My DID and other stuff

10 things about alters being people

Something I think that a lot of people don't understand about DID, is that the alters aren't like... fragments of one personality. They're their own, fully developed, with all the memories and feelings, people.

We're people. We just have to share a physical body with other people.

Don't worry if you didn't understand this, this isn't meant to be rude of anything. It's just something that I think is important for people to understand moving forward. I've chosen my platform to act as a place for you to learn about DID and ask questions and stuff. So go ahead. But I know this particular thing has come up a lot, and with other DID systems (which there are a lot of on Wattpad) they could get hurt or offended by this.

So, here are just some things that are true about alters and us being our own people, for future reference.

1) We have our own feelings. We don't all feel the same way about something. Some of us can be super excited about roller coasters, while others are downright terrified of them.

2) We have our own opinions. We don't all have the same political views, and we don't all like/dislike or agree/disagree with the same things. For example, AJ loves movies, but Leigh can't sit through one.

3) We have our own fears. Some of us hate spiders (I'm one of them), and some will gladly hold a tarantula over having to be home alone. It all depends on who you are.

4) We have different hobbies. None of us do exactly the same things when we're in the Body, or even in the Mind. We enjoy different things.

5) We have different skills. AJ and Faith can play guitar and flute, and Hannah can play ukulele. Brynn and I can't play any instruments. We have to develop skills individually, just like anyone else does.

6) We use different pronouns and have different sexualities. For our system personally, we're all female. But that's not necessarily the case for all systems. You can even have alters that aren't the same species as the others. Also, who we are attracted to romance wise is entirely different.

7) We like/dislike different people. Faith has some friends who she loves to pieces, but I can't stand. We have our own personalities, and by default, we have our own taste in company.

8) Yes, we're referred to as "alters" or "personalities", but we aren't like... masks that the host puts on. We are separate individuals. We are as legitimate and fully formed as the host, and we stand separate from them.

9) Not all of us enjoy our job. Just cause we have a job to do, and are good at it, doesn't mean that we like doing it, or don't wish that we had someone else's job. We still do our job because it's important, but sometimes we do long for a different purpose. But, some of us live our jobs, too. It all depends on who the alter is.

10) The host isn't the boss. Yes, it's technically "their" name and body that we all use. But that doesn't mean that they control the rest of us or get to tell us what to do. Some systems do appoint a sort of "boss" to keep things in order. But not all do. We're all equal, and we all share the Body. It's all of ours, regardless of who's appearance/name it's attached to.

Okay anyway, I hope that helped clarify some things. Again, this isn't meant to call anyone out or be rude. Please continue to ask questions because that's how you learn. This is just something common that came up a lot, and I had to correct people on quite frequently. So I just thought that it was important enough to address it in a chapter. So yeah. Here it is.