How aware are other personalities aware of each other?

How much emotional connection can there be?
Can one hate or wish ill for one of the others?

I am just a curious confused guy, thanks.

Depends. It can be different for people. For us, Inside is completely open and everyone can see face to face. And boy do some not get along. Doesn't help that most are very protector/combat oriented.

Well the short answer is yes...
- Fighter

And the long(er) answer: personlities (can) have as much depth as any other person you see walking around as a singleton. Any alters that are aware of each other can therefore feel as much about another alter as any singleton can feel about any person they were to meet including (but not limited to) feeling love, hate or for example apathy towards said person. So if the inner world is a very open place - alters can sometimes see each other, or sense someone in the body, or any other way of communicating and develop feelings regarding them based on that.
- Nin

Oh wow, I never realized how complex this is.

Lifelongthing- I see two of you answered this.
Can some people switch whenever they want? If the environment is completely open does that mean that for some, all personalities can see ( and think about) whatever the host is viewing?

Can the original personality decide to switch main role with one of the alts?
My goodness, is there sometimes a fight for control with some? Could the first personality become submerged against their will?

I apologize if I took the subject to a negative path.

Its really hard to explain. its like explaining 4th denominational space without the use of mathematics. While I am fairly close with most and can semi see what is going on when they are out (Its like being in a dream if they aren't fully triggered. I'll remember what they do for a short time, then forget later. It allows me to retain a bit of control and "Shock myself awake" and come out fully if there is something I don't want them doing). People can tend to watch, and I can feel them under the surface of my thoughts. It tends to lend entertainment during the day. Especially when you can quickly come out and have some fun for a few seconds and act noticeably different in front of people to confuse them/annoy Doug -Rath Thank you Rath, nice for you to come out here. Anyways, yes there can be a switch for main. Yes it can be forceful, and yes people can become "submerged" if that's how you see it.

I see, thank you for your knowledge.
I hope the more violent clashes are rare in dissociatives.

Hey it's your thread so you can ask what you want so I'll answer what I know how to

Can some people switch whenever they want?

Yes, some people can. You can learn more about co-operative switching if you search about it on this forum. I know Johnny-Jack wrote about it not long ago at least. But the fact that Leo wrote after me was not something I did on purpose. I'm not strong enough to keep her away even if I wanted to. She decided to pop out to write something, was all.

If the environment is completely open does that mean that for some, all personalities can see ( and think about) whatever the host is viewing?

The inner world is different for everyone so what may be true for one may not for the other. So that depends. In our system some alters tend to keep track of and think about/comment on what is going on when someone else is fronting. One of the kids for example ha no idea what's happening on the outside (the baby) but others can "pop by" when they want to check what's going on. It also depends, for us at least, who's out and such. Like someone can watch alter x and z but not alter y but alter y can see everyone for example. Kinda hard to explain. But to answer the question: in theory, yeah I guess that's possible.

Can the original personality decide to switch main role with one of the alts?

The topic of "original personality" has been discussed many times here and you might find it interesting to search about it. If you mean original personality as in the host (the one who is in the body the most) then yes, they can switch roles and have someone else be out the most.

- Fighter

I am very curious about the way you all describe the awareness of the other streams of consciousness. Can you be aware of the others WITHOUT hearing their internal dialogues/sounds? Meaning can you sense them WITHOUT them actually doing anything (without them interfering with your actions, dialogues, etc)?

I would say that for most things in DID: it depends. Depends on the system, alter, situation etc.

jon3001: I think that is possible in certain systems. But I think most parts are discovered because they somehow take control or make them known otherwise. I am new to this, so I don't know much about it yet.

clemency wrote:How much emotional connection can there be?

There can be as much emotional connection and depth as any "real" person. Alters can be friends, enemies, sisters, brothers; they can even be in relationships with each other.

clemency wrote:Can one hate or wish ill for one of the others?

Yes. These are often introject alters, meaning that the alters are projections of an abuser from the person's life. Or they are abusive alters, who are not always introjects. For example, there can be protector alters that abuse other alters/the host because it's the way they know how to keep order and survive; it's how they know how to protect the system and the host. (A type of "I do this for your own good" thought process, if that makes sense).

clemency wrote:Can some people switch whenever they want?

Yes, some people can switch at-will, and some people can even do it fairly easily. For others, switching at-will is difficult and/or not possible (yet). Everyone and every system is different. DID is a very personal disorder with many variations.

clemency wrote:If the environment is completely open does that mean that for some, all personalities can see ( and think about) whatever the host is viewing?

It depends more on the system's ability to co-host, as well as the ability to be co-conscious, than the environment (though that can be a factor that affects a system's ability/desire to co-host or be co-conscious).
Co-hosting means there are two or more alters in control of the body at the same time, and they're all aware of what's going on in the "outside world". Being co-conscious means there's one alter in control of the body, while one or more other alters are still "up front" and aware of what's going on in the "outside world", but they're not in control.

Think of your body/mind like a car.
Co-hosting is when you have more than one alter driving the car.
Co-consciousness is when you have one alter driving the car, but there's one or more other alters in the passenger seats, watching what's going on even though they're not the ones in control of the car.

clemency wrote:Can the original personality decide to switch main role with one of the alts?

There usually is no "original", and people with DID don't actually "split", though it is possible in some instances for an "original" to exist and for the person to "split" in a way.

In a nutshell, every person has the same chance of having DID when they're first born/young. This is because DID is not only a result of trauma, but it is a result of an interruption in the personality-forming processes that happen when you are a child. We all have neurons that make up our personality. For a "normal" child, these neurons will go through structuring processes that will eventually build them into a whole personality. For a child that develops DID, these neurons are interrupted during the structuring process, and so a whole personality never forms, thus causing separate "sides" of a personality instead, which creates/develops into alters.

Think of it this way: "Normal" people's personalities are like paintings. They're added on to and finished over time, and when everything's said and done, you're left with a whole picture.
People with DID, their personalities are like puzzles. They've got to put all the pieces together first, find out what picture the pieces make, and then either glue those pieces together (healing without integration/without becoming only one person/personality), or paint the final picture from the picture the puzzle pieces made (healing with integration/with becoming only one person/personality).

This thread goes further into it: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative-identity/topic101763.html

But if you're talking about the "host"/main personality "out in control", then yes, there can be host changes within a system/a new "main personality".

clemency wrote:My goodness, is there sometimes a fight for control with some? Could the first personality become submerged against their will?

Again, no real "first" personality (it is possible for there to be one, but in general, it doesn't happen).
But yes, there can be fights for control, both for control in a situation and for long-term control as the host. And there can be some pretty major fights.
Yes, it is possible for the host to be forced out of control, and "locked away" or something. It's also possible for the host to force an alter out of control and "lock" them "away". And alters can do the same among each other. (By the way, the host is an alter themselves. "Host" is just a term to describe the alter that's usually "out" the most and that handles everyday life).
However, it's never good to "lock away" any alter, or to take control by force (unless it's needed in a situation). DID systems are a system, a team, and they function best when they work together as a team.

jon3001 wrote:I am very curious about the way you all describe the awareness of the other streams of consciousness. Can you be aware of the others WITHOUT hearing their internal dialogues/sounds? Meaning can you sense them WITHOUT them actually doing anything (without them interfering with your actions, dialogues, etc)?

Yes, you most certainly can.
Cassandra, our host, has had many times where she won't hear us, but she'll "feel" our presence and know that we're there all the same. It's similar to how people "feel" someone looking at them, or "feel" someone standing behind them. You simply sense that they're there and are aware of them being there.
You can also "feel" their emotions depending on how your system works and if they want you to. In our system, we can "send out" our emotions so that the host or whoever's in control at the time can feel our emotions. It's not always clear who the emotions come from, but it is usually clear that they're coming from an alter. For example, Cassandra may not get angry at something herself, but she might feel anger from Kat, and she may even react angrily due to being influence by Kat's emotions, but she'll know the anger isn't her's and that it's coming from someone else (usually, she can tell who it's coming from).


For both Clemency and Jon3001, here is a thread that contains threads from this site that discuss common experiences, questions, hearing alters, seeing alters, differences within systems, and more. It might be of interest to you: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative-identity/topic100829.html


Hope you're all able find things that satisfy your curiosity here, and don't worry about asking questions, we don't mind curious people.


~The Hawk