The Crossroads System

Indigenous Two-Spirit System

[crossroads-system]

We've mentioned this once in passing but thought we'd do an official post.

We run a small server on Discord geared as a hangout spot for those in the plurality community. All are welcome as long as y'all are respectful. Its a bit slow right now but we're working on revamping and getting everyone engaged again. If anyone would like to join please feel free to send us an ask or DM and we'll get you the link.

[bebsi-cola]

being muslim or brown or black with mental health issues is so grim rn bc you can be depressed and feeling like shit and if ppl ask why it's like well you see, it's the racism. sometimes it honestly feels like racism isn't an acceptable reason for feeling down, like it's never one of the reasons people think you can be depressed for. and they dunno what to do with it. we're just expected to get on with it or complain about a racist incident and then move on. and people only ever seem to engage with racism when it's an easy conversation with a racist person to mock, and never when it's more serious or threatening. like not sorry I'm not over how much they fucking hate us and I never will be

[this-is-pluralphobia]

We aren’t even endo yet we hate all the endo hate.because of the inherent racism and xenophobia that comes with being anti endo. do you expect people from non western cultures to just throw away their spiritual practices and traditions just because WE (as a community) have trauma? Our personal trauma is horrific and disgusting but we still understand that endos aren’t here to make fun of that, majority of endos is ARE people from non western cultures just trying to participate in it. Stop using your trauma to be xenophobic and racist. Apologies for the rant!

This is pluralphobia, endopluralphobia, xenophobia and racism.

[veggieshyperborea67]

PSA: DO NOT USE FLORALITY. THEY THINK THAT ENDOGENIC SYSTEMS ARE DELUSIONS, WHICH IS LITERALLY BIGOTED NOT ONLY TO PEOPLE WITH SPIRITUAL AND OTHERWISE NON-TRAUMA PLURALITY, BUT TO PEOPLE WITH ACTUAL PSYCHOSIS. WHAT THE FUCK?

[crossroads-system]

Stances like these rely so heavily on abelism and up hold western psychology as if its gospel [completely ignoring that both the ICD and DSM are both built on a bedrock of abuse and medical racism] And the off handed comment about being willing to 'accept' someone else's lived reality only if it's acknowledged by a classist, racist, abelist institution completely ignores all the willful harm they are perpetuating against that group in the interim.

So tired of this bs.

[daydreamers-choir]

We support all people with CDDs! UNLESS YOUR AN ENDO SUPPORTER!!!

okay, but that's not supporting all people with CDDs then now is it?

Your supporting people as long as they have the same bigoted beliefs as you. At the end of the day, anti endos are based, and built off of hate. Just because you find yourself being supported by other bigots now does not mean you are safe. Once you differ from them enough you will also be on the same chopping block as the "endo supporting fakers" you are so bigoted against.

Nonnie

[swarm-sys]

I love being plural

I love my headmates

I love my headmates who front often

I love my headmates who barely front

I love experiencing the world through the lens of plurality

I love being plural

[lastgunfighters]

It is not normal or even healthy to be so obsessed with the way that other people identify, it is not normal to be so obsessed with what labels use to describe what is going on especially when it comes to strangers online. It is very concerning when some systems act like it's this sudden evil thing when another system finds comfort and happiness in their plurality. Why are you bashing on obviously healthy system dynamics? I can only assume jealously and that is not healthy.

Putting other systems down for one reason or another is just super lame and speaks more on you* than anyone else and it just a bad taste in anyone's mouth who reads it especially those directly impacted by the bullying.

I think the attitude also raises the act of fakeclaiming systems that aren't in 24/7 agony and pain (or don't have hatred for being a system). Which is worrying.

To repeat: It is not normal or even healthy to be so obsessed with the way that other people identify, it is not normal to be so obsessed with what labels use to describe what is going on especially when it comes to strangers online.

[crossroads-system]

If this is to much, feel free to ignore.

You talk about having built an irl plural/system community and doing advocacy for plurals and systems in your area. I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how to get into that. I would really like to do more for the plurals and systems where I am but I dont know where I would start (adding on that Im disabled and it can be harder to do things). So if you have any advice id love to hear it!

Thank you for any advice you may provide in advance!!! (Again, no pressure)

Hey no problem 😁 I just wish we had a more concise answer for you than we just kind of fell into it. We made the decision early on that we weren't going to be quiet about being a system. We talk about it extremely openly and because of that we've found ourselves in the midst of a fairly sizable community both online and off. Many of the opportunities we've gotten to community build have come to us by just being loudly ourselves and advocating for our own needs.

That being said I want to make it very clear that being open and loud about being a system/plural doesn't come without its risks. Especially as a disabled individual (we are also). We highly suggest systems/plurals do a very honest inventory for themselves of the possible risks and benefits of being more open about being a system. Shit can absolutely be dangerous and hard. But for us it's absolutely been worth it and we are so incredibly grateful we've lucked into situations where our openness has led to opportunities to build and support systems and plurals both in our community and abroad.

[sweetaplle]

i love getting into anti endo fyp just to see how stupid and closedminded people can be. is this supposed to be satire? there's no way someone can actually say this stuff with a straight face lmfao

saw someone saying in their tags "all my homies hate endos" well fuck you then! i don't want to be near your "homies" <3

saw a post that was like "oh fuck help me i'm in endo land please antiendos interact" see, it's funny cause i saw the exact same post in the endogenic side of things with the roles flipped! how curious

saw an originclaim post that had the most hostile antiendo stuff for no reason saying endos apparently can't use simplyplural or anything like that? strange! then what's my simplyplural account doing? better go shut it down!

this stuff just doesn't even affect me anymore i just block any post that has "anti endo" in the tags. though it has gotten me slightly on edge when i look at the tags of a pro endo post and see "anti endo dni" (like on this post) cause my mind filters out "dni" for a second

anyways, if you're aggressively anti endo and you interact with this post, fuck you! endogenic systems can be systems without trauma! let people be who they be and i'll let you be you as well, but as long as you oppose me about it, you're going straight to my blocked list. and if this ends up on systemcringe, hiiiiiiiii! :3

[crossroads-system]

Ntm how many anti endo arguments will end up just absolutely blatantly racist/ anti Indigenous. I cannot tell you how many times we've seen 'spiritual systems aren't valid' as if discounting spiritual knowledge tied to one's culture and Indigeneity isn't extremely fucking inappropriate.

And if they aren't straight up calling people abelist slurs for having a system tied to spiritual beliefs/practices then it'll be something along the lines of 'that's a closed practice! You can't participate in that! You aren't valid for that!' As if members of closed practices don't actively/actually exist in modern spaces.

It becomes exceedingly clear that systems who use 'closed practices' as a gotcha don't actually give a flying fuck about the actual practice/culture/people because the ONLY time you ever see them even semi recognize the existence of Indigenous knowledge/practices is to try to invalidate someone they don't like/agree with because 'a member of that group couldn't possibly exist in online spaces'.

They act like they give a flying fuck about 'preserving the sanctity of closed practices' or Indigenous specific origins yet very clearly don't think we actually exist.

As an Indigenous person who's cultural knowledge and practices absolutely tie into how my system operates its fucking exhausting to see people CONSTANTLY use the concept of us as a way to attack people they don't like and only ever be mentioned as a gotcha 'you couldn't possibly be valid because you couldn't possibly be a member of xyz group/culture/practice!'

Like just fucking say you don't believe modern day Indigenous people exist and move on with your life. Stop using this 'Indigenous people and their practices are mystical and mysterious and couldn't possibly be in a space I could interact with' as a away to attack people YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.

It's inherently fucking racist.

It makes it blatantly obvious you don't give a flying fuck about the real actual people and real actual cultures you're using as a way to attack and invalidate people online.

It makes it extremely fucking clear that your idea of Indigenous people is locked in some fucked up time warp where Indigenous people of any kind couldn't possibly 1. Stand up for themselves in these spaces 2. Even fucking exist in a modern day space like the internet to begin with.

We are not your gotcha.

We are not your ace in the hole to invalidate systems you don't like.

We and our practices are not stuck in some mythical land that time forgot.

We are real, actual, living in the age of the internet, fucking people and we see you.

We see you using your idea of us to attack other people.

We see you weaponizing our existence against people you don't like.

We see you acting like we only exist in theory.

We see you attacking real life members of these cultural groups with your attempts to 'gatekeep' a cultural and practices that do not belong to you.

We see you treating us like ghosts of our ancestors.

And we're fucking screaming for you to stop.

Your validity should not be built atop a digital grave of our culture.

Your validity should not come at the expense of the people you claim to care about when invoking the phrase 'closed practices'.

Just a stereotype to be dug out the closet and thrust into the faces of whomever you don't like as an excuse to invalidate their existence.

Completely disregarding the real life human beings you're caricaturizing in order to do so.

__________________________________________

To all the Indigenous systems out there from around the world:

We see you.

We feel you.

You are real and valid.

Your frustrations with being used are founded.

Your cultural knowledge and practices have far more value than a gotcha in an internet argument.

From a Turtle Island Native to all Indigenous peoples:

We love you.

[peppercornsystem]

If I hear one more traugenic system call an endo claiming plurality ableism, I’m gonna lose it. Mind you, we’re a traumagenic system. We’re also fucking disabled and use a mobility device (cane). An endo claiming plurality is not fucking ableism. Endo people coming into a plural space is not keeping you from getting good mental healthcare, is the fact that our medical healthcare system is actively built against helping disabled people. I know what ableism looks like, Cheryl.

[crossroads-system]

Seriously. Having to rehash these things over and over again is exhausting. And as a system that does actual advocacy work in real life it's really fucking aggravating when these accounts claim that they are 'advocating for CDDs' by attacking endogenic systems. You aren't. And in fact it shows a severe lack of awareness of what goes into real world advocacy work. It shows a lack of understanding of what resources are already available and why. And what resources are lacking and the systemic reasons why they are lacking.

There is A LOT more we could say on this subject but its late and we're tired.

[crossroads-system]

[Not necessarily less tired but we may be able to get out some of what we mean.]

We've writen and reposted a lot about the racism aspect of denying non medicalized systems and how demonizing systems that aren’t struggling can harm heald or healing CDD systems. If you're looking for any info on that you can check our 'KC posting' tags.

The rest is under the cut because this turned out way longer than we planned.

As for the advocacy part. It's something I write less about mostly because its exhausting 😅 but the short recap on currently available tools and resources is a lot of tools systems of all kinds gravitate towards to help catalog their systems or allow headmates to speak as themselves like Simply Plural and Plural Kit (hell the epithet of Plural vs more medicalized terms to begin with tbh) were created and maintained by endogenic and mixed origin systems. Many of the colloquial/community terms many systems use were created by a mix of endogenic and traumagenic systems. When we aren't fighting each other over origins, our communities can help each other and expand resources and terminology to help better express and name experiences that we may share or may be different.

[Minor edit made to the above section to remove misinformation about the origins of endogenic and traumagenic labels. Apologies]

As for real life advocacy: We have and continue to do a lot of advocacy work in and out of the medical field to find resources for systems that need it. We have in the past worked with a large insurance company in our area to contact and vet every single therapist and psychologist that claimed to specialize in dissociation or dissociative disorders (originally it had started as us looking for a competent professional for our own therapy but as we worked with our insurances BH department they asked us to vet each and report back because they had several other systems looking for support that the company didn't know how to help find resources.) What we found was that 99% of professionals that had claimed they specialized in dissociation/dissociative disorders (nearly 100 different professionals over the span of nearly two years) had straight up lied about knowing anything about CDDs thinking that no one would ever check in about it (something multiple 'professionals' straight up told us after spending an hour session with them asking us to teach them about DID/OSDD). Each time it went something like 1. Insurance reaching out to me with a referral to a professional that claimed to specialize in CDDs. 2. Me reaching out to set up an initial appointment/interview. 3. Clearly stating that I needed a professional well versed in trauma and CDDs. 3. The professional claiming they were that person. 4. Me asking if they had previous experience working with clients with DID. 5. The professional either fully not knowing what it was or having only a surface knowledge of its existence. 6. Them asking me to educate them on CDDs. 7. Them thanking me for taking the time to educate them and point them in the direction of resources they could access to learn more. 8. Them admitting they didn't have the skills or knowledge to help (and most not willing to learn on the fly) 9. Insurance apologizing for my time and energy investment before sending me a list of five or more other professionals they wanted me to do the same rodeo with.

Some interactions were a little better. A few were much, much worse. This ended in us receiving a letter of apology from the head of this insurance company's BHD for their inability to provide us with the resources we needed. (Shocking I know) We did end up finding 3 therapists who either knew enough bare bones info to help someone with a CDD who wasn't currently in crisis, or were willing to do research to learn more and take on CDD clients. One of which was our therapist who at the time was by no means versed in CDDs but went out of their way to educate themselves while we looked to see if we could find someone with more experience. There were 0 psychologists who claimed to specialize in dissociation/dissociative disorders who knew or were willing to work with someone with a CDD let alone someone in crisis.

The therapist who we stuck with as they learned and asked us for resources and learned more about our system and systems in general is now the only professional currently available through that major insurance company who has any experience working with systems. The other two either left their respective practice or no longer accept certain insurances.

Beyond my unexpected work with that insurance company our advocacy also extends to building spaces for systems/plurals to just meet and socialize. To share resources and support. These spaces are not 'origin dependent' and in fact in real life most people do not care about origin discourse. We currently run a server for systems/plurals to socialize, share support and resources in their respective areas, and just exist. We also organize regular in person meet-ups for systems in our area and are currently working with an organization in our area to set up a regular educational and support group for systems/plurals through them. We are also working (albeit extraordinarily slowly) on a zine about plurality along with our comic on mundane plurality; what it's like for us day to day.

For the last point: about why there is such a lack of resources. We're gonna make this point super quick because this is already a book 😅

Straight up, the reason there is a lack of professionals who specialize in CDDs is because psyc majors are actively being discouraged from specializing in dissociation/dissociative disorders/CDDs. We have had nearly a dozen psych majors reach out to us exasperated because they planned to do their thesis on dissociative identity disorder only to be told by their respective professors that doing a thesis on DID/OSDD or complex dissociative disorders in general would be "a career ender".

One of our very close friends specifically had been horrified by our experiences while interviewing professionals for that insurance company and the lack of available resources and competent care. They wanted to make their specialty trauma work with a focus on dissociation and dissociative disorders. They were planning to do their final thesis paper on DID and OSDD but their professor took them aside with their initial proposal and told them they wouldn't accept it because 'focusing on DID would end their career before it even started'. They straight up wouldn't let them do their paper on dissociative disorders and advised them to stop advocating for CDDs if they wanted a viable career.

My friend was horrified. We were horrified. We soon found out this type of interaction was the rule not the exception as we started hearing more and more cases almost identical to our friend's experience from all over.

We've now been advocating in multiple areas for systems for almost a decade. And the medical system has not gotten any better about the stigma they perpetuate about CDDs. It has absolutely nothing to do with origins discourse and everything to do with the inherent abelism and racism within the field.

Almost all comprehensive resources, groups, aid we have seen for systems has been created by the system/plural communities.

Fighting over origin discourse is not helping anyone. It will not stop institutions from disuading their students from acknowledging CDDs. It will not stop the abelism of the psyc industry. It will not make you more palatable to people who are being taught we aren't worth helping. All the fighting does is alienate and isolate real people and stop the chance for collaboration from within our communities on resources we all desperately need.

[crossroads-system]

"Almost all comprehensive resources, groups, aid we have seen for systems has been created by the system/plural communities

Fighting over origin discourse is not helping anyone. It will not stop institutions from disuading their students from acknowledging

CDDs.

It will not stop the abelism of the psyc industry. It will not make you more palatable to people who are being taught we aren't worth helping.

All the fighting does is alienate and isolate real people and stop the chance for collaboration from within our communities on resources we all desperately need."

[crossroads-system]

I've seen a few new, very aggressive anti-nondisordered plurality blogs pop up over the last week. Going out of their way to post anti crap in inclusive plural spaces. So I just want to remind everyone that:

No one knows you better than you.

No one knows what you're going through/experiencing better than you do.

There is no 'definitive 1000% way' to 'prove' someone is a system or not. It is a largely internal and subject experience. And that's absolutely ok.

You do not need other people's permission to exist.

You do not need to prove yourself/selves to others.

Your system's origins no matter what they are do not make you more or less of a systems.

You DO NOT have to relive or reveal any trauma/s you have suffered to prove your validity. And anyone who asks you to do so does not have your well-being in mind.

You aren't harming anyone by talking about your lived experience and seeking community with others that understand.

You are a human being who is deserving of respect and kindness.

Respect and kindness of someone else's lived experience SHOULD NOT be contingent on if they can scrounge up articles or peer reviewed studies on if an extremely personal experience is valid or not.

Over medicalization and pathologation of plurality as a whole is rooted in racism and colonialization.

Do not let others act as if they get to dictate who you are and what you experience. The only reliable witness/s to the inner workings of your own mind are those who reside in it. No one else can tell you how you think or what your internal experiences are.

(And its bonkers that some people try)

To any and everything system and plural out there regardless of origin:

You are amazing.

You are valid.

The world is a better place for having you in it.

[mindotaur]

Racism in the plural community is a real problem. Racism in the medical community is a real, dangerous problem.

Pour one out for DID/OSDD systems of color that go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed because the psychiatric institution dismisses them.

Pour one out for all systems of color who feel isolated because the online community often conflates plurality with whiteness.

Pour one out for systems of color who get called racist or appropriative because their systems incorporate aspects of their own culture, but people automatically assume they must be white.

Pour one out for systems of color whose voices are silenced because of their ethnicity.

Uplift non-white systems. Talk to non-white systems, not over them.

[crossroads-system]

The lense of plurality through whiteness is not a mistake. It's an intentional attack not only on bipoc bodied system but also on non white cultural acknowledgements and knowledge of the nature of plurality.

Even within the limited scope of acceptance of plurality in colonized culture, the only form that is given any merit is that which seeks to state that plurality is inherently disordered. Plurality is only seen as valid if it inconveniences the person. It completely washes away any other form of plurality or cultural understandings.

It often paints the very existence of plurality as disordered rather than the negative effects of trauma on that plurality. I.e. dissociation, dissociative amnesia, lack of communication, etc.

And because we live in a society that chronically and systematically devalues bipoc trauma, DID is seen by many (incorrectly so) as a 'white disorder'.

Plurality can exist without trauma.

Bipoc trauma is just as real as non bipoc trauma.

The disruptive symptoms of DID does not discriminate based on race but the presentation of those symptoms may vary based on a myriad of factors.

Culturally incompetent doctors are more likely to miscatagorize/ignore/underestimate trauma symptom presentation in non white patients.

Plurality in in of itself is not inherently disordered and insisting so is inherently racist.

[crossroads-system]

It's wild that this even needs to be said but DID isn't the only form of plurality. DID doesn't own plurality and it's extremely fucking racist to claim otherwise.

'What do you mean racist?'

I mean claiming that disordered plurality is the only type of plurality that exists/is valid completely disregards cultural/Indigenous knowledge and experiences on the subject. Viewing plurality solely through the lense of the 'western medical model' invalidates traditional knowledge and roles of plurality in a plethora of cultures.

I have even seen DID systems actively calling those forms of plurality 'fringe' or 'spiritual and thus less valid' which is wildly inappropriate. If your view of plurality looks down upon cultural/traditional/Indigenous knowledge and forms it's based in racism.

What's even more wild is traditional/cultural knowledge of plurality is often times far older than the western acknowledgement of DID/OSDD 1a/1b.

[wiisagi-maiingan]

"America is so young compared to other countries, we have no real history!"

We have archeological sites that are thousands of years old with evidence that people have been here for much longer, you just don't consider Native people part of this country's history unless we're being killed by colonists.

[crossroads-system]

An update about us:

Earlier this year we got married to our lovely, amazing, spectacular wife [also a system] amongst my people. Our vows were specifically done using plural terms and our elder even made light hearted jokes about our systems. It was everything we could have asked for and more.

We are so thankful for our people. We are so thankful for our system and our wife's system. We are so thankful for our other partners and metamors.

We are truly, wholey, fully ourselves and we could not be happier.

[hemo-lymph]

Happy disability pride month pride to people with degenerative, progressive, and terminal conditions. I know the future can be terrifying but I am glad you are still here now.

[the-ribombee-constellation]

Hello everyone, Before I head into the details of this blog post, I want to first and foremost make clear that this was not an easy decisio

AWFUL NEWS SIMPLY PLURAL USERS

Anyway does anysys know good alternatives to simply plural? Other than pluralkit. Something with a fronting tracker/space to describe headmates like custom fields etc would be best. We're looking at Lighthouse & Octocon right now

Ughhhh whyyyyyy

EDIT: LIGHTHOUSE HAS ALSO BEEN RETIRED. BROOOO WHYYYYY

[mildly-inconvenient-plur-is]

important things. -Anon

[thoughtseeker-the-dragon]

This really blows

Speaking briefly for our own wellbeing, simply plural had a lot of stuff going for it that other apps kinda lack. We've moved to Ampersand for the moment, but the lack of notifications really hurts.

[thelanternbearers]

The forecasted end of access is June this year, it may prove to be further out. Currently, we're planning on resuming Discord data hosting as a stop-gap while planning out use of Obsidian as we dislike the other apps available.

[thecorporatetower]

reblogging again just to add this on- while not a website/app specifically for plural reasons, we visit notion daily and log all our information on there and have spent a year now building, perfecting, and defining a template everyone in the corporation uses and have considered letting other people have a copy of it with the news about simply plural and stuff. although we update it time and time again so we’d have to update it everyone else’s copy too. and also change some specific stuff because it’s specifically oriented to us

not entirely sure yet though but maybe we’ll make it so we’ll just send the template copy link to anyone who wants it instead of making a public post about it