with the information on how to get to khijol; if you have web access, the information is available at: http://intele.com/~erc/khijol.html Apparently, asarian.org is now defunct For more information on anonymous posting, the newsgroup alt.privacy.anon-server may or may not be of help to you. === Discord, FAQ maintainer, alt.support.dissociation To contact me anonymously: an118007@anon.penet.fi Psychology/Abuse Resources URL -- http://www.tezcat.com/~tina/psych.shtml --- Only the strong survive. --- alt.sexual.abuse.recovery,alt.support.personality,alt.support.abuse- partners References: alt.abuse.recovery:3757 alt.sexual.abuse.recovery:52847 alt.support.personality:175 Archive-name: dissoc-faq/part3 --------------------- Section 3 Dissociation: An Informal Look From an Insider ---------------------- === 3.0 Overview This section deals with multiplicity from the standpoint of the multiple, as well as the authors personal take on what dissociation really is, and the issues that may surround the dissociative person. Some of this directly contradicts "formal" studies of dissociation, but since it was written from the viewpoint of a multiple, this is hardly surprising. ;) === 3.1 An Essay on Dissociation You will find that many people have many different views on what consitutes dissociation, who does it, and whether or not the simple existence of dissociative processes in a person constitute a problem (or when they do). However, this is my own personal viewpoint, with some input from others that helped me shape this section. Consciously or not, temporarily or not, dissociation is a process in which you assume a role or roles that are markedly different from the one you might usually have. This includes a wide spectrum of things. An example of an every-day dissociative process would be, perhaps not surprisingly, actors. Actors often immerse themselves in their roles, and while they are on stage are actually the person they are portraying. An Example: Joe Smith, Actor. Joe Smith is portraying Hamlet on stage, and the play is in progress. During this time, he is no longer Joe Smith, the actor, but instead _becomes_ Hamlet. He is thinking what Hamlet would think, saying what Hamlet would say, using his speech patterns, his body language, his belief system, his views of the world. For a short period of time at he, they _is_ Hamlet. After the play is through, he becomes Joe Smith, actor, again. Possibly when he goes home, he becomes Joe Smith, private person who is little if anything like "Joe Smith, actor." While he is on stage/being Hamlet, he is using dissociation to keep Joe Smith's thoughts, body language, etc. out of the way. He has become Hamlet to give a truer representation of Hamlet. Likewise, the simple act of daydreaming could be considered a form, albeit a very minor one, of dissociation. Most people probably dissociate to some degree or another hundreds of times during their life. And most of those would not be reading this newsgroup. So let us focus a bit more on the type of dissociative states I expect people reading this newsgroup would have. There are, as talked about elsewhere, multiples. Multiples are people who have dissociated fairly extremely (although there is, of course, a wide variance with multiples). There are people who dissociate just enough to be able to deal with wildly different situations in a smoother way. There are people who use dissociation as a tool, deliberately inducing in themselves a dissociative state (possibly to the point of multiplicity) so that they can perform in a way that their usual state of being might not allow. A good example of this might be people who are psychic or who perform acts of magick. [Note to skeptics: Feel free to be skeptical. Maybe they aren't actually performing feats of psionics or magick, but they _think_ they are, and this is the tool they use.] In any event, sometimes the dissociation can lead to problems. What happens if you create this dissociative process and it begins interfering with your usual state, or with other dissociative processes you created. What happens if this dissociation _becomes_ your "usual state"? What happens if you no longer _have_ a "usual state"? I'd say that means you have a problem. === 3.2 Problems and Issues Please bear in mind that I am not a psychologist or therapist, nor do I think that my suggestions are necessarily right for everyone. However, I have also never been to a therapist, and as a multiple myself, I cope with it just fine even without therapy. Remember that this is an informal look of things one can do to cope with the problems and issues arising from multiplicity and related conditions. If you are experiencing severe problems and dysfunction/impairment of day to day living, I _would_ urge you to seek out a therapist or psychologist that is sympathetic and understanding of these types of disorders. If you cannot find one easily, you could come to the Internet for suggestions, as a stopgap measure (although some have found healing solely from the Internet). I would like to stress to people that they should not automatically label dissociation (yes, that includes multiplicity) as a problem. For many people, it is not. Sometimes the dissociation opens up new issues or causes problems for a person, but sometimes it does not. Some issues that seem specific to multiples (but might in a way apply to other related conditions). * Alters with different religions, especially if one or more have even a small amount of religious intolerance. * Alters with different goals in life * Alters with different sexual orientation (including no interest) * Alters with large differences in likes or dislikes * Alters who, themselves, have a psychological problem * Course of healing: should it include integration/fusion? Some issues that might well apply to all dissociative disorders. * Recovering lost memories/lost time periods * Re-settling into life after an abrupt change (whether via fugue or the actions of an alter) * Deciding on a course of action regarding exploration of issues mentioned above (i.e., sexual orientation, uncertain goals, religion) === 3.3 The Multiplicity mini-FAQ [written by Discord and the Sapphire Gazelles] TERMS (definitions may vary somewhat) * alter/persona: one person/aspect of the multiple. * birth person: the alter that was present originally, before splitting (not everybody has one) * host: the body and/or the "main" alter (not everybody has one) * shell person: an "outside" alter that is run by "remote control" * MP: Multiple Personality/ies * multiple/multiple unit: referring to a single multiple system * multiple system: defined below * integration/co-consciousness: refers to a degree of cooperation between alters that includes the ability to coordinate actions between alters, as well as communication between them and the ability to share information. * fusion: merging all the alters into one Q: "What is/are MP/MPD/multiple personalities, multiplicity?" Multiple personalities [also known as multiplicity, MP (for Multiple Personalities) and MPD (for Multiple Personality Disorder, something most people who ARE multiple find insulting)] means basically what it says: someone who has multiple persons/personalities living inside of one body. These are referred to here as alters. (As of the DSM-IV, this condition is called Dissociative Identity Disorder, but most people here will probably not use the official term.) Multiples, and people who come to deal with them, are aware of these different alters as completely separate people, rather than different facets of the same person. For instance, someone who was utterly professional and cold at work but who was a rocking metal-head partier at home would not (necessarily) be multiple just because of the wide difference in the way they acted in different situations. [They might, however, be considered dissociative.] In fact, some multiple systems have within them alters who are very similar to one another, differing so slightly that sometimes the multiples themselves have difficulty telling them apart. The differentiating factors can vary greatly. One of the possible ways to tell them apart is names, but many multiples have several alters of the same name. Some might _all_ have the same name. The various alters can be of the same or different gender as the body, including being of no gender at all. They often have different likes, dislikes, tastes, etc. They often have different body language, speech patterns, and sometimes, voices. There are cases where eye color differs. Many have different abilities, physical and mental. They may be of widely varying ages. Sometimes they will self-identify as having separate racial/cultural backgrounds or native languages. Often they have different religions. Some studies have shown that different alters have different brain wave patterns (EEG readings), although this is a topic under dispute. There can be as much variance within a multiple system as there would be in your average room full of people. Q: "How does this differ from different moods in a singular person?" Example: A singular person may be, at heart, a quiet, introverted person. If sie is suddenly very chatty, there will be a reason for this, such as extreme comfort with those around, or nervousness. Or sie may be a chatty, extroverted person, and if sie is quiet then sie feels ill or uncomfortable. A multiple, however, may have alters who are extroverted and alters who are painfully shy, or even mute or autistic. The differences you see may be/often are due to different alters, not moods. A person who has varying states of being for various situations might well be dissociated to some extent, but not be multiple. There isn't really a clear dividing line between simple changes of mood, dissociation, and multiplicity. Everyone dissociates to some degree; one interesting theory is that in a way, everyone is multiple. Q: "What precisely do people mean by 'the birth person'?" The birth person is the alter that was present from the beginning, the one born into the body, who was present before the multiple system was created. Some multiples believe they were born multiple. In any event, the birth person may be the host (although certainly not always) and/or the main alter (again, certainly not always) and therefore often goes by the name of the body, at least officially. The birth person may be still at the age where the original split occurred, having missed all the time in the interim. The birth person may not be accessible to those alters who are generally out. Q: "What is the core personality?" The core personality is often the same as the birth personality, but we have been informed that this is not necessarily the case. The multiple who so informed us tells us that in their case, the core was _created_ to be the holder of the memories and, later, the main adult alter. However, this is not the same as their birth person. Q: "What is the host personality?" For some people, this is the same as their birth person and/or the same as their core personality. For others, it is the personality which most often runs the body, dealing with the day-to-day functioning of the system as a whole. Some people have more than one host personality, or a sub-system of alters who function as host personalities, either singly or in groups. Q: "Do all multiples have a birth person?" Some multiples do not think they have a birth person, or consider all alters to be part of the birth person. Whether or not this means they do not have a birth person, or that they just aren't aware of one, I'm not sure. However, I'm not sure it matters...what matters is how the multiple in question views themselves. Q: "What causes multiplicity?" In many (if not most) cases, severe trauma at an early age (by early, we mean before, say age 5), although there are definitely exceptions to this. Please bear in mind that "severe" is an entirely subjective term. In people who developed their multiplicity as a result of trauma, the trauma was very likely some sort of abuse: physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, or religious/magickal. Usually this abuse began at a very early age and was long-standing. Other trauma, such as witnessing a death, or the abuse of someone close to you, or possibly just living in a family where there is a great deal of negative emotion expressed, could be sufficient. Some people who developed multiplicity as a child did so because they had a dissociative role model, perhaps a parent. Some people explore identity or alternate identity games, like role playing, acting, pretending, or alternate social structures to the point where they begin to question their original identity. In some cases, these identities can take on aspects, experiences, and problems which are essentially identical to those experienced by multiples who experienced trauma. This effect seems to be most prevalent in people who explore in their adolescence. Some multiples are unaware of any initial trauma. Whether such trauma exists and the memories blocked or whether no such trauma exists is usually impossible to determine. It is also possible to partition one's adult life so rigidly as to create the effect of multiplicity. This sometimes happens if the person uses multiple names, has multiple residences, multiple jobs, multiple social contexts, or simply separates work and social life distinctly. After a period of time, each facet grows its own relationships, experiences, and skills which may or may not overlap into other life contexts. This rigid partitioning can also closely resemble the experience and presentation of multiplicity. Q: "If abuse at an early age can cause multiplicity, why aren't all people abused at that age multiple?" Everyone deals with trauma in a different way. A constant among multiples seems to be that they are intelligent and creative in a particular sort of way. While there are people who were abused who are intelligent and creative who did NOT become multiple, they probably found a different way of dealing with it (repressing the memory seems fairly common; sometimes, sadly, the way they deal with it is "not at all"). What seems to happen in most cases is that, to escape the pain/trauma/abuse, the multiple splits off a portion of their "self" (soul, mind, however you would like to look at it), so that _that_ portion can deal with the abuse/trauma and they do not have to. [It is possible that the split-off portion may be the portion that does _not_ have to deal with the abuse; there is at least one case like that known to the Gazelles.] This initial split often occurs at the moment of trauma/during the abuse. The split off portion somehow attains reality as a person, possibly through pure creative force. This is not necessarily the _only_ way that initial splits happen, nor does the split have to be into just two people...the original could fragment into many parts, all at once, for instance. Once the splitting mechanism is in place, many multiples split easily, often even creating an alter for dealing with specific non-abusive people and situations. This allows the multiple to have the "perfect" person for each situation. Q: "How many alters can a multiple have?" Err...infinite numbers, I suppose. Each alter, from the birth person on, can split again and again into 2 or 3 or 5 or more parts, and so on and so forth. Further stress usually causes further splits. Some multiples seem to create alters, rather than split them off. That is, an alter will appear who really has little in common with any of the existing alters, and doesn't seem to have split off from them. Sometimes the alters merge into a new (or into an old) alter, lessening the number, either because they need to form a alter that combines the qualities of others, or because the degree of separateness is no longer needed, or for no reason at all. The highest number of alters within a system we are aware of is something around 700, and we have heard claims of multiple systems with alters in the thousands. The lowest is, as you might expect, 2. Many multiples fall in the double-digit range, that is, 10 to 99. It seems it is rare to have less than 5 alters. There are a number of multiples that have a count in the lower hundreds (100, 200, maybe 300), but it also seems to be rare to have more than that. Q: "I've heard of something called a 'walk-in person', what's that?" Despite the lack of belief many people have for this, there are a large number of multiples who have what seem to be alters that did not originate via a split or creation by the multiple system, but rather came in from the outside. It seems that, when one or more of the alters need help that the system itself cannot provide, sometimes an outside source (a ghost, a spirit, a "mythical" beast) shows up, moves in, unpacks, and says "Where can I start?" You don't have to believe it. But think of it as a kind of guardian spirit, only this one lives inside the mind. (And try not to let your skepticism get in the way.) Q: "What's an internal landscape?" An internal landscape refers to how the multiple "sees" the inside of hir mind. It's where the alters live. It can vary greatly both from multiple to multiple as well as from alter to alter (for instance, one alter might live in a castle with a moat and a drawn draw-bridge, whereas one "right next door" might live in a city block). These are their internal homes, where they go when they are not helping run things, or when they are hiding, or whatever. Some people think that their internal landcape is actually a link to the Astral Plane. Some people don't believe there is any such thing. I'm not sure it matters. Not all multiples have an internal landscape. (For that matter, not everyone with an internal landscape is multiple.) Q: "Can you explain how the various alters run the body/interact/etc.?" No. Oh, sorry. This differs so much from multiple system to multiple system that I don't know where to start. For some, each alter takes turns experiencing and performing actions and talking and so forth, sometimes without the others knowing that it is happening. For some, the alters can jointly run the body, either in tandem (picture two or more alters sitting around in a control room, discussing rapidly what to do/say and sharing the feelings), or by partially merging/overlaying. ·_ For those who have alters who are co-conscious, the degree of consciousness experienced may vary by alter, by situation, or just by whim. The alters sometimes may choose how much they feel/decide/interact. The alters not currently helping run things may or may not retain memories, emotions/feelings, and so forth. They further may or may not have any access at all to such, either vicariously (like watching a video) or more personally (accessing the memories and feeling as if it DID happen to them) or something in between. They might talk to one another, they might not. Q: "Isn't this confusing?" Yes. :) When several alters are out at once, they may talk at the same time, causing incredibly garbled sentences to emerge. Or they may listen at the same time, causing, for example, each of two alters to catch every other word in a sentence. When this happens, neither of them will understand what was said. Additionally, switches may cause disorientation, even within multiples that are co-conscious to some degree. For multiple systems that are particularly integrated/co-conscious, it may be difficult to have a sense of self at times. It is possible to not be sure who was "doing", and who was just watching. This seems to be exacerbated with greater similarity between alters. People who are dissociative but not multiple probably find themselves with similar feelings to those who are somewhat integrated/co-conscious. Q: "Who has the ultimate control in the body? Is it the host person?" This (like everything) varies from system to system. In many systems, the alter with the veto power is the core, the host, or both. Sometimes guardian alters have the most control. Sometimes everyone has control; anyone can wrest control away from anyone else. This, as you can imagine, has its downside, but it works fairly well for a number of systems. In a well-integrated system (co-conscious), things are often decided by a set number of alters, through a strictly democratic system, or something similar to that. There may or may not be alters with effective veto power in these cases. Q: "How do you communicate with other alters?" This varies. Sometimes it's through what would be speech if it were outside the body; telepathy might be a reasonable word for it....one hears the words the other alter speaks. Sometimes it's through a sort of telepathy without words--you just know what the other alter is trying to convey. This can either only happen when the alter wishes to communicate things or happen when you wish to find things out ("mind-reading" of a sort). Sometimes this mind-reading/telepathy is accompanied by insight into the alter's feelings (empathy). Some alters communicate solely through empathy. Sometimes the various alters take turns controlling the body so as to physically speak. Sometimes it's a mix of all of this. In the case of "mind-reading" and "empathy", sometimes it is not possible to shut out the alters thoughts or feelings when communicating with them. Feelings sometimes "bleed over" into the various alters communicating. Some systems teach the various alters how to shield their feelings and thoughts from other alters so that communication is strictly deliberate. Q: "Do I have to lose time/have complete amnesia between alters to be multiple?" No. Despite what the DSM publishes, many multiples do not lose time, or only some of their alters do. Often, it is only the alters who are out the least often who miss periods of time. Particularly in the case of integrated/co-conscious multiples, even alters who do not experience a particular act as their own can be in some way made aware of the passage of time and the actions during that time. Q: "What is 'switching'?" Switching refers to a change in the configuration of who is "out", "up front", or "in control" in a multiple system. Switching may be as drastic as a complete switch between two alters, where the new alter has no idea where sie is or how sie got there. It may be as mild as a shift in the configuration, where one of the several alters currently out departs and a new one emerges. For some, switching involves little or no effort, nothing is lost during the switching, and switching out of control does not necessarily mean the alter doing so will lose anything either. For others, switching involves anything from a brief fuzziness of recent memory or a small perceptual jump to a complete sense of disorientation/fugue including time loss, not knowing where one is, or what one was doing. Q: "Isn't schizophrenia the same as multiplicity?" [or: Some things "the average person" might mistake multiplicity for.] Schizophrenia: It's not. Although some of the symptoms may look the same, both to outsiders and the multiple. For a more detailed discussion on this, see Section 2 of the FAQ. Manic/Depressive, Bipolar, or Cyclic Disorders: Commonly referred to as mood swings. Multiplicity may involve what looks like mood swings if the alters are not in similar states of mind, and one or more alters may themselves have mood swings, but it _is_ a seperate disorder. Other forms of dissociation: These are so close to multiplicity that there is a large grey area between them. However, there are people who are dissociative who do not in any way consider themselves multiple. Q: "How can I tell if I'm multiple?" NOTE and CAUTION: We (Discord and the Sapphire Gazelles) do NOT claim to be able to diagnose a multiple in 3 easy steps. However, these are some classic symptoms/signs that one is multiple. This is not meant to be a complete list, nor does the absence of a symptom from this list mean you are not multiple. If in doubt, and it is of concern to you, you may wish to discuss this with a therapist. A brief listing of some common symptoms: * losing time/being in a new place or situation with no memory of how you got there * feeling "little"/like a child * sudden disorientation/feeling as if you missed something * memories seen as happening to someone else * memories available only sporadically, possibly including non-abuse and recent memories * inadvertent use of the word "we" to refer to self * frequent out-of-character actions that surprise even you * actions that are overset with a haziness, as if you aren't really in control of what's going on; feeling removed from one's actions * other people noting one or more of the above in you * likewise, other people discussing with you things they say you did/said but that you yourself have little or no memory of, provided that you were not under the influence of any sort of drug at the time Q: "What is an inner child? Is this the same as being multiple?" An inner child is a portion of oneself that retains a sense of being a child to some extent or another. In Discord's opinion, people who have this inner child are dissociative, but not necessarily multiple. Some peole think that everyone has some sort of inner child, even if it is a rather dusty and disused portion of the self. Some people might disagree that the inner child is a dissociated part of one's self. **** Dealing with multiples, a suggestion. When dealing with someone who is multiple, remember that each of those alters are *different* people. They just happen to be wearing the same body. One may do or say something, and another may either disagree or not even remember what happened. Some alters have very specific jobs and you will only see them when they need to do those jobs (or you may never see them if they have internal jobs). Some may not even be aware that the others exist. You may like some, and dislike others. Nevertheless, try to some extent to keep in mind that you are dealing with separate people. Sometimes its hard, but it *is* possible. Psychology teaches that the people within are not seperate people and that may, when it comes down to it, be the case. Even if they are write and I (and other multiples) are wrong, it still would seem courteous to treat them as if they were, keeping in mind the varying likes and dislikes, the varying actions and beliefs, etc. ---------- This FAQ is copyright (C) 1995. See section 1.1.2 in part 1 for full copyright notice. === Discord, FAQ maintainer, alt.support.dissociation To contact me anonymously: an118007@anon.penet.fi Psychology/Abuse Resources URL -- http://www.tezcat.com/~tina/psych.shtml --- Only the strong survive. --- alt.sexual.abuse.recovery,alt.support.personality,alt.support.abuse- partners References: alt.abuse.recovery:3758 alt.sexual.abuse.recovery:52848 alt.support.personality:176 Archive-name: dissoc-faq/part4 --------------------- Section 4 Abuse and other Trauma ---------------------- === 4.0 Overview In discussing dissociation, it is important to note that most dissociation is a result of trauma or stress. (The exceptions are usually those people who deliberately/consciously dissociate for reasons other than stress or trauma.) Because of this, I wanted to include a brief section on abuse, stress, and trauma. === 4.1 Abuse Abuse comes in all sorts of different types, results in different effects, and is both perpetrated by an experienced by people from every age group, racial/ethnic group, religious group, country, gender, and sexual orientation. Abuse may be more common in some of these groups, as well as more commonly perpetrated by people from some groups, but anyone can abuse, and anyone can be abused. A simplistic definition of abuse would be any action that is done to someone without their full, informed consent. I call this simplistic in part because it fails to define what constitutes consent. Generally speaking, abuse is harmful. There are some actions that some people may consider abusive, that subjectively may not seem harmful (to either the perpetrator or the victim of the abuse). It is thought that nearly 1/4 of all people in the U.S. have been (or will be at some time in their life) abused in some way. Since abuse is often hidden both by the perpetrator and the victim, there is not currently a realistic way to measure just how much abuse occurs, the usual length of the such abuse, the gender of abused and abuser, and so forth; many studies have been done on the issue and they have turned up many conflicting answers. *** 4.1.2 Different Types of Abuse Abuse may be physical, emotional/verbal, sexual, ritualistic in nature, religious, financial, or some combination of these. Physical abuse is straight physical harm: beatings, whippings, punching, hitting, kicking, scratching, slapping, and the like. (Non-consensual, of course; the author wants to differentiate this from consensual whipping, scratching, biting, and so forth.) Sexual abuse is sexual actions done without one's partner's consent. This ranges from feeling someone up without their consent to sexual intercourse. Sexual abuse is often combined with physical abuse, as in violent rape. Some people believe that all sexual contact with children is automatically sexual abuse. The definition of "child" in this case varies, but it would seem most people agree that any pre-pubescent individual is a child. Some people believe that discussing sex in an inappropriate way, particularly with a child, is sexual abuse; I might be more inclined to call it emotional abuse, but it can in fact be abuse. Sexual contact between two relatives is incest and is a form of sexual abuse in some cases, such as a parent and its child. Emotional/verbal abuse is somewhat harder to define, but a simplistic definition would include name-calling, put-downs, and the like. Consistently telling someone that they are worthless is emotional abuse, for example. Telling someone they are not worthy of love is emotional abuse. Withholding of affection is also emotional abuse. Manipulation of someone so that they do precisely what the manipulator wants is emotional abuse. ("If you loved me, you'd do x." "If you don't do this, you are worthless.") Ritualistic abuse, usually for religious reasons, is said by many not to exist; however, the author fully believes that it does. Ritualistic abuse is physical, sexual, or emotional abuse used in the context of a religious rite, such as raping someone as part of the rite. Religious abuse is not just ritualistic abuse, but also such things as using religious tenets to excuse physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Excusing one's physical abuse because the abuse victim is "evil", for instance, would in this author's opinion be religious abuse as well as physical abuse. Financial abuse is controlling, through whatever means, someone's financial resources, including money for food, clothing, shelter, luxuries, and the like. It is often accompanied by some other form of abuse; for instance, forcing someone to sign their check over to the perpetrator by beating that person. *** 4.1.3 Effects of abuse Abuse can leave both physical and mental scars on the victim. Some physical effects include visible scars and mutilation, the inability to bear or father children (or danger in bearing children), limps, and even such extremes as missing limbs, blindness, or paralyzation. The most extreme physical effect of abuse is death, and that does happen. The mental effects are endless. Most common are a low self-esteem and depression, sometimes short-lived, other times pervasive and long-lasting. Survivors of long-term abuse also frequently experience anxiety/panic attacks, memory loss, flashbacks of the abuse; the inability to form permanent, healthy relationships; impaired sexual functioning; extreme fear and (self-imposed) social isolation. Dissociation is also a common effect of abuse, whether this be mild or extreme. Other neuroses and psychoses also have their root in abuse. Childhood abuse, even when not particularly extreme, is often subjectively much worse than abuse experienced as an adult. Freqently, abused children live much of their adult life disfunctional, due to the depth of depression, extreme low self-esteem, and sometimes the extremity of dissociation so common to abused children. These children often grow up to have little or no sense of self-worth, and frequently turn to self-mutilation, self-destructive behaviors such as addiction or the (often subconscious) seeking out of abusive partners, excessive unhealthy sexual behavior, and sometimes suicide. === 4.2 Trauma Other types of trauma can lead to psychological problems; there is a well-defined link between dissociation and trauma. Traumatic events are purely subjective; what one person might be able to deal with will send another into hysterics. However, some common forms of trauma include: * Death of a lover/spouse, close friend, or family member. * War, either as a soldier or a civilian. * Destruction of one's home and possessions. * Witnessing a violent crime, especially one perpetrated on someone close to you. * Being the victim of a violent crime. Like abuse, trauma can result in severe depression, extreme dissociation, amnesia, flashbacks, anxiety/panic attacks, and the like. Depending on the type of trauma (abuse being a specific subset of trauma, for instance), other psychological disorders may develop. Addiction to a drug (including alcohol) is fairly prevalent in people who have suffered a traumatic event. PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a long-lasting and severe effect of traumatic events. *** 4.3.2 Stress While most people can deal with a fairly large amount of stress without lasting psychological problems, it is possible for extreme and/or long- lasting stress to produce problems similar to those experienced by people who have suffered from trauma. I mention stress here only because it is known that extreme and/or long- lasting stress can lead to dissociation in some degree; in fact, even a small amount of stress can lead to mild, short-lived dissociation. --------------------- Section 5 Resources ---------------------- === 5.0 Overview The following are various resources on dissociation, abuse, and other topics covered by this FAQ. === 5.1 The Internet The Internet offers a fairly large number of support groups on various topics, including abuse, depression, and other things that might be of interest to readers of alt.support.dissociation. There are also some places to go for information about these subjects. *** 5.1.1 Newsgroups There are a number of newsgroups that are, in some way, related to this one; the abuse support groups, due to the large number of dissociative people who have suffered abuse; the other support groups due to the people who have other difficulties besides their dissociation. * alt.sexual.abuse.recovery, commonly known as ASAR, is primarily for survivors of sexual abuse. Survivors of other forms of abuse have been welcomed there, and discussion of non-sexual abuse is often found, although many of the people there have suffered more than one typ eof abuse. The group also has SO's of people who have been abused, and even a few people who have not been abused at all, but have some other interest in reading the group. PLEASE read the FAQ before posting to ASAR, at least the section on posting etiquette. * alt.abuse.recovery is for survivors of all forms of abuse, as well as other people with abuse-related concerns. To my knowledge there is not currently a FAQ. * alt.abuse.transcendence is for survivors of all forms of abuse, but is modeled differently than ASAR and aar. The newsgroup is very blunt and discusses non-traditional approaches to dealing with the effects of abuse. Newcomers should be warned that a.a.t. does NOT use any spoilers of any kind. There is a FAQ in progress for the group. * alt.support.abuse-partners is a group for SOs of abuse survivors, who have a unique set of issues of their own. * alt.support.depression * alt.support.anxiety-panic I include these because of the large number of multiples (and abuse survivors) who experience these difficulties. * alt.support.personality is a new group, currently of rather low traffic, for people with personality disorders. It would seem that BPD (borderline personality disorder) is a common topic there. People who do not have personality disorders but who are dissociative may still find the group to be of use to them. Other groups in the alt.support.* hierarchy may be of use to readers of this group; a complete list is maintained by Jonathon Grohol and is posted every 2 weeks to the support groups, including this one. Groups outside of the alt.support.* hierarchy: * sci.psychology is general discussion of psychology * sci.cognitive is discussion, among other things, of memory and reasoning, and might be at least of academic interest to dissociatives and/or abuse survivors. * alt.psychology.help is a general support group for people experiencing psychological difficulties. I urge you to read a group for several weeks prior to posting to it, as well as reading the FAQ for the newsgroup. * **5.1.2 Web Sites This section sucks rocks. Eventually, I _will_ have a list of Web sites here, I promise. In the meantime, my own web pages have a slowly growing link to psychological and/or abuse related information at the URL: http://www.tezcat.com/~tina/psych.shtml *** 5.1.3 IRC #asar2 is the general ASAR channel, however, it is keyworded. I will not publish the keyword here, but if you are an ASAR reader, you should be able to get someone to give it to you by posting on ASAR. #aat is the alt.abuse.transcendence channel. #asar is also an ASAR channel, that is generally not keyworded, but almost no one goes there. #dissoc is the alt.support.dissociation channel, although again, it is usually empty. I hope to change this in the future. *** 5.1.4 MUDs Yes, believe it or not, there _is_ a MUD that is appropriate for listing here. A MUD, for those of you who do not know, is a "multi-user dungeon", and generally refers to a game of some sort; this, however, is no game. SANCTUARY MUD is a gathering place for abuse survivors, their SOs, and other concerned parties; an informational posting on SANCTUARY can be found here (among other places) twice a month. SANCTUARY is reachable by telnetting to 165.95.7.122 3333 [curlew.tamucc.edu 3333]. === 5.2 Publications I make no claim as to the validity of the opinions presented in the books and other publications that follow, but all of them have information on the topic under which they are found. Some of them may not be useful to you, some of them may. This is by no means a complete list of the publications available, but it should get most people started. *** 5.2.1 Books on Multiplicity Clinical Perspectives on Multiple Personality Disorder by Richard P. Kluft and Catherine G. Fine Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder (Foundations of Modern Psychiatry) by Frank W. Putnam I'm Eve [sequel to The 3 Faces of Eve], Chris Sizemore Katherine, It's Time by Kit Castle and Stefan Bechtel Living With Your Selves: A Survival Manual for People with Multiple Personalities by Sandra J. Hocking More Than One by Terri A. Clark, M.D. Multiple Personality Disorder From the Inside Out by Barry Cohen, Esther Giller, and Lynn W. Multiple Personality Disorder: Psychiatric Classification and Media Influence (Oxford Monographs on Psychiatry, No. 1) by Carol S. North, Daniel A. Riu, Jo-Ellen M. Ryall, and Richard D. Wetzel Multiple Personality Disorder: Diagnosis, Clinical Features, and Treatment (Wiley Series in General and Clinical Psychiatry) by Colin A. Ross Multiple Personality Gift: A Workbook for You and Your Inside Family by Jacklyn M. Pia Multiple Personality, Allied Disorders, and Hypnosis by Eugene L. Bliss People in Pieces: Multiple Personality in Milder Forms and Greater Numbers by Alana Marshall Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber The 3 Faces of Eve by Corbette H. Thigpen, M.D., and Hervey M. Cleckley, M.D. The Family Inside: Working with the Multiple by Doris Bryant, Judy Kessler, and Lynda Shirar The Flock: The Autobiography of a Multiple Personality by Joan Frances Casey with Lynn Wilson The Fractured Mirror: Healing Multiple Personality Disorder by C.W. Duncan The Osiris Complex: Case Studies in Multiple Personality Disorder by Colin A. Ross The Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder (Clinical Insights Monograph), Edited by Bennet G. Braun, M.D. Thirteen Pieces: Life with a Multiple by Mary Locke Through Divided Minds: Probing the Mysteries of Multiple Personalties --A Doctor's Story by Dr. Robert Mayer Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder by Braun United We Stand: A Book for People with Multiple Personalities by Eliana Gil When Rabbit Howls by The Troops for Truddi Chase When the Bough Breaks by Mercedes Lackey and Holly Lisle (FICTION) *** 5.2.2 Books on Dissociation Trauma and Survival: Post-Traumatic and Dissociative Disorders in Women, by Elizabeth A. Waites *** 5.2.3 Books on related topics Abuse: Please Don't Let Him Hurt Me Anymore: A self-help resource guide for women in abusive relationships by Alexis Asher Autism: Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic by Donna Williams Somebody Somewhere by Donna Williams *** 5.2.4 Other Publications ** 5.2.4.1 Publications about/for Dissociatives * Dissociation, a quarterly journal; details below under ISSD information. ** 5.2.4.2 Publications about/for Abuse Survivors * S.O.F.I.E. (Survivors of Female Incest Emerge!) * Truth about Abuse [posted to a.s.dis, I forget by who] S.O.F.I.E. is a bi-monthly newsletter for men and women who were sexually abused as children by women. Created in 1992 as a support resource, it is the only one devoted to the subject of women abusing children. Our regular articles include "Ask the Therapist" a question and answer column for survivors; "Female Perps in the News" focuses on current cases around the country of women abusing children and it's our most popular column; articles reviewing the current research in the field and; survivor stories, artwork and poems. We also offer a penpal service for survivors to network with each other and find support. There is a one-time fee of $2.50 ($3.00 foreign) to join. Annual subscription rates are $30.00 U.S., $32.46 Washington State residents, $36.00 Foreign (in U.S. Funds only). Sample copies are $5.00 U.S. and $6.00 Foreign. Writers guidelines are available upon request with an SASE. Truth about Abuse is a bi-monthly newsletter devoted to the repressed memory controversy. Each issue has a feature article written by a professional in field that explores the nature of the controversy and the research in the field of sexual abuse. It also has letter's to the editor, survivor articles, and our popular "Eye on the Media" which reports on what the media is saying about the backlash. The goals of the newsletter are to fight back against the media disinformation campaign; to provide accurate, documented information about the long term affects of ·_ child sexual abuse; to validate survivor memories and histories, and help the therapeutic community in treating survivors. Subscription rates are $21.00 U.S., $22.72 Washington State residents, $27.00 foreign (in U.S. Funds only). A free sample copy is available for an SASE (while supplies last). To subscribe or for more information write to: S.O.F.I.E./Truth about Abuse, P.O. Box 2794, Renton, WA 98056, fax line (206) 277-0327. === 5.3 Organizations * The Sidran Foundation (e-mail: sidran@access.digex.net) The Sidran Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization devoted to the advocacy, education, and research on behalf of persons with psychiatric disabilities. One of the focuses of the organization is survivors of trauma, and they therefore focus on such issues as PTSD, and dissociation (including multiple personalities). The Sidran Press publishes texts about dissociative disorders, and by contacting the e-mail address above you can request informative literature and a catalog of their publications. The Sidran Foundation has gotten their own Web site; if you were using my page to get to it, you still can, but if you'd like to go straight there it is now possible. The URL is: http://www.access.digex.net/~sidran * ISSD: International Society for the Study of Dissociation [provided by Peter Barach] This is an organization whose focus is the study of dissociative disorders. They have two annual conferences: One which meets in Chicago every November and another which meets in a different outside-US location in the spring. The organization has about 4000 members. Membership is open to degreed professionals and also to "lay people" who have an interest in dissociation (which includes a number of nontherapists who have dissociative disorders). The organization publishes a quarterly journal, DISSOCIATION, which includes scientific articles on the topic, a membership directory, and a bimonthly newsletter. It's not a support group or an advocacy group for MPs. Therapists, though, seem to find it supportive of their work in the field. For information about membership, write ISSD at: 5700 Old Orchard Road, First Floor, Skokie, IL 60077, or call them at: 708-966-4322 ---------- This FAQ is copyright (C) 1995. See section 1.1.2 in part 1 for full copyright notice. === Discord, FAQ maintainer, alt.support.dissociation To contact me anonymously: an118007@anon.penet.fi Psychology/Abuse Resources URL -- http://www.tezcat.com/~tina/psych.shtml --- Only the strong survive. ---