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Astraea Multiple Personality FAQWe welcome your comments! Please send feedback through our mail form! http://www.astraeasweb.net/returnform/mailform.html We appreciate that many of our readers wish to be anonymous. But if you have a question for us, please provide us with an email address so we can answer your question. Wanna banner? Advertise us on your own site. http://www.astraeasweb.net/banners.html What is this FAQ For?To bring to the public the following facts:1. Multiplicity is real. 2. Multiplicity is not always the result of child abuse, and many people are naturally multiple. 3. It is perfectly possible for multiples, whether or not they have a background of abuse, to live fully responsible, functional, productive lives without needing to integrate or even be in therapy. 4. There are lots of us. Walking around all over. We're just in the closet. But we aren't going away. - Shiu of Amorpha, http://www.dreamshore.net/amorpha Our #1 Questions
"I was just diagnosed..."Do you feel that your therapist was correct? Do you feel that you are sharing your body with others? Keep that in mind as you're reading this or anything else on multiplicity. Just diagnosed? Confused and maybe afraid? For some common-sense advice: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/faq.shtml#new "I'm doing a report on this for school. Where can I get a copy of..." Go to http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/books.html for our book list. We don't support or advocate what's in those books; they are there solely because our readers constantly ask us for them. If you need technical assistance getting your paper done, try astraea's research and editing service, http://www.astraeasweb.net/info.html. "Where can I get a copy of the film version of Sybil?" "Will Sybil ever be released on DVD?" "What's this I hear about a remake?" http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/books.html#sybilfilm That's all the info we have on the film and the remake. Please don't base your judgement of multiplicity, or these pages, on Sybil or on the real-life Shirley Mason. She was not a typical multiple personality, and many aspects of her case are controversial. We carry this information only because so many people have written to us asking for it. "Are there any actual good books you can reccomend? Are there any books written by actual multiples themselves?" Go to http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/books.html for our book list. Books by multiples include Truddi Chase's When Rabbit Howls and Cameron West's First Person Plural. Each is written from a very personal perspective and should not be taken as representative of typical multiple experience, although Truddi Chase was the first to provide examples of such common experiences as co-running and co-presence. "Please send me any links you can think of about..." "Any link you could reference please feel free to send me..." "PLEASE TELL ME WHERE I MIGHT FIND SPECIFIC INFORMATION- REFER ANY LINK OR BOOK" We will do this for $40 an hour. More information here: http://www.astraeasweb.net/info.html Other than that, use the web page; it's your best resource. http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/ http://www.astraeasweb.net/politics/ http://www.astraeasweb.net/religion/ contain hundreds of links, everything we have. If what you need is not anywhere on our pages, then use a search engine. "Are there places where people talk about being multiple?" Astraea Contacts http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/contacts.html Astraea Links http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/personal.html Find a Chatroom http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/contacts.html#chat "Are there places where friends and family of multiples can get support?" At present, we're in search of one. "Do you have a message board?" We decided not to have a message board, for a lot of reasons. "Do you have a chat facility?" No. "Are you affiliated with Divided Hearts, Mosaic Minds, Shattered Selves, Split Angels, Enchanted Wings, WeRMany..." No. We are completely independent, owned and operated by us. We do not share most views of classic MPD/DID organizations, and have very little in common with them. "You name a lot of other pages -- Amorpha, Shaytar, the Jin'tari, the Blackbirds, etc. Are these members of your group or are these other multiples, having their own separate physical bodies?" They are other multiples with their own separate physical bodies. They are not us. The only handle we use for ourselves on the website is astraea. On Livejournal, we are ksol1460. "Is there any group for multiples that you do endorse or would recommend?" With some reservations, you might try http://multiplicity.livejournal.com/. It's a very large community with many different views, and may be confusing, especially to people who are new to these ideas. What is multiplicity?"What is multiplicity?"Multiple personality is the existence of more than one person or mind in a single body. "Is multiplicity caused by physical or sexual abuse in childhood?" Not necessarily. At present, there are a lot of views as to the origins of plurality, and a lot of systems believe it simply doesn't matter. Some people think it has to do with differing brain structures, and others with how the mind is conditioned by societal and cultural cues in childhood. Our view is that plurality, or an inclination towards plurality, is something which is naturally present in the human mind to some degree or another. The way in which it is experienced depends upon what the individual mind chooses to make of it. (thanks Amorpha! http://www.dreamshore.net/amorpha) Read Multiple Personality Is Natural by Andy Temple http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/theory.html "If multiplicity is not caused by child abuse, why do all multiples in the literature have backgrounds of child abuse?" Because they're the ones who have come to the attention of the doctors who write such things. People come to therapists for help with all sorts of life problems. Many psychological problems are caused by some form of child abuse. Some of the people who come to therapy are multiple. Voiola. Cornelia Wilbur, in defining and describing multiple personality for modern psychiatry, assumed that multiplicity was always caused when a child suffers severe trauma and "dissociates" for protection. This is true for some, but it is not universal. Early doctors such as Theodore Fluornoy believed that dissociation and multiplicity were caused by societal oppression, but they had a slightly different take on what dissociation was. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was common to prevent intelligent girls from being educated because medical experts of the time believed excessive thought wrecks up the uterus. Boys who wanted an education (especially if they wanted to be ministers) often ran up against fathers who wanted them to take over the family business, or get a "real job". So they had to repress and deny parts of their mental and emotional life that had been declared off limits. The idea was that if a person had enough of these dissociated bits, they might reach critical mass and form a second personality. This was not the only origin story being considered at the time. Spiritualist type phenomena, including spirit visitation, were taken very seriously by many doctors (see more about this at http://www.survivalafterdeath.org). Persons in multiple systems who claimed to be spirits, such as Doris Fischer's Margaret, were often taken at their word as being what they said they were until proved otherwise. There were also Oliver Sachs-like accounts of multiple personality manifesting after a head injury. It was Dr. Pierre Janet who redefined dissociation in the early 1900s, as distancing oneself from reality following trauma. His writings formed the basis of Wilbur's definitions. "Why do doctors say that a person has to be traumatized before a certain age?" "Does this have anything to do with having imaginary friends?" An anonymous contributor writes: "Most MPD/DID studies try to make their ideas correspond to relevant theories of cognitive development. That's where you get all of the seemingly random cut-off ages for becoming multiple [If you do not pass go before X stage, you fail.] The formation of imaginary friends occurs during the same stages where many of them think MPD/DID begins to form so they incorprate this into their ideas. They don't really think that imaginary friends are the beginning of MPD/DID. (Jay says: When that happens, it's probably more about soulbonds.) Click here for an example of the kind of psychiatric view the above contributor means.
"Is it possible to know or discover that you are multiple without ever having been diagnosed by a professional?" Healthy Multiples & Empowerment"But this leads me to the question, what is a healthy multiple?"A healthy multiple is a group of persons living in one body, who have established some form of communication or a way to keep track of what is going on in the world-at-large; who run the physical life in a responsible way; who are functioning reasonably well in terms of activities of daily living; who do not use their multiplicity as an excuse to mistreat or take advantage of other people. In brief, a group for whom multiplicity is not a problem, a disorder, or a sickness, but simply the way they are. Healthy multiples come from a variety of origins from trauma/splitting to natural/born that way. "Then the fact that you are a multiple is not an indication that something is not healthy?" Right. Well-meaning counselors often point to the fact of multiplicity as "proof of trauma" -- in other words, that being multiple, in and of itself, means that Something Bad Happened. It is a sort of prejudice, to assume that the body should be allotted only one mind, one soul, and that the presence of more than one indicates something wrong. "Or is this a healthy response to extreme situations?" It can be. Some multiples really did originate in the splitting of a single self due to some form of childhood trauma (it doesn't have to be sexual abuse). This doesn't prevent them from resolving their issues and living a healthy life together as a system. It's simply that not all multiples fit the abuse/splitting profile. "I've heard the expression 'empowered multiple' used -- does that mean a multiple who has never been abused or has never been in therapy?" No, this is an unfortunate misconception due to a popular article which the author (not someone in our system) has since withdrawn. Most often, it refers to multiples who do not take a victim stance and who are self-sufficient. Again, according to Jade Shaytar's original definition of empowerment -- Taking responsibility for your own life, learning to care for your own household/system/group/selves and self, building teamwork and cooperation, setting healthy boundaries and standing strong against those who would use or abuse you.That's right. Any multiple system can be empowered. Empowerment is the ability to take responsibility for one's life and make conscious choices rather than simply going along with what someone else says. Empowerment is for all multiples. It is not only for natural (non-trauma) multiples; you can be empowered and be a multiple who was born as one person and split due to child abuse. In fact, if that's your situation, empowerment is a wonderful thing for you, and is something your therapist (if any) ought to be encouraging. Empowerment does not mean rejecting therapy, or even medication, if those are helpful to the system. Empowerment is simply placing a high value on being able to choose, rather than becoming overly dependent on authority to define and guide your life. Even a therapist -- even a good one. Empowerment also means the right to interpret one's own system, rather than automatically believing everything therapists (or anyone else) tell you about yourselves. Empowered multiples are those whose people learn to cooperate, perhaps to communicate with each other (whether through notes or directly), to organise themselves into a responsible operating system, and see multiplicity as a positive part of their lives --regardless of how their multiplicity originated. Myths & Misconceptions"How can you be a multiple personality... you seem so normal."You know how much nonsense there is on television... why should it be any different when it comes to multiplicity? "All of the multiples on TV are crazy. ... if that's a misportrayal and multiples aren't crazy, why do scriptwriters do that?" Because it sells. "Does that mean you have them under control?" I should say not. I wouldn't be caught dead running this damn penny-ante outfi... oh! I see what you mean. You're asking if we have a responsible operating system! Well, I'm proud to answer that we do. Having a coherent, responsible operating system is something all multiples can and should work for. It's something that can be developed even if your system is not co-conscious -- and even if you can't talk to each other. We know several systems who have very little co-consciousness. They use lists and memos to keep track of things, and are successfully employed. The key is not necessarily communication, but cooperation and responsibility. The will to be responsible, to take charge of the body's daily life and run it in a way that benefits the group. Have a look at the In Essence Pledge and the principles behind it. http://www.karitas.net/courts/in_essence/agreement.html Ours is at http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/inessence.html "I was just wondering about the relationship between multiple personality and schizophrenia. Are they always linked, because it seems to me that the intelligence resulting from multiple personalities can be directly linked to this." Multiple personality has no relationship to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a biochemical imbalance which causes disorganized thinking and inability to sort out and make sense of everyday sensory input. For more about schizophrenia, go to http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/schizophrenia/a/schizothink.htm Multiple personality is the existence of more than one person or mind in a single body. It is not caused by biochemical imbalance; it is a matter of neurological hardwiring. It is not a thought disorder: it is a way of being in the world. It is a way of thinking and relating to one's other selves and to the world-at-large. You might try to find a copy of Eugene Bleuler's original Dementia Praecox book from 1911. His description of schizophrenia as groups of psychological complexes or functions which take turns as the dominant focus of the personality is probably partly responsible for the misunderstanding. The first serious research into multiplicity was being done about the same time (Dr. Walter Prince was working with Doris Fischer for instance). Having multiple personalities is not related to superior intelligence or creativity! It is not related to intelligence in any way. It's not a matter of multiples being superior so much as that the combination of skills in any system/household can make it seem like we're able to do and understand a whole heck of a lot more. - Shaytar^Romy Schizophrenia is not caused by superior intelligence, nor are people of above-average intelligence more likely than anyone else to have schizophrenia. Click here for the facts on schizophrenia and high intelligence. "I know multiplicity is not a disorder, because it takes a special kind of person to be multiple... it requires superior intelligence and creativity." This elitist notion was propagated in the late 1980s by a group of therapists -- Dr. Ralph Allison among them -- who were so taken with the idea of multiplicity that they formed a sort of cult around the notion that multiples always start as hyperintelligent, psychically gifted children. While we can appreciate the overcompensation -- disorganized systems and even well-organized ones often feel they are crazy and stupid -- the myth of the gifted multiple is not helpful to us. It has no more validity than saying we are all deranged serial killers. It portrays us as a race of possibly dangerous superbeings. Again, multiplicity is a group of persons sharing one body: they're capable of being just as smart or as just as stupid as anyone else. For instance, Billy Milligan^Ragen and Nira Nevins^Jimmy both committed bank robbery -- which is among the most stupid of crimes. Having multiple personalities is not related to superior intelligence or creativity. It is not related to intelligence in any way. "i once suggested to a therapist in a group that specialised on mpd/did perhaps,, i used more then the 10 percent of my brain that most people used and was higher evolved then the average person, and that maybe they might consider that it was not an illness at al Well I bet you can guess how that went over" We don't take too kindly to such statements either. We are not impressed by the idea that multiples are more highly evolved. That is a myth, and a crypto-fascist myth at that. It is an urban legend which is doing multiples much more harm than good. Please read "Multiples Are Not Intrinsically Superior" by Romy Shaytar: http://www.bentspoons.com/Shaytar/soapbox/notsuperior.shtml "MPD is a recent phenomenon -- there were no cases prior to Sybil -- then an explosion of diagnoses in the 80s and 90s. Doesn't this prove that multiplicity is a fad diagnosis and a fraud?" Reports of multiple personalities -- not necessarily Sybil-type MPD -- have existed since ancient times. The Greek belief in daemons -- spirits who gave helpful or harmful advice -- was actually a complex doctrine which, among other things, explained multiplicity. Jesus is described as doing an exorcism for an apparent multiple who had epilepsy in Mark 5:1-20. In 1646, the German physician Paracelsus wrote of a woman who said someone was stealing money from her. It turned out to be a second self. Multiple personality used to be called Gmelin's syndrome after Dr. Eberhardt Gmelin who in 1791 wrote up a detailed report about a German lady with "exchanged personality". Her one other self spoke French and behaved like a French aristocrat. Gmelin wrote that multiplicity could be a "royal road" to understanding how personality was formed. He did not see it as a disability. Therapy"Is there a cure for multiplicity?"Not in the popular sense of therapy and integration, as seen in the movies. From what we understand from integrated multiples, it is more like being "in recovery". One never stops being multiple, but one learns to think and react with a single behavior pattern rather than each person in the group having her or his own unique response. "Are drugs effective in the treatment of multiple personality?" This is controversial, and it depends on what you call treatment. According to Dr. David Caul, the psychiatrist who worked with Billy Milligan, many multiples tend not to respond well to psychoactive medications. He believed that neuroleptics like Haldol, Thorazine and Stelazine should never be given to multiples because it destroys ability to communicate with each other in-system and create a functional cooperative. Today, some doctors prescribe these and other antipsychotics for multiples, in therapy where the goal is to make the voices stop, to destroy the frontrunner's awareness of the others and return to so-called normal behaviour as a single person. This assumes that all people who claim to be multiple are actually delusional and only think there are others. It is not realistic to expect the people in a plural system to disappear forever as a result of drugging the body. Some people in multiple systems (ours included), have done very well with a course of antidepressants or anti-anxiety meds to assist with stress or depression having nothing to do with multiplicity but simply ordinary life problems, Most people in multiple systems we know personally (ours included) do better with herbal medicines. They also report good luck with life extension vitamins and alternative physical therapies (chiropractic, Rolfing) in helping their mental and emotional outlook as well as physical problems. Bear in mind -- stress, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions happen to everyone. Being multiple does not necessarily cause these reactions, although living in an increasingly frenetic, conformist society in which multiplicity is acknowledged only as a hoax or a mental disease can certainly cause its share of emotional suffering. Negative emotions are not necessarily an indication of unresolved trauma. They are part of ordinary life in the world-at-large. They come with the package. In fact, they can be very healthy and useful. (Think of the anger over injustice which led many to join the civil rights movement.) Your therapist, if any, should be helping you to find ways to express and release negative feelings, not merely to suppress them with pills or positive thinking. "Our therapist wants to integrate us. He keeps saying that we'll all feel much better as one person and that nobody really dies." If you do not want to integrate, he has no business trying to talk you into it. Tell him this. You are paying him to help you guys, not to force you into some imagined standard of normal behavior. His business is to help you with life problems, and assist you to be functional in activities of daily living. These things do not necessarily require integration. If you and the others in your system talk it over and decide on integration, that's different -- it's your choice. Read Andy's essay on integration: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/integrate.html "I've been reading your website. Are you serious.. you mean I don't HAVE to integrate?" No, you do not. There are multiple households who live successfully in a cooperation of many. Some of them are natural multiples, others had a trauma/splitting origin. Any multiple system can do this; it is not just for natural plurals. To see some of their webpages, go to: Personal Pages http://astraeasweb.net/plural/personal.html Contact Resources http://astraeasweb.net/plural/contacts.html We particularly recommend Amorpha: Collective Phenomenon http://www.dreamshore.net/amorpha 4+20: The Blackbirds http://www.karitas.net/blackbirds/indexmain.html The Shire: Those That Walk http://thosethatwalk.tripod.com Stardance : Shaytar http://bentspoons.com/Shaytar (no longer updated) "You're pretty down on mental health professionals, and I've noticed this kind of attitude from other multiples. Why do many multiples advise against seeking professional help?" Gina of the Hondas has this answer: "We don't necessarily advocate against professional assistance for those who need and/or want it. If you are having problems dealing with your system to the point where you cannot function in everyday life, or you feel that you would be best served by seeking a doctor's advice, then you should look into that. Your primary concern should be your own best interests. "However, by that same token, if you are a functional multiple, it may not always be in your best interests to ask for a doctor's opinion. Many professionals simply refuse to believe that multiplicity exists, and more than one multiple has been misdiagnosed with conditions such as manic depression, psychosis, or schizophrenia. In fact, the DSM-IV (diagnostic code 295.x) contains a provision that allows one to be diagnosed as schizophrenic solely on the basis of "hallucinations [that] consist of a voice keeping up a running commentary on the person's behavior or thoughts, or two or more voices conversing with each other." Note that most multiples "hear" voices, but they are not external, auditory hallucinations; they are natural internal communication channels. People who are misdiagnosed are often given powerful psychotropic drugs that can cloud thinking, as well as make it very difficult for system members to communicate with each other." And we would add the following. From our correspondence, it seems that psychologists and mental health professionals today are inclined to diagnose as "psychotic" those who present for therapy stating that they know themselves to be plural. Neuroleptic medications and often hospitalization follow. We have heard enough of these reports, especially from younger people, to convince us that it is unwise to disclose to any mental health professional today. "Does a diagnosis of DID automatically mean I have to be hospitalised?" It doesn't automatically mean anything. Every multiple system is different. Why go to a hospital just because you are multiple? Psychiatric hospitals, stress care centers and DDUs are for people who have other problems which cause them to be unable to take care of themselves. We hear far more hospital horror stories (like Delacroix's, http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/delacroix.html) than reports of decent care and help for multiples. Many mental wards today are very behaviorist oriented, which means that improvement is judged by compliance -- doing exactly as you are told. If your doctor seems to be recommending hospitalization on no grounds other than that you are multiple, don't be afraid to question him closely on this. Find out what your options are, using a site like http://www.harborside.com/~equinox/. (See also: Mindfreedom http://www.mindfreedom.org/ Natl. Assn. for Rights Protection & Advocacy http://www.narpa.org/index.html and to find out about the drugs they give you: Dr. Peter Breggin http://www.breggin.com/ No, none of these are Scientology sites. Breggin is not a Scientologist. "Could you explain the fact that multiples who 'switch' experience changes in visual acuity, allergies, etc?" "I am interested in the research which I have heard about. This research showed that MPD patients changed physiology as well as physical characteristics. There were reports of diabetic vs. hypoglycemic symptoms. Can you help?" It is not always a "fact" that these types of changes occur, and there was never any research. Drastic changes in the body depending on who was up front were reported by a few doctors in the popular literature (not peer-reviewed journals) of the 1980s. These psychologists were very noncritical and did not do any type of controlled study. They were prone to making extreme statements in interviews -- for instance, Eugene Bliss in Omni called multiples "messengers of the gods", implying that we were the next step in human evolution. The reported amazing accomplishments of multiples are still claimed to be scientific proof that the mind can accomplish seemingly impossible things just by believing. The reader is supposed to assume that because a psychologist reported something, that constitutes scientific proof. These extreme claims are invariably connected with the myth of severe abuse and dissociation as required to produce a multiple -- as if child abuse were a kind of mystical initiation rite. (more about this at http://www.dreamshore.net/amorpha/sourgrapes.html). We are not skeptics, but we need to see more evidence, and we notice that none of these people are reported to fly, for instance. That said: We are talking about different persons sharing a body. Brain/mind studies show that the holographic brain model is useful in understanding how people in multiple groups can have different brainwave patterns, eyeglass prescriptions, allergies, biochemistry, etc. (more about holographic brain at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_brain). Each person in the system apparently develops his or her own neural net. Apparent changes in height and facial characteristics are caused by different people in the group holding themselves differently, with different amounts of muscle tension and relaxation. As far as the allergies and the so-called physiological changes; If each person in the group is feeling a bit differently, those feelings will affect the body's biochemistry. The most common physiological changes in multiples are changes in heart rate and blood pressure. (Thank you, Dr. Mohan Nair, for demystifying this experience.) Amorpha point out: "Brainwave changes and differing physical reactions can and have been measured and verified, but the degree to which physical reactions of selves differ is by no means constant between systems, and single persons can be taught to change physical reactions without any essential change in self (think of the yoga masters they sometimes show on TV)". Read an article about brainwave changes: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/mri.html Read about one group experiencing physiological changes: http://www.karitas.net/courts/semp.html
What's it like?"What's it like to be multiple?"For us, it is a constant sense that many people are present. For every person who is up front, running the body in the earth world, there are two or three others who may be hanging around observing, making comments, or just listening in. The feeling of manyness, of knowing there is always someone close by, is very comforting to us. "If a person does not define and accept that he has "multiples", this means he sort of gets "lost in space", doesn't it, because he has no idea what is going on?" Yes, it can really feel like the Twilight Zone. It can feel confusing, disorienting, or downright crazy. Learning to accept that the other people are there, and that communication is possible, will help make it feel less crazy. "Is it possible for someone with this condition to switch at will?" Yes. In a group with even imperfect communication, whoever is out or "up front" can certainly ask for someone else to come out. "Are there certain chosen ones for this task or do you choose by random?" This was asked on a forum -- talking about whether we specifically ask people to become frontrunners or if anyone can come up front. In our case, anyone can come up front, and we have protocols in place so that those who wish to front are automatically briefed, so there is no "memory loss" or "time loss" (actually continuity loss). Other groups have other ways of managing frontrunners and front time. Some have a setup like a business, with offices and departments and people fronting in shifts. We know two groups who even employ temps.
"Can two or more persons be present at once?" Other Worlds/ Gateway Systems"Some multiples on the internet have written about living in different dimensions or on different planets. I also hear the expression "gateway multiple" or "gateway system". What do they mean?"They are referring to the subjective experience of living in another physical space when they are not up front (using the body). This has been colloquially referred to as inner worlds, although we resist calling it that and prefer other worlds. You might have a look at: Phoenix Household (New address) http://www.dreamshore.net/phoenix/ The Shire: Those That Walk http://thosethatwalk.tripod.com/ Cartaala http://www.dreamshore.net/cartaala Maede: The Fenners http://maede.karitas.net Stardance : Shaytar http://bentspoons.com/Shaytar/ (no longer updated) It is important to understand that many people who experience personal worlds -- both multiple and singlet -- view these environments as subjectively real, not as therapeutic constructs such as analogising toward a "dialogue of parts", "visualising a safe place where your alters can talk to each other." That can be valid too, but it is not our experience, nor that of many of our correspondents. Multiples who experience living in other worlds when not up front may think of their earth body as a portal or gateway from their own world to the earth world or world-at-large -- that is, present-day physical consensus reality. That is where the expression "gateway system" came from. It was originally coined by Stardance : Shaytar and Bekaio systems to describe their personal experiences. Astraea are also a gateway system who experience a homeworld in a parallel dimension. "Do only multiples have such worlds?" No. Personal or subjective worlds and languages are often overlooked or dismissed as fantasy because Western society has a low opinion of subjective experience, but many people have felt that they perceived another world, or even that they belonged somewhere else, to a different place or time. Some have written about it. Islandia -- Austin T. Wright http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1585671487/astraeaswebmulti A Dreamer's Tales -- Lord Dunsany http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1587157306/astraeaswebmulti The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath -- H.P. Lovecraft (entire text on line here) This is one of Lovecraft's few non-horror adventure novels. Glasstown, Angria and Gondal: Brontë Juvenilia. Michael J. A. Howe describes the imaginary world chronicled by the Brontë children, revealing their sources of inspiration in the experiences of real people and the places they read about: http://www.fathom.com/feature/122071/.
Here's the chapter from the official Brontë biography, where Charlotte describes how the plays got started. In their teenage years, they wrote a lot of what is now called "real person fanfiction", mostly about the Duke of Wellington and his two sons.
"I hear of people reporting they can travel from their own world to someone else's. Is this actually possible? Is it some form of astral projection?" The only source of information on traveling comes from the stories of people who experience it. One way to determine whether or not a person from X system has indeed visited Y's otherworld is to focus on a certain object or event, remember it upon returning, and confirm it with Y. This is very difficult to do and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't necessarily mean that you haven't actually made the trip. Memory is slippery even in the earth world -- can you remember what you had for breakfast six months ago? -- and people often report that they remember little or nothing of their experiences journeying, or even in their own personal worlds once they come up front. (Statebound abilities and skills are also reportedly common.)
The wisest thing to do is to be certain you trust the other person or group enough to be able to be completely honest with them, and know they are completely honest with you. It's too easy to take advantage of the situation.
"Do two people in the same group ever fall in love or have a sexual or romantic relationship?"
"Are the ages of people in groups 'frozen' in time?"
In some multiple systems, one or two front runners are deliberately excluded from communication with the others. Such a frontrunner is supposed to run things in daily life, believing that he is the one and only person occupying the body. This kind of setup can occur for any number of reasons. If the frontrunner becomes aware of the others, either by accident or by design, a situation can occur similar to what you may have read about in Sybil or When Rabbit Howls. Doctors in the past have made the mistake of believing that ALL multiples run on this setup. In this sense, use of terms like "host" indicate their belief that a single real person is harbouring a number of parasitic alters. This is what you see in magazine articles that talk about "women with MPD" or "living with multiple personalities".
We are aware that some collectives use the word "host" in a different sense, more like "the owner or manager of an inn", or something like the way Victorian Spiritualists thought of multiple personality: a single human being who allows spirits to visit, or to move in for good. We have known one system who referred to themselves as "the host" as in "the heavenly host", meaning just a group. For Multiples"I was just diagnosed ..."The Idian Shire have these words for the newly diagnosed: "Although being told you are multiple can be a shock, it is important to remember you didn't just become multiple when you were diagnosed. You have all been living together for many years now, and probably have a personal style set up already that works reasonably well. Trust yourselves that you know what you are doing. This isn't to say there can't be improvements or you have all the answers. but the truth is usually you all (the whole system) knows what works best for you. Don't rush to believe what others say about multiple experience. It might be true for them, but there are no blanket statements, there is no "one way" to do things. Discuss, test, evaluate every bit of information you receive and decide whether it fits you, don't force anything to fit just because someone says it should. "Try not to buy into what I call the "drama requirement" I often see on other multiple websites and email lists. You don't have to cut, have internal wars, fall apart in public, and countless other dramas to be multiple. If some of those things are aspects of your life then find a way to deal with them, to work through them, whatever. They can be challenging but they aren't insurmountable. They aren't just part of being multiple that you have to put up with. "I don't know how your system works, because well... I'm not a part of it. My last piece of advice, don't trust anyone that says they do, no one outside of your system can know that sort of thing." Thanks to the Idian Shire for stating it more plainly than we ever could. You can visit the people of Idia at http://thosethatwalk.tripod.com. And from Amorpha^Anthea: "Do you feel that your therapist was correct? Do you feel that you are sharing your body with others? Keep that in mind as you're reading this or anything else on multiplicity." "I have looked up info on the internet and dont really understand most of it. Im not sure what is going to happen to me now and Im really kinda scared." Again from Amorpha^Anthea: "The reason I do not recommend searching pages on the clinical model first off is because whether or not you split from abuse, many of them can give you the impression that you immediately have to become dysfunctional after becoming selves-aware. This is not something that anyone should be seeing when they are unsure, confused and frightened. It does not have to be like what you see on those pages. "Take care of yourself, and remember that there are many systems who are living happily and healthily as groups, regardless of how they originated." You can visit Amorpha at http://www.dreamshore.net/amorpha. "I am DID." DID stands for Dissociative Identity Disorder. You're not a disorder. You are a person in a multiple household, who has received an unfortunate label. From Amorpha^Shiu: "You're a disorder, or you have a disorder? Even if your multiplicity is disordered, you aren't your diagnosis. No one calls an anorexic "an anorexia" or a schizophrenic "a schizophrenia." Why not just say you're a multiple?" We urge our readers to please not use the term DID unless it is your official diagnosis, or you feel personally that you are one single person who has dissociated aspects of yourself, or that you were prompted by a therapist to believe you were multiple when you were not. Please check out what a famous doctor says about "DID" at: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/allison.html. If you have multiple personality disorder, say "I (or we, or my system) have MPD". If you have dissociative identity disorder, say "I have DID." And you don't have to say "I am MPD" or "I am DID" when what you mean is "I am multiple." It is inaccurate and psychologically self-sabotaging to refer to oneself in terms of one's diagnosis; even if one actually has a problem that makes one uncomfortable, to say "I am OCD" or "I was diagnosed as being ADHD" is pandering to the therapy culture and the pharmaceutical companies who manufacture and market psychiatric drugs. It reinforces the idea that one never gets better. This is one place we approve of the controversial "person first" language: "I am a person with OCD". "We live in the ____ area. Can you direct us to a therapist who specializes in MPD/DID?" "we are hopeing that you would help us find a therapist near us that will work with us i feel that we need an evaluation with a proffessional that beleaves in the disorder and who will treat us with respect." For a referral service, your best bet is Lynn Wasnak, the founder and general manager of Many Voices Webnews. Write to her at PO Box 2369, Cincinnati, OH 45201-2639. Call her at 513-751-8020. Or write email to her -- lw @ manyvoicespress . com. Many Voices' website is at http://www.manyvoicespress.com/. "can you tell me what i can do to separate the diffrent personalities more? sorry if im wasting your time" Here's what multiple artist and Asperger autistic Bob King says about internal communication: "Well, we couldn't maintain a diary to save our lives. We need to have someone to talk to, about something. Newsgroups and email lists worked better for us, and before then, BBS systems and Role-Playing games. "RPG's in particular, are useful for Protector alters; come to think of it, all of our protectors have played a bit, at least. Not always in their own persona - it's not just useful for individuation, it's useful for skill-building and reaction training. "This may well be one reason why DnD has been condemned as an Agent of The Devil that places Demons in the heads of Innocent Children. (snarl) "The other major thing for us was, and is, artwork. We have at least a half-dozen recognisable individual styles. Talk about a reality check... "Storytelling. Often a good way to share memories too; less brutal than just handing over a memory chip and saying, 'here, deal with it.'" Thanks Bob... you can read more from Bob at http://www.graphictruth.com, which is primarily a political site but has and welcomes articles on multiplicity. "I don't think my multiplicity is due to abuse, because I wasn't abused that bad. My father beats me but only when I get bad grades or tell lies. I wouldn't call that abuse. I was molested by a cousin, but only once, not badly enough to make anything like that happen. I think I am just multiple anyway." We get letters like this all the time. Whether you are multiple or not, if the above is anything like your situation, you are being abused. Parents have no business beating their kids and nobody has any business molesting anyone even "only once". What can you do? Find some way to get out of the abusive situation. It will hurt you and it will hurt the other people in your system, if you have one. Please go to this page and read what you find there: http://www.astraeasweb.net/politics/abuse.html And please read For Your Own Good by Dr. Alice Miller, particularly if you think you DESERVE to be beaten or yelled at or any of those things: http://www.nospank.net/fyog.htm FREE full text on line, or buy your own copy by clicking here. "If I get to know all my other personalities, does that mean I'm integrated and no longer multiple?" No. Communication and cooperation are not integration. "My doctor says there are few real multiples. He says that if the personalities can communicate with each other, it's roleplaying, not true MPD." Your doctor's full of prunes. Specifically, he is operating on an old medical/legalistic assumption that a multiple personality is one whose selves are not aware of one another's actions at all. In legal terms, this definition is used to claim a multiple personality defense (while frontrunner Cheryl took a nap, Brute and Glob got out and robbed a bank). As is often the case, what happens in court has little to do with reality. There certainly are multiples who have little or no awareness of each other at all, but co-consciousness and communication do not negate multiplicity. Do you merge with your co-worker or next-door neighbour if you talk to them? Do they become any less of a person? Course not, and it's the same for multiples, too. Communication is healthy. It makes the whole system stronger, and it lets you find ways to handle Brute and Glob (if any) and perhaps give them something better to do. "Do you think crimes commited while you are another person are your responsibility?" "While you are another person" undoubtedly was meant as "while someone other than yourself is fronting". Any action taken by a group member is his or her own responsibility and that person should bear the consequences (or take the credit if something good). However, because that person is also a member of a multiple system, any action which affects the entire group is the entire group's responsibility as well as that particular individual's. It is a complicated issue, but the short answer to your question is yes. Many groups make pacts like the In Essence pledge (declaring responsibility for their own and one another's actions). See also http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/legal.html "What if I don't like some of them? Some of them are pretty scary!" They may be less scary when you get to know them. Anyway, in every family there's bound to be a few relatives you don't get along with. For The Unsure"I become different people when my emotions get to be too much, but I'm not sure I'm multiple."The definitions of multiplicity have been greatly exaggerated by doctors. There are multiples who never lose time, never have headaches, never feel bombarded with voices or memories, never have any of the classic signs you see on TV. The only way to find out is to talk to the other people, or leave notes for them, and see if they reply. (And do not be afraid if they do.) "I keep hearing these voices but I couldn't possibly be multiple." Why not? What do the voices say? Did you ever try talking back to them? Hearing voices really is a part of several different mental and physical conditions, not all of which are psychotic. You could be multiple. Click here to check out the Hearing Voices Factsheet Scroll down to "Finding Meaning In Voices", and remember, most world cultures consider hearing voices to be normal and not a sign of pathology. The Listening Cure: If you hear voices which bother you, try talking back to them. Whether you are multiple or not, British doctors are finding that this is helpful. Click here for more on the Listening Cure See also The Hearing Voices Movement. http://relativestate.net/articles/the-hearing-voices-movement/ And some people hear music! "I feel as if there are others sharing my body with me. But I don't hear voices." We don't hear voices. Lots of multiples don't. If you feel there are others sharing your body, you are multiple as far as we are concerned. "I sort of feel like I might be multiple but sort of not. I feel like I'm somewhere in between." "Is there such a thing as borderline multiplicity?" It is possible that you are a median. "What is a median? I also hear the word 'mid-continuum'." To be median is to be neither multiple nor singlet. Many people feel the idea of a continuum from singlethood to plurality to be inaccurate, so are seeking a term to replace mid-continuum. Probably the main characteristic distinguishing medians from singlets and multiples is the presence of more than one person in the body, but without the independence of persons in a multiple system. Persons in a median system may be dependent upon a single individual (who may have created them at some point), and unable to exist without that central person. Some people in a hosting situation might think of themselves as median. Others describe something like Kiya's situation (see below). A median might feel that something like "there are many of us, but we are really all Karen" or "aspects of Karen" is close to an accurate description for them. (Hosting: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural.glossary.html#host) (Kiya: Kiya's Story) (Beware: many therapists will tell members of multiple systems that they have no independent validity but are really all aspects of the frontrunner or host, or whomever he (the therapist) believes to be such. "You're really all Karen, you know." If you do not feel that this is true for your system, be true to your experience before taking a therapist's word for it -- he is, after all, outside your system, and very probably a singlet, one who has never experienced multiplicity and doesn't know much about what it can be like.) People often mistakenly think must call themselves median or midcontinuum because:
 This diagram by Lucas and Malik of the Blackbirds may help to illustrate the relationships between the multiple / median / singlet experiences. Note that it's fluid, not static -- you might move between various states at different times of your life -- and accounts for groups who feel they are both median and multiple, or median and singlet, etc. My Friend Is ..."I just found out my roommate / stepson / co-worker is a multiple - how can I help?"Why assume they need help? Just get to know them as people. If they are in distress or having trouble organizing their system, your respecting them as individuals -- showing that you feel they're capable of rational thought and behaviour -- is probably the most helpful thing you can do. "If somone is in a system, does one normally date/mate all of them, or just the one... or is she the girlfriend to X amount of people?)" This is controversial. Most people seem to report the experience that they are dating one person in the group, and the others are like getting to know that person's friends, roommates or family members. "My girlfriend has multiple personalities. What do I do when we're having sex and the six-year-old comes out?" What would you tell a six-year-old sister or daughter of your friend if she came in without knocking while you guys were being intimate? "But the six-year-old wants to have sex. Isn't that inappropriate?" Ask your girlfriend. "If I am dating someone who is multiple and later become intimate with another person in his system, am I cheating on him?" What kind of relationship did you guys agree you wanted to have at the outset... did you want to be exclusive, or did you agree to an open relationship in which it's all right to date other people? It doesn't matter if the other guy is a person in his system or a separate physical individual. All kinds of relationships can work... open, exclusive, whatever. The key is communication and agreeing on what kind of relationship you want and sticking to it. Or if you want to change it later, negotiation. "I love my girlfriend very much. How can I relate to the people in her group with respect and compassion?" By seeing them all as individuals with thoughts and feelings and attitudes of their own, some of them very different from your girlfriend's. By proceeding from the assumption that they are strong, capable and responsible human beings. "Somedays it is frustrating for me to see the body of the person I love, but it is someone that hates me and wants to leave me or perhaps it is one of the littles and I see this adult playing with toys and acting like a 5 year old." "In the first place, your adult SO cannot be said to be acting. If a five-year-old is up front, she is 5 years old. They are not all your SO acting like someone or something else. They are the people they are. Don't be confused by the fact that the body remains an adult one, that it doesn't change when the people do. Young persons in multiple systems are not pretending to be children. This is not a game; this is not "I'm bored, I think I'll act like a kid now." They are people.. being who they are." Again, our thanks to the Idian Shire for their clarity of thought and language. You can visit the people of Idia at http://thosethatwalk.tripod.com. And this from Netdancer: "If someone tells you that they are something, laughing at them or ignoring them or being rude enough to tell them that they aren't is also very invalidating. If someone says they are eight years old, treat them as a child. If someone tells you they are a vampire, or an elf, or a dragon or a demon, they are telling you that because that -is- what they are inside their Paradigm. They're trusting you with the information." (Full article at http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/netdancer.html) "Everybody has different sides to their personality." SybilPlease don't base your judgement of multiplicity, or these pages, on Sybil or on the real-life Shirley Mason. She was not a typical multiple personality, and many aspects of her case are controversial. We carry this information only because so many people have written to us asking for it."Where can I get a copy of the film version of Sybil?" "Is it true that CBS Television is planning a remake of Sybil?" "Is it true that Warner plans to re-issue the original Sybil on DVD?" http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/books.html#sybilfilm That's all the info we have on the film and the remake. Please do not email us with inquiries. Everything we find out will be posted to that link and to http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/controversy.html#sybil Also, here's a new site for you: http://www.sybilsfriend.com Sybil's friend and student Nancy Preston created this nice tribute site. (Opens in a new window) "What is the controversy about Shirley Ardell Mason, the real person on whom Sybil was based?" After her death, some people came forth claiming that Shirley Mason had not really been multiple and presenting some dubious evidence that supposedly proved her doctor had talked her into it. Click Here To Read Articles On The Sybil Controversy
"Do you have any further information about the film that is being made on the real Sybil, Shirley Mason?" All articles about Shirley Mason on our website, including information about her life, the controversy surrounding her multiplicity and therapy, the documentary film, and sales of Shirley's art are at http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/controversy.html#sybil. When new information comes to us, we post it there immediately. Please note that Shirley Mason was not a typical multiple personality and that her case remains controversial. We provide this information only because we have been flooded with email requests for it. "Why don't you sell Nancy Preston's book on Sybil?" Because no book distributor has yet offered it for sale, so we can't link to it. It was supposed to have been released two years ago. In the meantime, you can see her nice website at http://www.sybilsfriend.com. "Do you have any photographs of Shirley Mason showing her different selves?" The only photograph we have of Shirley Mason is the one on the colophon of each of our articles about her. We have no photographs of other multiples. "Where online can I read about the childhood of Ms. Mason? Is there a site to find info on her dramatic events?" Not that we know of, or we'd have linked to it. Why don't you just buy the book and read it? "Did you know Shirley Mason or Dr. Wilbur personally?" No. "How can I contact Dr. Cornelia Wilbur?" Unfortunately, Dr. Wilbur died in 1992. "I understand that the personal papers of Dr. Wilbur were opened in 2005. Will they be open to the public?" Not to our knowledge. However, there is no reason to believe that the general public will be allowed access to her personal papers. There is still no word on when or if her professional records will be opened, and it is likely that this will not happen anytime soon due to issues of client confidentiality. Additionally, it is our understanding that Dr. Wilbur kept very incomplete records, and sometimes did not keep charts or records on her clients at all. Any information we gather on Shirley Mason and Dr. Wilbur will be posted to http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/controversy.html#sybil. Truddi Chase"Who is Truddi Chase?"http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/books.html#chase Click here to read our assessment of When Rabbit Howls: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/rabbithowls.html Interview with Truddi -- Partial transcript of one of their interviews with Oprah Winfrey, including a summary of what they're doing now: Truddi Chase Today. "Is there any way I can locate and view the video of therapy sessions with Truddi Chase and Dr. Phillips? If not, is there any video out there I can view on MPD? I know enough about the disorder, I would prefer to see a patient or the changes that take place when switching to different personalities." (Yes, we really did get this inquiry in an email.) According to Truddi Chase&, the videos that were made of her group's therapy sessions were meant to be shown to members of a class or classes that Robert A. Phillips taught, probably at either Johns Hopkins, Georgetown University or the University of Maryland. They have never been released to the public. A very short clip was shown on Oprah. We have no contact information for Dr. Phillips or Ms. Chase&. In our experience, both as a multiple and having known ten other multiples personally (five of them extremely well) -- that is, not on line -- the concept that there are perceivable changes that take place when there's a change of frontrunners is cinematic rather than fact-based. When Joanne Woodward was preparing for Three Faces of Eve, she viewed NIMH films of multiples and could detect no discernible behavior indicating a switch. She chose to bow her head to indicate a change, but this is a theatrical gesture, not based on reality. It might be very difficult to find what you're looking for. If you get to know a multiple personally, and if they trust you enough to let you see different people, you might be able to distinguish one from another, but you may never see discernible behavior at changeover. Also, films such as Three Faces of Eve and Sybil should not be viewed as educational: that is, you should not be watching these pictures to learn "how a real multiple acts" or as modeling behavior characteristic or desirable for a multiple. Billy Milligan"What is Billy Milligan doing now?"The Billy Milligan group are alive and well in California. They are hard at work on preparations for a film called "The Crowded Room", based on their life story. They worked with Danny DeVito, and at one time hoped to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy. Milligan& are still quite multiple and handling it successfully. As their therapist, the late Dr. David Caul, said: "It seems to me that after treatment you want a functional unit, be it a corporation, a partnership, or a one-owner business". Here is what Alan of Billy's group told us when we spoke to him several years ago. He is very skeptical of most claims of traditional or classic MPD: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/milligan.html "Are any of Billy's paintings for sale?" Unknown. "What's the status of the movie about Billy Milligan?" Development heck. Joel Schumacher, according to Variety, has signed on as the latest in a long series of directors including Todd Field, James Cameron, Nick Cassavetes, Gus Van Sant, and Steven Soderbergh. Read a proposed script of The Crowded Room here: http://www.hundland.com/scripts/A-Crowded-Room.txt. This will probably NOT be much like what you will see on the screen. "Where can I get a copy of 'The Minds of Billy Milligan?'" Click here to buy copies of "Minds of Billy Milligan": http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/books.html#milligan "Where can I get a copy of ....." Please buy your books on multiplicity through our books page! http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/books.html "Please add my book to your book list." Sure, if it's about the experience of multiplicity. We will not add any more books about multiplicity as a tragedy, a disorder, a coping strategy, or something to be healed from -- particularly through integration. And if it's about trauma, crisis, survivorship and dissociation, and doesn't focus on multiplicity, there are much more appropriate book lists than ours for that kind of thing, including an excellent professional one, http://www.sidran.org. About Us"Are you a health care professional?/ Are you a mental health professional?"No. Our education mostly consists of English literature, folklore, anthropology and American history. We have a bachelor's degree in English. We have an extensive background in volunteer radio, audio production, and amateur journalism. Andy has some paralegal training. Our work experience is about evenly divided between clerical positions and self-employment. See our note on occupations below. "When were you diagnosed?" Never. "If you have never been diagnosed as a multiple, how do you know you are?" Because we've been aware of each other's presences for our entire lives. "I find it very strange that someone who has never been in therapy and never been diagnosed as a multiple is claiming to be so knowledgeable about it and has so many STRONG opinions about the subject." Why is it so strange? Do you really think the mental health system has the patent on multiplicity? Or on strong opinions for that matter? Do you place so little value on personal experience? We find it very strange that mental health professionals who may never have been in therapy themselves and have certainly never been diagnosed as multiple are claiming to be so knowledgeable and have so many strong opinions on a subject of which they have had no personal experience. Take our word for it. We're here, we're multiple, get used to it. "Are you saying you've never had any psychological problems or hangups? That you've never needed help from anyone?" Absolutely not. Everyone in this world has psychological problems and hangups, and we are no exception. These problems did not have to do with our being multiple. We didn't enter psychotherapy because we couldn't afford it and because we had friends and family and each other, all better listeners than any mental health professional for the issues we were experiencing. "What gives you the right to speak on these issues?" Because we are multiple. We are a group of people sharing a body. We have our own experience to draw on plus that of friends and others who have corresponded with us. The information in this FAQ is taken from those sources. "You act like you have all the answers." If we thought we did, we wouldn't link to other pages or sell all those books. "You seem obsessed with multiplicity." You may prefer our pages on politics, religion, or music. http://www.astraeasweb.net/politics/ http://www.astraeasweb.net/religion/ http://www.astraeasweb.net/music.shtml "Are you a $cientologist?" Eeww! "It doesn't make any sense. All multiples experienced some kind of abuse in childhood." Did we say we were never abused? No. There's something of a fundamental error which often goes on here, with the assumption "not created by trauma = has no experience of trauma." Many multiples report that they were multiple before any abuse took place, and some were abused more because they were multiple-- being punished/sent to mental wards/drugged for 'inconsistent behaviour,' 'lying,' 'inability to tell fantasy from reality,' etc. Chris Costner-Sizemore was never abused as a child until she began trying to explain to her parents that another person was respnsible for bad acts seemingly committed by herself.
All PEOPLE have experienced some form of abuse or trauma in childhood. Society is inherently brutal. Much of American culture is based on violence and violation. If trauma caused multiplicity everyone would be multiple. Read about our truth before deciding we are in some kind of denial: http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural/ourtruth.html. How Can I Help?"Oh, I get it...You're real people just like me, who just happen to be in the same body."Yes! Exactly. "How can I help explain this to other people?" Oh, we love it when people ask that! Have some chocolate! There are several things you can do: You can speak to people, when appropriate, clarifying what multiplicity is and isn't. You can direct people to The Layman's Guide to Multiplicity as well as to this FAQ. http://www.karitas.net/blackbirds/layman The Blackbirds have provided a simple brochure giving brief facts in clear fashion. Download this |
