How many protectors do you have?

I realised today that 25% of our system is protectors. Sounded like a lot to me, but then I suppose we needed them, and maybe what we classify under protector others wouldn't. How many protectors do you guys have in your system and how many members are there in total? In ours there are 10 protectors in a system of 40

Kerry

Out of interest, what do you class as a protector?

Bourbon

Our protectors are the ones who are kind of like the managers of the system. Physical protectors are the ones who'd deal with and take any physical ab*se/fights etc, same for emotional, sexual etc. We also use the term social protector (which is me!) and that person's role is to host when the main isn't around and to support the main deal with all aspects of dealing with people, and also the "secretary" who keeps life organised and deals with handling all the hard to do professional stuff like doctors, housing issues etc.

If you're super interested you can read our post about our protectors here. It's kinda long though
Note: Many of our protectors aren't human. I'm not going to argue with anyone as to whether this makes our DID less valid or not. We know we're DID multiple, and we know some of us aren't human. Whether anyone else has issues with this is not important to us.

Kerry

Hm... I'm not quite sure. Too many of us protect the body, but would gladly forsake everyone in here for one of the ab*sers... Or, they'll protect us against outsiders, but have no problem damaging the system themselves.

Really, at the moment, the only protectors who do nothing to hurt the system are Lilith and Tom! And we're a system of... well, I can name 37 of us!
~Rage

My boyfriend's system has four protectors out of nine alters.

Kiddo is the youngest protector. His job is to protect Chibi, the youngest alter. Kiddo's general specialty is speed or quick-thinking, so in some aspects, he's also Yohann, the host's, protector when he's in a difficult spot and freezes up.

Johnny is the emotion protector. Which means that all emotions are processed through Johnny before they reach anyone else in the system. This also means that Johnny has a tendency to co-host with Yohann and immediately take over if Yohann gets upset for whatever reason.

Jack is the physical protector. This generally means he's better at talking with his fists than his mouth. He's not abusive or violent, just very on-edge when in possession.

HIM is the gatekeeper, which in Johann's system makes him everyone's protector. Mainly Luke, though since HIM and Luke have been together from the very beginning. HIM actually packs more of punch than Jack does were he to lose his temper, but since the others try to avoid that, fights usually become Jack or Johnny's problem.

I'm still trying to figure out Dante and Ka'el, but in some aspects they're probably both protectors. (Trigger warning) Dante saved them all from committing suicide when the host before Yohann, tried to jump off a bridge a few months ago out of depression. The other alters couldn't reach the other host, and Dante grabbed him and forced him away from the edge until I could get him to answer his cellphone and calm down.(End trigger) I would assume that makes Dante some kind of unnamed protector.

I'm just not sure what a protector is or how to categorize an alter as a protector or not. Mine tend to outgrow their original designation so that protector isn't sufficient to describe them. So I have anywhere from 0 to 8 out of twelve. All of us were assigned to be or by nature are protectors of people in the outside world, particularly children. The wolfdog took physical abuse for the first and second host, so I suppose he would most clearly be seen as a protector. At origin, Jack and Quato were assigned to take specific sexual abuse, but they did more than that and anyway most of the rest of us, including the host, were sexually abused as well so the designation of protector becomes muddy in my system.

To me a system protector is anyone that protects the system. It may hold trauma memories and it may protect the exiles, but it protects. I simply ask them if they are system protectors or not and they tell me. It is a confusing term since the system protectors will abuse any part to do their job.



Since I have 266 and all parts except the ISH and the 2 that came with it split as twins - there is at least half, but I found that many parts split as 2 protectors. None that I know of split as 2 exiles or parts that take and hold the trauma. I would have to guess between 140 and 150. Life is hard inside my head!

They order themselves by who is the most fierce.

Least fierce is the Gorilla. That is the first line of defense and he is downright MEAN!!!!
Next is the Father Introject Snake (we have a mother one too)
Then they get really mean if you defy the first 2. Many on this level are animals.
......

Top of the line of Father Introjects is a human and goes by the Fathers name.
Top of the heap is a Mother Introject that simply goes by the Mothers name - "M".
That is Level 1

Now if the top protector from Level 1 "M" does not do her job well enough, she answers to 3 more Mother introjects on higher levels. I have 28 levels.


1. For instance - in Therapy it was asked if Jessica (host for the last 2 years could write something)
2. She came.
3. She was chased away by the Gorilla - who tore up books and was very mean.
Then the Snake came to make sure the T got the point and said. You cannot talk to her.

So I decide to find out who is top dog on level 1 and try and get her "M" to write. I run into the same problem but with higher level (Mother introjects that also go by the name "M") protectors coming out to keep the secrets.

This seems to be a key to why I have so many levels. It's all to keep the secrets and protect me, the core self.

protectors coming out to keep the secrets.

I have that problem too. Parts that want to talk and other part want to keep secrets.

Let's see...
Charlie protects the body, and kids/littles.
Mr.Lee also protects body.
Banshee used to protect the body, but now just screams.
Joan protects emotions/mind through denial, and made whirlwind to handle the spill over(?).
Rider is the gatekeeper, ISH.
Little was an ANP put away.
Parent introjects keep everyone hiding. so protect the system?
The others IDK.

I had about five protectors, but after two integration attempts now have one. This part is a real pain though. I am struggling to achieve co-consciousness and gain more control over this one because it is ruining a good thing I have going on in my life now... It also used to chew tobacco and struggled to stop. Thank God I don't have any cavaties...