ALTERnatives

MakersDozn wrote:Hearing you, yet curious as to why you despise the term "headmate." To us it's simply a system equivalent of "roommate" or "housemate," with the "head" part representing our effort to validate the "okayness" of being multiple.

Would love to understand your perspective better, if you feel like sharing more.

MDs

The first time we heard the word used, it was by an abuser so we automatically associate the term with the abuser. Nothing against anyone who uses the term, it's just not our thing!

Thanks for the explanation. Understandable. We're sorry that this happened to you.

MDs

You guys know that you can stop all alts in your system from taking over right?

Why would I want to do that, Leo? Also, I don't see it as taking over, but giving them a turn in the body. We all have to share it and we do.

Violarules wrote:Why would I want to do that, Leo? Also, I don't see it as taking over, but giving them a turn in the body. We all have to share it and we do.

Because if I let every alt in my system have a go it would be utter chaos, the system right now is divided in so many ways I don't know what fraction to put it too. And besides a lot of them can't cope with the real world for reasons such as:
They're suicidal/dangerous
They'd ruin the system or potentially damage it
Human nature would get in the way, and I believe the one disease that must be eradicated is human nature
They'd get me arrested
The real world would psychologically destroy them (Most alts have an understanding of what goes on but modern society utterly disgusts them, they'd come broken and destroyed), only alts who are proven to have a high enough mental strength and intelligence. Basically alts in the government. They're selected from aptitude tests and are accelerated past their peers if they can prove themselves. It's like a technocracy where we put the smartest people at the top and stupidest at the bottom. Oh and for good measure anti-intellectualism is banned under punishment of prosecution. We've even gone as far as to use Martial Law when the anti-intellectualism movement was at it's peak.

Yeah, that's my sick and twisted system for you.

LeOkAsPEr wrote:You guys know that you can stop all alts in your system from taking over right?

I think that is something that is different for every system, not everyone has control over their alters. And as Violarules said, not everyone will want to or need to.

I have done it kinda half-subconciously when I was getting nervous about them messaging my friends online with their own accounts. One peer (who isnt even my friend and rather a jerk) had told one of my alters "i know who you are! You have multiple accounts on facebook and youre pretending to be other people!" I was afraid he would expose my alters, and not even that, he'd expose them in a wrong way. One of my friends also found out that the other accounts were 'me' and got angry until i explained how sorry i was and i later told him it was alters in my head. He thankfully took what i said as truth.

But anyways long story short. I began to get scared of peoples reactions if they kept finding out like this, and so i stopped the alters from coming out. BUT after using all the force i had, a traumatic panic caused them to come out again and I realized that they are still there to help me. A lot of the ones i am still restricting are starting to panic and threaten to make a scene because they are scared of being trapped for longer.

I am an example of a system who just cannot keep my alters from switching. Although i have some control, it isnt healthy for me to trap them because they need to express themselves. And if they panic, that panic will travel to front and effect me or they'll end up switching even if i try to stop them. It has happened recently. So i need to find more ways to let them express themselves and be out, without causing me fear. I try to get them to come out around my boyfriend, some of them have but others seem scared or mad towards him for no evident reason and wont come out.

LeOkAsPEr wrote:Yeah, that's my sick and twisted system for you.

Hey, don't tell yourself that. You do what you have to. Someone with billions of alters might have to take measures like you do. However, i dont think "prosecuting" an alter is possible, they either come back as themselves or as another alter (or set of alters) that is similar to the first. I have tried doing this the first time i realized i had alters. I killed them all in a panic, they all came back as alters that were very similar (if not with more psychotic issues). So just be careful with that.

I have approximately one hundred alters that I know of. Some of them have never switched out in their life, and many of them don't switch out often. The ones in my signature are the more dominant ones, and theres a couple others not listed that also come out fairly often. But because many of them dont try to switch out and just stay in the inner world, I don't have to worry about trying to manage them as much. So its kinda like i have about 20 who switch out and the rest dont really come out. So even though i have a high number of alters, I dont have to take drastic measures to keep myself functioning properly.

You might be entirely different, and whatever you have to do to prevent yourself from getting in trouble, do it. Just be careful about how it might effect you in the long run. Because, even though trapping my alters at the time felt like a good idea, it back fired when the alters started to feel trapped and controlled. So again, just be careful and good luck.

(Sorry i talk a lot)

It's not uncommon at all for only a small percentage of system members to be active on the outside. We've talked with a number of multies over the years who have confirmed this. Sage, from what you describe, it's about 20 percent of your system. For us, it's about 10-15 percent of our system.

Anyone else care to comment on whether this is true for them?

MDs

MyMultiUniverse wrote:I think that is something that is different for every system, not everyone has control over their alters. And as Violarules said, not everyone will want to or need to.

I have done it kinda half-subconciously when I was getting nervous about them messaging my friends online with their own accounts. One peer (who isnt even my friend and rather a jerk) had told one of my alters "i know who you are! You have multiple accounts on facebook and youre pretending to be other people!" I was afraid he would expose my alters, and not even that, he'd expose them in a wrong way. One of my friends also found out that the other accounts were 'me' and got angry until i explained how sorry i was and i later told him it was alters in my head. He thankfully took what i said as truth.

But anyways long story short. I began to get scared of peoples reactions if they kept finding out like this, and so i stopped the alters from coming out. BUT after using all the force i had, a traumatic panic caused them to come out again and I realized that they are still there to help me. A lot of the ones i am still restricting are starting to panic and threaten to make a scene because they are scared of being trapped for longer.

I am an example of a system who just cannot keep my alters from switching. Although i have some control, it isnt healthy for me to trap them because they need to express themselves. And if they panic, that panic will travel to front and effect me or they'll end up switching even if i try to stop them. It has happened recently. So i need to find more ways to let them express themselves and be out, without causing me fear. I try to get them to come out around my boyfriend, some of them have but others seem scared or mad towards him for no evident reason and wont come out.

Hey, don't tell yourself that. You do what you have to. Someone with billions of alters might have to take measures like you do. However, i dont think "prosecuting" an alter is possible, they either come back as themselves or as another alter (or set of alters) that is similar to the first. I have tried doing this the first time i realized i had alters. I killed them all in a panic, they all came back as alters that were very similar (if not with more psychotic issues). So just be careful with that.

I have approximately one hundred alters that I know of. Some of them have never switched out in their life, and many of them don't switch out often. The ones in my signature are the more dominant ones, and theres a couple others not listed that also come out fairly often. But because many of them dont try to switch out and just stay in the inner world, I don't have to worry about trying to manage them as much. So its kinda like i have about 20 who switch out and the rest dont really come out. So even though i have a high number of alters, I dont have to take drastic measures to keep myself functioning properly.

You might be entirely different, and whatever you have to do to prevent yourself from getting in trouble, do it. Just be careful about how it might effect you in the long run. Because, even though trapping my alters at the time felt like a good idea, it back fired when the alters started to feel trapped and controlled. So again, just be careful and good luck.

(Sorry i talk a lot)

You'd be amazing with the control we have, the Ministry of Joy can manipulate alts personalities to our liking through the process of extreme reformation, we only use it in extreme circumstances but it is just one way we manipulate the system to our liking.

Told you it was disturbing.

Yeah, taking measures, some of them are a bit "evil" you know but it solved the fuel crisis and the crime wave. I think some of them just pass away naturally and they just disappear but the ones we kill come back. So we kill them again or lock them away forever or send them to the luboric mines.

Only members of the highest authority within the government can switch and too do that you have to be a minister at a ministry them all if you want? But only ministers who hold senior positions are allowed to switch.

MakersDozn wrote:It's not uncommon at all for only a small percentage of system members to be active on the outside. We've talked with a number of multies over the years who have confirmed this. Sage, from what you describe, it's about 20 percent of your system. For us, it's about 10-15 percent of our system.

Anyone else care to comment on whether this is true for them?

Interesting question. I wish I knew more about my system. We switch a lot on the outside. But I do know there are many parts that either choose to remain inner, have an inner role, or are trapped inside for one reason or another.

Nondescript wrote:I wish I knew more about my system. We switch a lot on the outside. But I do know there are many parts that either choose to remain inner, have an inner role, or are trapped inside for one reason or another.

Some of my alters who stay inside don't believe the outer world even exists, they think its crazy. So, i don't doubt that other systems have alters who don't switch out as well.

MakersDozn wrote:It's not uncommon at all for only a small percentage of system members to be active on the outside. We've talked with a number of multies over the years who have confirmed this. Sage, from what you describe, it's about 20 percent of your system. For us, it's about 10-15 percent of our system.

May i ask how many alters that you are aware of? I'm curious how many 10-15% is for you. :p

I often feel out of place when talking to other systems sometimes because most of them don't have more than 20 alters all together (where as i have 20 'active' alters i call them because they are more active in the outer world than the others). When I say i have about 100, they think its crazy. I'm curious though, to know how common it is to have as many as I do. It seems Leo has well over that, and some cases have been reported as high as 4,500. But i'm curious if anyone else here has a high number as well.

Also, slightly off topic but i'm curious. i have one little (Annie) that switches on occasion (often when I am at home, thank god), and i think i have two other littles inside who don't switch at all. I find it weird that for having so many alters, i only have three littles, and none of them seem to hold bad memories like most systems do. Is this uncommon?