What makes an Introject?

I'm curious about what makes and introject. The idea kind of confuses me.

Does the introject have to look like the abuser or person?
Can an alter be an introject if they say their goal is to complete an abuser's "mission" so to speak (or what is perceived as a "mission")?

I had other questions but I'm feeling really hazy and can't think well. The reason I'm asking is because my alter Lilith has repeatedly said she must follow the path of The Mother (i.e. my main abuser during childhood). Her goal is to *trigger* kill me because that's what The Mother was slowly doing via starvation and physical abuse *end*. So I'm wondering if she might be an introject? Like I said the introject confuses me.

Introjects (this'll have to be quick, but I'll try to cover what I can):

-- They are an alter, just like any other part.

-- They do not have to look like the abuser, but they often do.

-- They usually uphold the abuser's abuse; they usually agree with the abuser's beliefs, what they said, and what they did; they can sometimes idolize the abuser; they usually uphold any rules the abuser had; etc.

-- They usually do not view themselves as a part of the DID system or as sharing a mind/body, hence why they can self-harm without viewing it as self-harm, and it's how they can distance themselves from feeling any effects of the damage they cause.



This Lilith screams "introject" to me. Pretty much like I'm reading a textbook example of one.


Hope that helps a bit.


-KAT

That clears things up SO much. Thank you so much. I might have other questions later, but I'm having trouble even typing this. Thanks again.

My introject is such a tiny 'fragment'. She is a voice. Constantly berating me, the way I look, the things I say in therapy and the such. She can use the voice box to speak out loud but most the time she is just a voice. I dont think she has a body really so she isn't, in that way, a 'full' alter. BEcause she doesn't have a body she doesn't have an appearance either. I think what makes an introject is that they make you feel the way the abusers did. In this instance, my mother introject makes me feel like I am the worst person on earth and need to leave before I poison everyone. This is exactly how the mother made me feel.

-B

Yeah, for Lilith I hear a distant voice in my head telling me I'm worthless and berating me for eating. Then she tells me what she wants to do to all of my support and more, and she tells my husband that she has to "complete The Mother's work." She's even posted in the Dark Thread about her wishes.

I remembered one of my questions:

Does therapy need to be different with an introject, if they come out?

Oh! And should I try to communicate the same way I do the others?

Dunno about therapy, but I would imagine the therapist would have to adjust to the new views, behaviours, etc., just as with any other alter that may come out.


You can try to communicate with them just like any other alter, but be careful about it. I only say this because you'll want to prepare yourself for things you might hear, what they might say to you, how they might make you feel, etc. Because you can't let them get to you, or break you down, and you have to be prepared for what can come of interacting with them. That's all. Otherwise, go for communication. The more you can learn about this introject and understand why they do what they do, the better you'll be able to learn how to try and work with them and such.


-Cassandra

It sounds like Lilith is more of a Persecutor Alter than an Introject.
It can be hard/confusing sometimes to tell the difference, but I found this, so hopefully it's helpful to you.

*edited by admin*

Introjects:
They would have been created during a traumatic incident just as any other alter.

Introjects are alters who were split off to represent outside people, most typically an abuser (but not limited to that, by any means), and thus create the appearance of being “introjected” within your system from an outside person. They are splits from your own mind, and they are there to help you remember / contain specific, detailed information related to whoever it is that they are “being” within your system.

Introjects are as convinced as the other parts of the system that they the same as the external people they represent. They think they are separate from the survivors, and separate from the body of the survivor. Many negative introjects will adamantly believe that they could hurt or harm the survivor / host of the system and not be hurt themselves. Introjects typically truly believe they are separate people, but they are, in fact, part of the DID system.

Persecutors:
Persecutor alters can be, and often are the same as the introjects. Some persecutor alters are alters from your system that internalized the rules of the perpetrator, and continue to follow those rules, but don’t necessarily believe themselves to actually BE the same perpetrator person. Introjects actually think they are that perpetrator person.



With your other questions, I wish I could be more help, but unfortunately, we have done no therapy work with our introjects yet, so we aren't sure how to go about it. I agree with Cassandra about the communication, keep the lines open the same way you do with others, but be prepared. The one thing we have noticed with both our introjects and persecutor alters, is they know when we are feeling vulnerable, and they use it against us. So just be careful, and be ready for them to say/do just about anything.

Good luck.

The link for the information on introjects, if anyone is interested in reading more
*some info on page may be triggering*

http://discussingdissociation.wordpress ... ntrojects/

This part may be helpful, too:

"Working with introjects, especially negative, harmful system introjects is a critical part of treatment for survivors with dissociative identity disorder. The goal is to show the introjects that they actually are part of the survivor person, and not part of the perpetrator person. There are a number of steps involved in this process, but once an introject becomes loyal to the survivor person (vs. being loyal to the perpetrator person), you will experience a much increased level of safety and stability."

Don't want to hijack but I have a question.

Would an introject be the reason I sometimes suddenly realize I am sitting EXACTLY like my father did when I was a kid? Smoking in the same manner. Staring uncontrollably at another woman's butt. It's kinda like something snaps and I realize I am doing it.....it is not like on tv when the main character suddenly says "oh god I am becoming my father/mother". It's deeper than that.....I don't know how to explain it. Almost like "waking up" without ever having gone to sleep. Or I will almost hear my mother's voice coming out of my mouth.....while I have her facial mannerisms. Are these just conscious alters or introjects or is it more likely a matter of "you really do grow up to be just like your parents"?

Thank you all for your answers! I'll definitely absorb this information, and thanks ACrazyBunch for the link. I'll check it out.

To Snuffthroostr, don't worry you didn't hijack the thread. I meant for anyone to be able to come on here and ask questions about this topic. Sadly, I don't have any advice or knowledge to give you. I'm sure someone else will.

I will come back to this thread again if I need to ask more questions!