#be patient with YOURSELF and be patient with this possible fictive

[funnierasafictive]

some advice i see a lot regarding how to tell if someone is a fictive or just a character that the person is imagining is to try to imagine them doing something they wouldn't and see if it feels wrong or if they flat out refuse but i was wondering is there any way to tell if you've just imagined them refusing? like, if it's more in character for them to do so is that not simply where your mind would go? how can you tell whether there's a person behind it or whether it's just that your mind itself doesn't want to cooperate??

Honestly, I'm not sure how to answer that. BUT, it does remind me of when our old host met Jaiden (not a fictive) and they read that a way to check if someone is really sentient, you do this specific exercise about balancing a feather on their noise or something. Honestly none of us remember the point of it or how it would have worked, but what happened was, Jaiden was already Real. He split real, Jamie just wasn't sure (thank you denial). Because Jaiden cared about Jamie, he indulged him and did the exercises. But it would go on for DAYS to the point where Jaiden literally told Jamie to just "stop". "I'm real!" and even if Jamie told him to do these exercises, it was annoying him.

So yes, having them do something they'd like is an option. But have you considered annoying them to the point where they snap at you?? SKDFJS

OF COURSE DONT like. put yourselves on bad terms. but its something to think about. A lot of the time when we're in denial, the person we/the current front is in denial about, starts getting annoyed, and then we feel bad about hurting their feelings.

So I'm not your therapist and I can't tell you what's what- but I guess you could also think.. "If I annoyed them, and they react badly to me annoying them, and that feeling of them scolding me makes me feel bad.. why would I ever make that up?"

Also give it some time. Sometimes if a split is new (or you think someone just split) it'll be hard to tell. Denial is a BITCH. If you already are used to having alters or system members in general, The fictive who just split WILL eventually be comfortable enough to be "concrete enough" with you, if they already even know who they are. maybe your brain itself is still figuring things out. We talk about splitting as a community a lot--where spliting is usually depicted as like this FAST thing. but sometimes its slow! which DOESNT help if youre trying to figure out if you have someone or not!

[fandxmslxt69]

CLEM'S BIRTHDAY HANG OUT!!

Hello friends!

As March comes to an end (my birth month wooo) I thought it would be a fun idea to have a little hang out during the last week! So from March 25 - 31 we are PARTYING !

Sort of!

My askbox is open to all sorts of silly dilly fun time! This is my first little hang out so PLEASE BE KIND TO ME i'm just a silly girl who wants to make friends and have some fun! I'm also hoping this might get me back into writing!

Yes, the poster is all Loki NO HE'S NOT THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION!! Here's a little info I guess (I am just winging this as we speak, it is not very thought out):

Rules & Info

The event will run from 03/25 to 03/31 - you can send in as many asks and hang out as much as you would like!!! No I will not kill you if you drop a hello in my askbox start of April - to be honest, I love friends so I won't ever turn anyone away

You can stop by my askbox to say hi, share some thoughts (or thots...) tell me anything, or play a game! (will talk about that in a bit)

Anyyyyoneeee is welcome I don't care if we aren't mutuals or we don't even talk, STOP BY AND SAY HI :D If you are rude or disrespectful in any way, I will kick your butt and break your nose.

This is a positive, fun zone. I just want to have my fun and mind my business, please don't be trying to cause problems. I'm a relatively small blog so thankfully no one really looks my way but I've had some bumps in the past.

THIS IS MY FIRST TIME DOING THIS AND IM LITERALLY GOING TO DIE FROM NERVES SO BE PATIENT WITH ME OKAY

Games:

Fuck, marry, kill - send me any three characters that you want me to decide a fate for....oh my god please don't make me kill anyone I love dearly....

Blurbs!! - send me a little prompt/kink/thought & a character and I will try SOOOOO HARD to put out a little itty bitty something of writing! Like 500 words or so!! Can be fluffy or smutty. Angst is not allowed unless its just a LITTLE sad and with lots of fluffy stuff after

Character Association - tell me about yourself and let me give you a character. This is literally my favourite game ever, and I swear I'm super good at it

Book Recs - tell me your reading vibes/popular tropes you like and I will give you FIVE (not one, not two, but FIVE!!!) book recs because I like talking about books. If you show up talking about non fiction, then sorry but I am not your gal at all.

Chat - Come talk!! Come chat!! Come say hi and giggle with me about anything!! Come be crazy with me over narratives and themes and character arcs!!! Tell me about school or your day, your OCs, latest WIPs or anything currently on your mind!

Okay that's all I could come up with but literally any and all games are free game. I am keeping this as chill and lowkey as possible.

Characters/Fandoms:

You guys already KNOW my vibes and what I'm around and what I'm not, so feel free to send anything! I float around Marvel/DC (just send in any character and if I don't vibe with it I'll just let you know or leave it unanswered), I think it's obviously I'm Oscar Isaac obsessed....um. Pretty much anything. It's free game and I'll put my foot down if I'm down okay with something or don't want to answer :D

I'm..about to tag some friends...if that's okay...

@divine-knight-hand @romanarose @sarahscribbles @lokischambermaid @lokisgoodgirl @sailorholly @in-som-niyah @fictive-sl0th @mischief2sarawr @saturn-rings-writes @superficialdomina @planetwaynez...and I can't remember anyone else now I'm sorry LMAO

KISSES EVERYONE <3

Clem

PS: If you're worried whether I'm comfy or not or familiar with a character or not, just send it in anyway and we'll figure it out from there!

[many-of-mycelium]

hello !!

we are Many of Mycelium, but Mycel or Mold is okay !! please only call us Myc or Moldy if you consider yourself close to us !! we use they/it/myceliumself/mycself/moldself/🍄self/🍄‍🟫self pronouns !! we are a polyfragmented fictive-heavy adult-heavy system of many !! our host, Star, uses it/⭐self/🌟self pronouns !! another alter, A, uses they/them pronouns, but is alright with mutuals using it/its for them as well !! a third alter, M, uses she/🌈self/🍬self/🍓self/🌠self/🍭self/🧁self/🧶self/🐷self/🦄self/🦩self/🪡self and most cute pronouns !! a fictive of the RED Sniper from Team Fortress 2, Hunter, uses it/he/bug/they/🪲self/🎯self/🏹self/🌈self/🦉self/🦎self/🐊self/🧩self pronouns !! a subsystem, Allison, uses it/its pronouns, while its host, Doll, uses it/dollself pronouns, and the other alter, W.I.L.O.M., uses he/him pronouns !! a fictive of the Pro PRAT Cat, Grimalkin, uses any pronouns, but prefers they/it and radqueer-themed pronouns !! Anonymous, who claims to have come from another world though everyone doubts that, uses he/him pronouns !! he is cischaracter of [secret ;)], and finds it extremely uncomfortable when referred to as anyone but himself (most questions welcome) !! Thief, who has a complicated source, uses any pronouns !! we may deadname or misgender alters or the system despite not meaning to do so, so please be patient with us !! we are cisautistic and diagnosed with autism, and are questioning (cis-) ADHD, OCD, BIID, a dissociative disorder (we're not sure which one), and schizospectrum (also not sure, sorry) !! ok to send asks !! no requests, though, sorry !!

our opinions often change on lots of things, but we will only be active on this blog when we are radqueer (pt: we are radqueer. end pt) !!

some of us were active on a (now deleted) blog called wantedvisions (or wanted-visions, we don't remember, sorry) !! we also used to coin IDs on acidic-nebula-raincloud (also deleted) !!

transition advice:

transautistic: [1 (long)] [2 (long)]

the #transid x alt term shipping tag (link) is exactly what it sounds like

we sometimes post alter packs !! we might postpone (more likely) or deny (almost never) your request no matter what it is, though !! sorry !! think of this sort of like a thrift store !! /silly

some of us made carrds with a few of our IDs !! we don't have a premium Carrd account, we just have multiple !!

cw: possibly eyestrain/hard to read (pt: cw: possibly eyestrain/hard to read. end pt)

https://mycelium-star.carrd.co/

https://mycelium-a.carrd.co/

https://mycelium-m.carrd.co/

https://mycelium-hunter.carrd.co/

https://mycelium-allison.carrd.co/ (their collective and separate IDs)

https://mycelium-grimalkin.carrd.co/

https://mycelium-anonymous.carrd.co/

https://mycelium-thief.carrd.co/

[hskinhome]

I'm a Bro Strider fictive. Could I get a tarot reading for the possible outcome of telling people who i am?

Sure thing! This draw gave weird signals, so I pulled one card from my Homestuck Kickstarter and Kawaii Tarot decks for each placement, and Meu pulled from their Citadel Oracle deck! We used this spread for the reading, which I thought would work best!

———————————–

The Problem or Situation

I pulled the reversed Three of Wands and the upright King of Wands, and Meu pulled The Witch! You’re going through a rough time, conflicted with how or when you want to reveal yourself or if you even should. You’ve been experimenting with how to do it and testing the waters, desperately wanting to reach the goal of finally being honest with yourself and others and stop hiding.

———————————–

The Best Possible Outcome

I pulled the reversed Two of Cups and the upright Three of Wands, and Meu pulled The Shepherd! While some people will disagree or be upset with your revelation, you’ll be able to cut those toxic people out of your life quickly, and your presence will be celebrated by all the other people who care about you! You’ll reach a calm point, no longer conflicted by this internal struggle, and ready to move forward.

———————————–

The Worst Possible Outcome

I pulled the upright Six of Cups and the upright Empress card, and Meu pulled The Priest! As with the best-case outcome, the worst case here is that you lose people because they can’t accept you, but they weren’t people you probably wanted to keep anyway. You’ll be able to love and nurture your growth and find new people who actually care about you (both specific and system-wide)! You’ll need to be patient with this process, though, as it’ll take time.

———————————–

Outcome 1 (Neutral)

I pulled the upright Emperor card and the reversed Six of Wands, and Meu pulled The Aspirant! You’ll face setbacks after sharing your truth, causing a lack of confidence and self-worth. However, you’ll be able to rebound and keep to the path you intended! You or someone else in your system may take on a leadership role to get you through this challenging time, helping to protect you from any negativity coming your way.

———————————–

Outcome 2 (Neutral)

I pulled the reversed Eight of Swords and the reversed Two of Cups, and Meu pulled The Adventurer! Nothing really changes. The people around you will greet you and then move on as if they had always known. You are not ridiculed or hated, nor the talk of the metaphorical town. To quote Meu’s favorite poem, ‘This is not to say you are not special. This is to say, thank god you are not special.’ However, this marks a new stage in your life, one of freedom and truthfulness!

———————————–

I hope these help you move forward, and please let us know how it goes!

[fenmere]

Let's see if we can clearly remember the advice from high school drama class that we're working with. Though, maybe we'll just outline what we do now. This takes work. It has taken us decades to get to the point where we're at now. So be patient with yourselves and each other. It really takes lots of little practice, too. Start with the idea that when you are reading a book about yourself, you are reading a fictionalized story, and that you are playing a game of make believe. If you are reading a book and create a fictive, or suspect that you will be creating a fictive, stop for a moment and greet them, and then tell them that they are safe in your system now and that what happens in the book is a game, a story, not real. Tell them that they are real, but that they are now safe from the events in the story. Maybe suggest to them that they play a game with the rest of you, where they tell you what they would rather do instead, or what they would rather happen instead as your continue reading the story.

And you just kind of have to make this little interaction a habit every time your read a book. Do it as early in the book as possible, even if you don't actually feel your fictive forming (they're probably there already anyway).

Doing this helps to reinforce everyone's education and knowledge that there is a difference between what happens in the book and what happens to you in your head.

Now, you may also be recreating the events of the book in your head, and feel like you are experiencing these things first hand.

That's the play. That's where the drama class advice comes into effect.

That recreation you're enacting in your mind as you read the book is also a game. It's actually literally a play. It's really happening, but it's not real. It's an enactment. What happens in it is temporary and you are all fine and real after you're done.

So make it a point to consciously point that out before you start reading a book, too (or even watching movies and TV shows!).

Then. Practice aftercare.

When you're done reading, take a moment to check in with everyone and maybe talk about how you feel regarding what you read. Ask if anyone needs some affirmations or love or space. Reaffirm that you're all safe and you care about each other, and that what just happened was a drama, and not your actual life in your system. Do this after you're done reading for the day, whether it's just a few paragraphs or you've finished the book. It's the repetition and practice that's important, not the quality of each session of checking in. So, if hardly anyone responds when you say, "OK, this is fiction. We're reading and re-enacting fiction, and this doesn't reflect on us as people or actually hurt us," that's OK. If hardly anyone asked for help when you check in afterward, that's fine, too. Just as long as you're making these statements to yourselves and giving yourselves the opportunity to talk about it, you're building trust and reassurances that the fiction can't actually hurt you. And building the resilience you'll need to weather it. Teaching each other how to do it. Then, the last bit of advice is start small and safe. Read the stories that you're familiar with or that you know won't hurt you much, or create many fictives. And practice the above while doing it. Even if it seems unnecessary.

By going through the motions when you're safe, it'll create a baseline, and establish the habit. And, it will stretch you, and make it easier to face bigger challenges, in time. Listen to yourselves, and test the waters gently but firmly. Step up the challenge occasionally, but in baby steps. You can grow without traumatizing yourselves. Also. Fictives are rad. They're awesome and fun people. Especially when they know that they are now safe in your system and can grow to be their own people and still take pride in their origins. So, don't be afraid of making them. Just help them have a good, safe place to exist and thrive.

[cyraspace01]

Debunking Certain Myths About Plurality

Edit: We'd like to thank @altercourses for correcting some of our misinformation and providing sources, and since then have corrected some things, we are very sorry for the misinformation.

1. Every system has a headspace/innerworld

Nope! Actually, it's quite normal not to. When you find a professional who specializes in helping patients with DID & OSDD function, they actually have practices for creating or finding your headspace. This can be done with a professional, or by yourself with caution. And also, headspaces and innerworlds aren't special to those who are plural, anyone can have one. It's just more common for us so our headmates have places they can go when they aren't fronting.

2. Every system is medically recognized as overt or covert

Yes...But no. Overt and covert labels can be very harmful actually, and aren't use by professionals, they were mostly picked up by the community. That isn't to say they are wrong or bad, but medical professionals do not see a system to be overt or covert, very obvious, or not obvious, it's not that simple to them.

But these labels have been seen to be helpful or interesting by the community, and in that, there is no harm.

3. OSDD-1B and OSDD-1A are medical labels

Actually...No. OSDD-1B and OSDD-1A are not medical labels or terms, in fact, these two aren't even in the DSM, they were later named and found by the OSDD community to differentiate different ways of osdd presenting. As you know, OSDD means Other Specified Dissociative Disorder, otherwise known as a dissociative disorder that may not catch all the symptoms of DID but is pretty close. It is a catch-all. Although the DSM does not ever state OSDD-1A or OSDD-1B, the DSM does give 4 examples of what OSDD can look like. Two of the 4 are what have been named.

So, no, it is not necessary to think or say you have OSDD-1B or 1A, If these labels and distinctions make you feel comfortable go ahead, but others should know, these really aren't important to anyone but the OSDD haver themselves.

The DSM itself.

4. DID & what counts as amnesia

You do not need to have full blackouts like media says to qualify for DID, these things actually aren't as common as they may sound amongst DID havers. Here's a great video about what dissociative amnesia can look like if you think you experience it.

Edit; I had quite the misinformation here, there has been a wonderful reblog you can find on my blog made my @/altercourses please go read it they corrected and made some very important points I would not like to copy and discredit to them!

5. Only certain traumas can result in having DID/OSDD (sexual abuse, physical)

Well...No. That isn't true and the DSM does not inherently ever state that those are the only way an unstable sense of self with parts can exist. The only thing it ever states is if it is long-term childhood abuse, that could cause this disorder to happen. Long-term abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, can come from natural disasters, troubles at birth, etc.

6. You can't be aware of being a system on your own

Ah...You see, making this claim doesn't really make sense to me. That's like saying people with psychosis can't be aware that they are experiencing a delusion, or people who feel depressed for a long amount of time cannot recognize that they have chronic depression. While the popular claim of people do not realize that they might have DID or OSDD until they are well into adulthood or in their 30s is not false, It's fairly common and normal to suspect yourself of having a disorder even if others don't suspect it first, you know yourself better before anyone else does, and just because DID/OSDD is supposed to be hidden from everyone not just including but especially for the host, it's very possible.

7. You always know who's fronting or who you are

Perhaps this is true in some people, that's totally cool! But it's normal and perfectly fine to be blurry or not be able to put names or labels to yourself sometimes. It doesn't need to be this way, let's erase the stigma of this. The Rings System has some great videos on this.

8. Fusion and integration are the same

We must look at what integration and fusion actually mean. Integration means bringing down the dissociative barriers and things that separate the system, making it easier to work together and bring everyone closer together, but this has nothing to do with becoming one! Just improving communication and functioning together. It can sometimes even seem like you are on the same wavelength, which is good.

This often gets mistaken with fusion. A lot of people with plurality say they do not want to integrate, because they mistake integration for fusion! Fusion is actually what you're thinking of. Fusion is the practice of bringing all parts and fragments together to make the failed self at childhood, a whole one person.

While some systems find that fusion, or just merging some parts together is their goal, other systems work towards integration and communication instead, and the professional you're working with should have a positive mindset on both if you work with one.

It's very normal for systems to want to be more distinct or work on themselves separately, or work on getting along as a collective instead of wanting to be one.

9. Endogenic systems are an excuse for hardcore, or no double, "kinnies"

System ≠ kinning. We are not the same, of course, you can be both, but being a system is different. No system I have ever met has not been alright with seeing someone similar to them, or the fictives I know have no issue with seeing another fictive of their source, and if they do, they usually handle it respectively. You are talking about a specific person or a very small amount of people here, and I promise you all plural people don't operate that way, although I do not doubt that it does look like a fine line to the average person.

Also, kinnie can be very offensive to otherkin and therian people, please, let us not use this term regarding those people, or systems.

I tried to list sources for some of my most important claims, but if you want sources for other things, or you believe something is wrong, do not be afraid to correct us on it or send us an ask!

As always,

The (White) Sakura System 🌸

[symptoms-syndrome]

I’m the gatekeeper in a recently prof DX’d system, and our host prefers not to publicise our diagnosis, which I entirely agree with, but I grieve frequently for my past and my own life so I thought I might make my own account to help ease that a little and learn more about dissociative spectrum disorders. Do you have any tips on how to simply- get started?

Hm. I'll make this a multi part answer. I hope it doesn't get too long. I also am going to assume that by dissociative spectrum disorders you mean DID/OSDD, since I assume you're asking about system things? Most dissociative spectrum disorders won't cause dissociated parts the way DID/OSDD do.

Also obligatory "I'm not a professional or a scholar I just read books."

Firstly, I think it's important to identify why you want to learn more, because different reasons will make you want to take different approaches.

Do you want to learn to better understand yourself? If so, you would likely want to look into healing-focused, patient-directed resources. You don't totally need to understand how DID works on a whole to better understand and improve yourself, especially considering how different DID can be for everyone.

Do you want to learn to help others? Definitely more complex. Know and understand that you will not be able to help people you don't know (or people you do) responsibly until/unless you go through a lot of school.

If you want to learn more in order to like, connect w ppl w DID online or something I'm afraid you're SOL. Online DID communities are pretty atypical overall, a lot of the stuff people talk about on Tumblr or wherever are more? Community oriented things than clinical.

I don't know anything about your age, background, education, etc. But if you are going to venture past patient-focused self-help books and into clinical books and research papers, it's very important to learn things like how research is conducted, how those papers are written, and for what purpose. A lot of academic papers in general are written with the assumption you know that sort of thing, and people reading research papers without that context often leads to misunderstanding and misinformation.

For example, with DID, a lot of papers will talk about broad, overarching themes instead of specifics. You aren't likely to find papers specifically about, for example, fictives and source memories, but you might be able to find papers about introjection and substitute beliefs. Additionally, a lot of these papers are written with the intent of treating patients. If something isn't like, an issue that's negatively effecting a patient's life, there's less likely to be research about it. I suppose I might compare it to reading tarot, in that pulling a some card isn't going to tell you there's mold in your fridge, but it might tell you to be more concious of your environment? Bad analogy but hopefully you get my point. The assumption is that you'll be able to use the broad information in a paper and figure out how it applies to your specific patient, since they can't possibly write about each and every individual thing/way something can manifest in a disorder as complex and as personal as DID. You, being a single person, are a small minority of the people who have DID, so no paper, book, or resource will explain everything you have going on completely without having a lot of stuff that doesn't apply to you. There's a lot of common threads of course, but just keep in mind that just because something is written somewhere, doesn't mean it has to apply to you specifically. No one person can have every symptom presented every way.

Also with a disorder as complex as DID, it's best to start small. Learn about trauma first, PTSD/CPTSD, et cetera. There's a lot that probably won't be relevant to you specifically, but it's an important background to have. Like how if you want to learn architecture, you need to learn materials science first, and if you want to study bugs you need to study biology. It's all necessary background information that'll help you parse the information you learn about DID in a way that makes sense, because research papers aren't written for laymen and they're sort of written with the assumption you know the basics. This applies more the more and more specific you get.

Also, of course, papers/books/etc about trauma often have nitty gritty details and case studies. Be prepared for that and take breaks/make sure you have a support system as needed.

Lastly, and I don't know how to put this delicately or in a way that won't make people angry, but prepare for your research to be not at all aligned with your experiences on Tumblr, and sometimes even contrary to them. The way people talk about DID on Tumblr, especially the way a lot of popular blogs talk about DID on Tumblr, is definitely not the most common way it manifests or the most common way people are encouraged to treat it. This isn't to say that it isn't a genuine experience, it just isn't the most common one, and it certainly isn't a clinical one. A lot of intra-community issues are so specific that you aren't likely to find books or papers about them. Some things that are incredibly common sources of conversation in social media (such as pseudomemories, introjects, headspaces) aren't really talked about a lot in books and papers. The primary focus of the research field is the treatment of trauma, so things that aren't necessarily directly relevant are less likely to appear in research.

Be open to being wrong, being corrected, and learning. Just as with any other kind of learning. Nobody knows everything and it's okay to be wrong.

As for resources, I believe the most common books people read about DID specifically are

Coping with Trauma-related Dissociation (patient-directed) and Treating Trauma-related Dissociation (therapist-directed) by Kathy Steele, Onno van der Hart, and Suzette Boon

The Haunted Self by Ellert R. S. Nijenhuis, Onno van der Hart and Kathy Steele (therapist-directed)

There are a wide array of books, I obviously have not read them all. Be more critical of books the older they are, and be aware of when someone is talking from personal experience vs when someone is talking from clinical experience. They both have their usefulness and neither is to be dismissed, but they shouldn't be confused.

Sorry this got very long! I tried to keep it as short as possible, but learning about this sort of thing is really complex overall so it can be hard to be concise.

[firedrake]

Okay, I am EXTREMELY confused. We are a trauma-based multiple system who won't use most "therapeutic" terminology - including "DID," bc that definition does NOT describe us. I get the mental illness/health care issue. But I am completely lost over "system." Doctors use it BECAUSE it means "assemblage/combination of things/parts forming a complex/unitary whole" OR "any assemblage/set of correlated members." Clearly 1 or another meaning applies to BOTH types. Why is this of ALL words so offensive?

Also, while we have no fictives (& don’t like them), we DO have a few people who come from other places, & most people here CAN visit other systems (I assume that’s what “hopping”–no idea what “fusion” is). So - does that mean we get to be called a “real” multiple system - we have the diagnosis & everything! - or do those people & experiences outweigh our trauma basis? I truly get how annoying the little teenage “All my favorite characters live in my head!” types can be, but where is the line?

Hello, anon. I’m sorry you are confused. I will do my best to help you understand these issues. Before I get into that, though, I wanted to say if you do not agree with your diagnosis, you should look into speaking to a different professional about it to get a second opinion.

Terminology

You are incorrect about the history and usage of the term system in regards to multiplicity. System was coined over a century ago by professionals for their DID/OSDD patients. There’s plenty of scholarly texts that document this usage and they’re not that hard to find if you want to do some research. But here’s some if you don’t have the time.

This is why you’ll often find people saying “system” is a DID/OSDD term. System (in regards to multiplicity) has been synonymous with DID/OSDD throughout psychopathological history, which is why so many people get confused or upset whenever someone calls themself something like “endogenic system.” Considering the history of the term system, “endogenic system” is no different than saying “endogenic DID.” Can you see why that would confuse or offend someone?

This isn’t the only issue regarding people without DID/OSDD calling themselves systems. You can read more about this here if you’re interested.

System Hopping / Walk Ins / Etc.

In your ask, you said you believe you can travel into other people’s minds which, while can be a spiritual belief, is often used as an abuse or manipulation tactic. I do not know your experiences but please practice spirituality SAFELY and do not enforce your beliefs onto others.

DID/OSDD systems can not system hop. We are incapable of system hopping since our systems and alters are psychological based. There is research behind this. Alters are dissociated parts of the mind. Things like walk ins, alter death, and system hopping are impossible for DID/OSDD systems, since alters are a psychological phenomenon. They split in response to trauma/acute stress and having DID/OSDD. However, alters can also have spiritual beliefs. They can have past life memories, kin memories, and even pseudo memories of a “life before the system,” but this does not mean they originated outside the body.

DID/OSDD systems can also be coerced or manipulated into thinking they’re experiencing system hopping, or have delusions about it. We can also be misinformed or misinterpreting our experiences. For example, I used to think I had walk in alters because I didn’t know how alters formed. I thought they were walk ins because I didn’t remember a traumatic or stressful event happening that would’ve caused them to split (which is incredibly common in DID/OSDD-1a, it’s called amnesia).

Here is a section I wrote on things that can happen in DID/OSDD systems that can mistaken for things like system hopping or fusion (which are not possible in DID/OSDD systems). It has some resources as well.

I am extremely, extremely against calling your spiritual practices “system hopping.” If you are going to be practicing this, please call it astral traveling or something else that does not conflate with DID/OSDD. Calling it “system hopping” makes DID/OSDD systems (big emphasis on the system part) think that they are also capable of this, which is misinfo. It can harm them and literally put them in danger of being abused.

Misinfo harms people. In some cases it can lead to them misidentifying and normalizing their symptoms. This can prevent them from seeking help- then their symptoms worsen. It can also lead to them accidentally spreading misinfo as well, which can harm other systems. I’m speaking from personal experience, as someone who used to identify as a gateway system with walk ins because I blindly believed what I was told on the internet.

Fictives

There is a lot of stigma around fictives and I know they’re usually associated with “fake systems.” However, you should know that fictives are a clinically and academically acknowledged type of alter in DID/OSDD and have been mentioned in many sources. They are clinically called fictional introjects, or introject alters. I tend to avoid calling them fictives because I do not know where this term originated and it usually gets confused with fictionkin.

I don’t know what your prejudice against introjects is but please understand that, just like any other alter, people with DID/OSDD do not have a choice in their formation.

You can read more about fictives here.

Conclusion

It’s fine to not agree with your diagnosis. I got misdiagnosed with ADHD once and literally every psychiatrist I met with after that agreed that it didn’t fit me at all. However, there’s something I’d like to point out to you. In the first ask you sent, you said you won’t use your diagnosis label because it doesn’t describe you- yet in the second ask, you’re using it as a gotcha.

If you don’t agree with your diagnosis then you shouldn’t be attributing your experiences to DID. You said yourself that it doesn’t fit and you don’t label yourself by it. Please don’t flip flop between not claiming your diagnosis then claiming it when it’s convenient to prove a point. Take some time and think to yourself, why do you want to claim DID/OSDD terms and spaces if you say the diagnosis doesn’t describe you?

The whole point of what these “gatekeepers” (aka DID/OSDD systems) fight for in the syscourse is that we don’t want people without DID/OSDD in our community. We don’t want them in our spaces, we don’t want them appropriating our terms, we don’t want them stealing our resources from us, we don’t want them spreading misinfo about our disorder, we don’t want them adding to the stigma we already have to deal with, we don’t want them speaking over us, and we especially don’t want them acting like the spokespeople for our community- silencing our voices and encouraging others to do the same.

I am not saying non-DID/OSDD multiples have to stop believing in what they are. I’m asking them to listen to the people they have privilege over and stop speaking over them for fuck’s sake. If a minority tells you you’re appropriating their terms, use a different term! It’s not that hard. I’ve even listed some alternate terms here, if you’re interested.