THE VOICES IN MY HEAD (rewrite)

Author's note (skip if you want)

So as stated at the very end of my last chapter, welcome to my author's note! something which I absolutely hate authors including in their books, yet here I am doing it. I guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite, huh? Anyways, this author's note is specifically here to provide some nice information about a few of the things you might see in this book and be confused about.

A note on DID:

DID, or dissociative Identity disorder, formerly called multiple personality disorder (MPD), is a dissociative disorder in which your mind splits and/or creates more people inside of your head. (as is my understanding). These people are often called alters and the bodies original owner is usually called the host. I do not have this disorder, and the most I know about it is from a bit of research I conducted 2 years ago, A friend of mine who has DID, and the fanfic this rewrite is taking inspiration from titled "The many faces of Harry... er Adira Potter" by Fayanora which can be found on archive of our own (Ao3). While I wrote my original fanfic before finding Fayanora's awesome fic, this rewrite came afterwards, and so I took a bit of inspiration from their fic.

From my understanding of DID different alters can have different roles such as a caregiver, a little, a protector, a gatekeeper, a trauma holder, and so on and so forth. The alters Ive written for Harry in this book fall clearly into those guidelines (as well as a few extra 'roles' made up for magics sake) However this is not true for all people who have DID. for some their Alters roles may not be as clear, or their Alters may not even have roles at all.

DID does not have a specific amount of alters you need to have to be considered someone with it. you can have as little as one other alter, and you can have infinite alters. Some people with DID create new alters off the dime, Some stick with the ones they've had since they first developed the orders and have only gained a few new alters, or gained none at all.

DID IS NOT A FUN QUIRK! It is a real issue that people have that can cause psychological damage, even for all the good that it's trying to do for your body and mental state. Such examples are that alters often have source memories. This means that they had an entire life that they remember and then suddenly their in an entirely different world stuck inside of someone else's mind and body, and they can never go back (as they remember it). DID can also negatively impact the host's mind, because sometimes the Host (I believe host is the right term, I mean to say the original, in case that's not the correct term.) can wonder if they were really the true host, if one day they'll wake up and never get to front their own body again etc. Alters (including the host) can also sometimes go dormant. this means that the alter or host will become inactive and will not front or even be in headspace for a long amount of time, maybe even permanently. There is no cure for DID. there is such a thing as merging alters together, but this is a controversial topic in the DID community because a lot of people view this as killing alters and therefore killing people. There are other serious disadvantages that I can't think of right now, however please by no means pretend to have DID, or even say you want to have it. Don't focus only on the pros, and think of the cons as well. DID is not called a disorder for nothing, and it is not a fun "accessory".

I'd like to say again, I do not have DID, nor do I have any significant knowledge on the subject, so please do not take what I'm saying for fact, and If you want to learn more about DID, make sure to do your research.

A note on Age regression:

Age regression is when your mind reverts or regresses to a time when it felt safer, usually when you were younger. there are many reasons that this can happen. Some age regress for stress, some regress for traumatic events, some regress to experience a childhood that may have been robbed of them, some regress to relive being a kid and carefree, some regress just for fun. You don't have to have mental issues or problems to be an age regressor. That being said, Age regression is a very good coping mechanism, and some therapists may recommend this method of coping to their patients.