#isnt that like. osdd 1a or whatever. or smth. i dont know.

[imjustaf444keriguess]

responding to the last bit first because… sometimes carrds ARE the most trustworthy sources, assuming the information is about a term that the carrd-owner made (that is to say, assuming the carrds tat are linked are created by you or people who identify with the term and who can try their best to correctly explain what it feels like and what the term means).

"active" still implies some sort of "i am in the front seat and the 'others' are in the backseat". i think using the term "mindset" instead of just "mind" might make this better, as in "my active mindset is the mindset of a 'daughter', i am in a 'daughter' mindset right now".

i don't think mindsets or "minds" can get "stuck" in the same way alters and headmates can do, unless they are at least somewhat sentient or have some form of self-autonomy, so having "active-stuck" is a bit silly. perhaps just "stuck", as in "stuck in a mind(set)" might work better for a singlet-experience, but i am part of a system, not a singlet.

i don't think personality modes / "mindsets" can tear/merge/splinter off, although they can develop and change and adapt. like how getting a new job might get you a "work mindset" or gaining a child through adoption or birth might give you a "parent mindset". it's not really merging or tearing, it's developing and growing. you don't lose parts of yourself, you can only gain them (unless you have a condition that causes you amnesia or identity issues, which might influence any identities like polymindedness or plurality/systemhood/multiplicity)

having "minds" that are based off of something else can get very messy, especially with fictive/fictional introject identities and fictionkin identities. is it like a "kinnie" thing? where you just have a strong connection to a character? what would you describe the experience of "fictling" to be like? (or, if you don't experience it, what have you heard from your fellow polyminds to be the experience? do they connect it to any fictionkin kintype or "kinnie" related identity?

i didn't mention "blanket" but i think a term like that would be good, although i'd describe it more like "the collective identity / "self" which all minds are connected by" or something of the sort. i don't quite get the difference between blanket and central, though?

i think the most strange comparison between plural identities and polymindedness is the "shattermethods". that implies there was an event or series of events of some kind that "shattered" you into subpersonalities, which is how many DID systems describe their experience of being a system.

the term traumashatter and surviveshatter even use the words "long term trauma" in the carrd, which is the same language that a lot of traumagenic systems often use to explain their experiences of becoming a system (long term trauma as a child). if a polymind is truly just subpersonalities, we wouldn't be seeing a "breaking apart" or "shattering" of the self, because you are still one whole person, you are not a system, you just percieve your subpersonalities as separate.

i think describing it similar to "the event that caused the polyminded person to view their minds as more separated than the average" while still making it clear you are one "whole" self and not separate "selves" might help make it sound less like a synonym to -genic labels.

this is all going off the idea that you or someone you're closely connected to wrote and edited the carrd, and i do think that this kind of closer to median-singlet experience is important to have words for that aren't inherently "we're distinct 'selves' treat us that way" kind of thing, but it really depends on what the actual experience you are trying to describe is.

sorry if any of this is written weird, tumblr was lagging on my computer and i had to type this in a notepad so things might be less organized or whatever. i need to sleep though. syscourse boygirl out-

Polymind is a bit fascinating because it ends up unintentionally showing why system terminology ends up not being exclusive to any one specific group.

Like when you try to describe plural experiences in a way that tries not to use an existing plural definitions, it shows a lot more blatantly that at its core we do all have the same experience of being more than one. Any term you make has a high chance of applying to the other group.

Then when you get into the terminology needed to actually describe those experiences, you find you kind of need most of the shared terminology otherwise you need to recreate the whole damn lexicon.

Like the reason terms get shared is more like "We have DID need a fast and easy way to describe fictional alters. Oh, soulbonders have a lot of terminology for this already that fits what we need, we'll start using fictive and source."

Or "We're a non-disordered system and need a way to describe one headmate taking over. Oh, medically there's switching and front, that's a fast and simple way to describe it."

And like a lot of subcultures online are like that and when you try to fight it you end up with complicated and not very practical terms. Especially when there's terms that have been used for over 30 goddamn years that are simpler and easier to use.

Hell even trying not to use any existing plural terminology, Polymind ended taking a lot of them unintentionally (i.e. part, ageling, little, protector).

It also highlights an issue where unless you do deeper introspection, which is not always practical for... obvious reasons, you probably won't know exactly what you fall under. Expecting people to look in depth trauma history to figure out what terminology they're allowed to use is despicable.

Also that the problem is at its core that people don't think we should exist at all and that the terminology stink ends up being more of a way to make harassment and fakeclaiming seem "justified" and also a method of erasing history and separating systems from resources/making them harder to find but eh