Too many new alters. Please help me.

Hi everyone. I'm fairly new to the forum, and this is my first topic. So, when we first joined Psych Forums, I had nine alters. Lisa, Bianca, Adrian, Adam, Edana, Carl, Sam, Michael, and Azalea. Since then, Alex, Karen, Crayon, and Martha and Nathan have burst on the scene. WHY is this happening? And WHY are their personalities increasing in intensity? Martha, for example, is a classic 50s housewife. Crayon has obvious ADHD and is all over the place. Karen is homicidal.

I just... I need help. Please help me get through this.

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. I can't answer why so many are showing up, or why they are like they are... but I can suggest that maybe they were always there, and only recently felt able to reveal themselves?

I can sympathize, at any rate. One week, seven new system members showed up. It was confusing and, yes, intense. They are all people to me, and supposedly one in four have some sort of mental problem... so many of them do have their own mental issues to deal with, it's not a big surprise.

Hang in there.

Hi, and Welcome!
I had a similar occurrence, it was like a can of worms opening. Like SnakeskinSoul said, it can be confusing, and intense.

Do you have a T to guide you through this process?

I can fully sympathize with you. I haven't had nearly that many show up at once but its becoming a bi-monthly thing for me now. Chances are they have been around a while but either didn't have a need to show themselves or didn't feel comfortable doing so. It probably has something to do with their intense personalities. You could try talking to them and learn about them. Make them feel comfortable. Also talk to the others in your system to make sure the newbies stay in check.

Safe hugs and support.
~Ani

-hugs if wanted- I'm sorry you're going through such a tough time right now. Stay strong and hang in there. You have support here.

SnakeskinSoul wrote:I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. I can't answer why so many are showing up, or why they are like they are... but I can suggest that maybe they were always there, and only recently felt able to reveal themselves?

I agree with SnakeskinSoul's suggestion. The alters that are revealing themselves perhaps didn't feel safe enough, or stable enough, or strong enough, or maybe they didn't think that the time was right for them to come forward. There's a good chance they've always been there, just hidden.

I can definitely sympathize with how you feel. I felt similar a while back, and posted about it. It may not help, but if you want to, you can read it.
http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative-identity/topic75796.html

Long story short, I started out with just one alter, then I had a "core group" of 3 alters for a bit, and then it kept growing until it got to 9 alters. Now I have a total of 11 alters, and I still don't know how many more there are that I'm unaware of. One of my alters that rarely shows herself, Marie, told me once that there may be a couple more that I don't know about. She also told me that no one new is sprouting up, everyone has been there for nearly the whole time, it just wasn't safe enough for them to come forward at the time and for some, the time still may not be "right". I know it can be very hard and very tiring, so be gentle with yourself. Don't get frustrated with yourself, comfort yourself, do things that make you feel good. Eat some comfort food, watch a funny movie, take a relaxing shower or bath, listen to some relaxing music, cuddle with stuffed animals, anything that makes you feel good or comforted or relaxed. Stuff like that can at least help the stress level.

It might also help if your others started expressing themselves in some way. They've been kept away, they might just want to have an outlet for things they may want to say or something. See if they want to write, draw, or even talk into a recording device. It can help you to get to know them/yourself better, and it can help them to feel better by being able to express themselves and having a chance to make themselves known now that they're coming forward.

That's all the ideas I have right now. I wish you the best of luck with this difficult transition, and hope that things get better for you soon.

It might be interesting to note that not all Alters are present all along - a few current theories suggest that the alters are created or 'split' as needed under stress or duress, with the 'originals' or oldest alters being split from the initial traumas. The process by which an alter splits from the core is part of the dissociative aspects of the disorder - meaning that when something traumatizing happens, the core dissociates - if there is not an alter already in place to deal with the situation, these theories suggest than one is created. Eventually, over a lifetime of this being the main reaction, it's suggested that the act of splitting becomes almost a kneejerk reaction, allowing for alters to be suddenly split or 'awoken' rapidly and out of seemingly no where.

It is important to note that every Alter performs some form of function or fills some aspect/role that would, normally, simply be another aspect or function of the core if it had not split - guardians and protectors, gender roles - every Altar has it's purpose. So, if you suddenly find yourself with an influx of new arrivals, some questions you might ask yourself are:

1. What roles are they fulfilling (if you are able to communicate with and/or assess/ask them)
2. What might have happened to trigger your splitting or their awakening?
3. Has anything happened that could cause you stress, unhappiness/depression, anxiety or trauma?
4. Is there anything approaching that you are dreading in anyway, such as a test, a doctor's visit or a stressful engagement?

I hope this bit of information might prove useful in adding another theory to explain this!

That's right, dissociated identities are split off at different times in our life, depending on our life situations. And then we find out about them at different times ditto.

I probably don't yet know all of mine but one was created when I was an infant, some have been around since before I was a teen and perhaps since before I started school, one originated when I was 15 or thereabouts, and evidently one originated in my 40's (oops!).

Possible trigger -

One of mine was a ten month old baby girl, but when an older one - not sure how old, but she can communicate in quite adult language - showed her to us, and we integrated her, the older one told our T, "When the baby was hit, we were already there." I'd thought that maybe that time was the first split, but apparently not - and my T just nodded and said that she'd thought so. The older alter also said, about the baby, "She was me". I don't know how it all works yet, but it seems that several alters, including the one who was talking, were already there when I was ten months old. It seems pretty clear that my mother had DID, so maybe that was the only way I/we could cope with her! The older one says that she's been holding a lot of the pain and sadness, maybe most of it - she doesn't seem to be sure. She seems to know a lot about what's happening inside, but maybe not everything.

I have no idea how many "others" I have, and like you, I sometimes find it overwhelming. I'm just trying to take it slowly and listen to them when they want to talk or show me things. You've had some great replies. Doing things that help you - all of you - to feel better, or soothed, usually helps me a lot - I hope it does you too.

This is an interesting thread, and it all makes sense to me when I think of the times my parts have surfaced. I hope that Adrianandothers get help from it. It's funny, I once started a thread here where I asked if a very stressful situation can cause new alters to appear or split and mostly everyone said they've never heard of such a thing!