Ebb and Flow of Alters

If you've read my recent post, Alex and I have had some struggles.

So I'm wondering if you awesome DID people can help me better understand how alter interaction with the world works, inside and outside the mind. Mainly, I understand that how Alex feels in a situation can "activate" another alter, like B or J. If he is feeling stressed, antagonized, etc, B will come out to handle the situation with aggressiveness or just a wordless front. I don't know exactly what influences J to come out; it's been our understanding that's more of a mutual agreement that's pre-set.

My question is, can the wants and needs of an alter like B or J affect how Alex feels? Let's say B is feeling especially moody or angry on his own....can that make Alex feel moody and angry? And if J is feeling lonely and wants to spend more time with me (romantically or non), would that make Alex feel similarly, even if on his own terms? I wonder this because while I am viewing each alter as their own person, they're still sharing the same body and same mind....and moods can physically affect the body that in turn affects the mind. Is this accurate? And if so, could this be what's causing our recent (and numerous) spats? (Aside from my own stress, haha, I'll owe up to that).

An alter can affect the way another alter/host is feeling, yes. It's called passive influence or blending. Either one can make them feel as if it's their emotion they're feeling too even though it might not necessarily be from them.
-C. Novec

laure_kadrid wrote:My question is, can the wants and needs of an alter like B or J affect how Alex feels?

Yes.

It is rare for DID to present with complete full compartmentalisation and amnesia between alters (emotional or otherwise).

For me, my alters and I are not separate circles all lined up on the page. We are touching, overlapping, so there's a fluidity between what is going on for one alter and how it affects the others in the system. For example, one of my severe phobias (emetophobia) it seems has become almost like a signal that another alter inside is upset. If I have an emetophobic panic attack then I need to look at who inside isn't feeling great and how I can help them.

The one constant about DID is that dramatic change is not only possible, but likely. I used to be unaware of my alters, and largely unaffected by them except in moments of extreme stress. Then the compartmentalization failed and abruptly I became flooded by their affects and flashbacks. For about a year I experienced severe PTSD.

That is accurate, One often has a lot of feeling blending from me and vice versa. I don't know if it's just us, but not all feeling blend equally, though. For example stress blends very well but solid feelings like happiness don't at all. Attraction (romantic or otherwise) to certain people doesn't blend well, either. Habits do blend. If One has a certain habit, I will feel the urge to indulge it. I think anger slightly seeps out, but not much. Enough for her to notice, though. I think nervousness seeps out accidentally, too. I tend to separate emotions into how "solid" they are. The less solid, the more the blend in to the others.

-Four