This post will be discussing a type of alter in a DID system. For more information or background on these topics please check my previous posts about DID.
This post may be triggering for some as it touches on trauma and abuse. Please read with care and seek help if you need to. With all that said we can get straight into the post.
Alters can come in many shapes and sizes. The can be human, non human, 'real' or fiction. All are valid and all are important. These alters where formed as a coping mechanism for dealing with childhood trauma and are unique to the individual who experiences the trauma. Sometimes when alters are formed they are influenced by what ever it is that they are exposed to. This can be negative or positive. These are called introjects.
Introjects are formed when a child is more concerned with survival than anything else and occurs when a child unwillingly takes on behaviours, beliefs, names, or any other reference of a safe or unsafe figure in the child's life. Having Introjects that front can be very disorientating and disturb the understanding of present day, time and person. The introject ma still believe that they are the original person who inspired their creation which can cause a lot of confusion.
These alters may not be perfect copies of the person or thing that inspired them and that is 100% valid.
Types of introjects are:
Factives
Fictives
Trauma/Perpetrator Introjects
Positive Introjects
Partial Introjects
Not all systems will have introjects.
Factives: These alters are of real people who exist somewhere of have existed. The can be famous, or not. Examples of some possible factive alters could be, actors, singers, relatives, neighbours, a pet, tv show host, a friend, or a famous chef. The point is that they have to be real.
Fictives: As the name suggests these are the opposite of factive alters in that they have to be 'not real'. Examples could be, book characters, cartoons, anime characters, urban legends, movie characters, or mascots.
Trauma Introjects: These introjects can be really difficult to live with as they are copies abusers who caused the split. The can carry out the same abusive behaviours to the body and cause more harm once the actual abuser isn't around. These alters are typically formed under the mindset of "if I keep hurting myself then other people won't hurt me anymore".
Positive Introjects: Unlike trauma introjects these are helpful alters who often look after the body. These are introjects of someone who was positive influence while trauma was occurring in childhood. Eg, a concerned teacher, a parent who protected you, or a pet.
Partial Introjects: These alters have only a small part of them that is introjected. This means that they are not the exact copy of someone but have elements of them. They might share the abusers name, or the appearance of a movie character, or accent of a friend, or mannerisms of someone you use to know. These alters have a lot more to them than being a copy of someone or something.
Introjects, like all alters are a coping strategy used when a child is exposed to extreme trauma. They could be formed for comfort, for humour, defence, or even to continue abusive behaviour. In the chance that an alter is an introject of an abuser it is important to know that its more likely that they will hurt the body and the host, than to ever hurt someone else. This is a coping strategy and not something to be afraid of.
Introject alters are often thought to be bad when in reality they are just a way the mind has had to deal with abuse. Not all introjects will be of bad people and those who are still have the chance to become functioning parts of a system. They are not dangerous to other people and most of the time are not dangerous to themselves either.
Do I have any introjects?
Yes, I have two partial introjects in my system. I wasn't aware that they where introjects until recently and I'm still trying to understand about them. I have known about them for as long as I can remember but never thought they could have been introjects.
Vicki is a partial introject who carries a lot of anger and depression, this is because an abuser use to take these emotions out on us. She yells and has mannerisms of the abuser and even has similar handwriting.
Mia is another partial introject. I am still working on understanding her and why she introjected the way that she did. She has a lot of anger toward me and the body and has tried to hurt the body in numerous ways.
Both Mia, and Vicki, are also the only persecuter alters in my system and this is because of what influenced them. Not all introjects will be like mine.
I really hope that this post helps you to understand introject alters a little more and if you would like me to do more posts like this then let me know over on my instagram (@diaryofapsycho1). Its important to note that I am not a professional and can only speak of my own experiences, the experiences f the DID community, and what has been discussed in therapy.
If you would like more information about DID, I have a lot of posts about it and here are a few links that may help you out:
Thank you for reading and supporting me, it means a lot. I love you all so much.
Jen xx
Another amazing post. We learn so much from your blog posts. This time we learnt that we really didn't know much about Introjects, thanks for explaining the different types of Introjects. Turns out that we do have at least one fictive: Belle is actually Tinkerbell - she has always said she was a fairy, we thought she was just playing make believe, but I don't think any of us ever really understood that she was an Introject. Now we know. Thanks Jen :)