Rainn @sillytacorebel - Tumblr Blog

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Here’s my metaphor for systemhood that I tell my singlet friends.

Imagine you’re playing a first person video game. You have the controller, you control your character. It’s a normal first person game. You are an alter, the character is the body. This is fronting.

Other people live with you. Sometimes, they come into the room and sit and watch while you play. They sometimes try to guide you, give you advice on what to do next. They don’t always agree, and they can argue with each other. Other times they scream at you that you’re doing everything wrong and you suck at this game. This is co-consciousness.

Imagine how distracting it would be for people around you to tell you what to do, or to scream at each other or at you, even if they have good intentions. It wouldn’t be easy to focus on your game, would it?

Then sometimes, something happens in the game that prompts you to hand off the controller to someone else so they can play and you get a break. This is (some types of) switching. This can be good.

Other times, someone rips the controller out of your hand or fights you for it. This is (other types of) switching. And sometimes, six other players hook up their controllers, but there’s only one character to play as. So all of you have your controllers, but you’re all trying to play the same character. This is cofronting.

Imagine how difficult that would be. Imagine how hard it would be to try and play a game while someone is trying to take the controller from you, or while six other people are trying to play too.

There are also times that nobody is playing, or you can’t decide who should play. What’s happening to the character in the game? What are they doing if no one is playing? This is dissociation. The character is doing nothing. They’re stuck.

This is the best metaphor I have come up with for being a system. It’s something a lot of people get because they’ve played games before.

slayercain

John Arsenault (American, b. 1971), The Youngest Was the Most Loved, Rosendale, NY, 2006.

furiousgoldfish

Trauma Information

Processing trauma

Traumatic memories get stored in the brain Differently

Trauma processing information

Steps for Managing Emotional Flashbacks

4 Types of Trauma Responses in Childhood

Relapses can possibly be a Seasonal Trauma occurrence

Three Stages of Trauma from Childhood Abuse

It’s likely you’ll feel the worst of your trauma long after it’s over

Feeling like you’re not normal because of trauma

Anger is vital in resolving trauma

Causes of Trauma

List of trauma symptoms caused by Childhood Abuse

How long term childhood abuse develops into trauma (comic)

Loss of support and community after trauma adds to it

Isolation from support can decide whether a person develops ptsd

Abandonment, rejection and isolation causes trauma

Symptoms of Trauma

Magical Thinking is a symptom of Childhood Trauma

Memory loss is a symptom of trauma and dissociative disorder

Inability to keep your space clean and tidy can stem from Trauma

Chronic Exhaustion comes from Trauma and is traumatic

Constant guilt, shame, and fear of failure can be caused by Trauma

Constant guilt for things that were done to you is an indicator of Trauma

Trauma from abuse will create a compulsion to Act Normal

Trauma will make you feel like you’re losing your future

Trauma makes you feel like you just ‘need to snap out of it’

Trauma can feel like ‘it wasn’t that bad’ even when it was

Childhood trauma can make you sense other people’s emotions

If you wish you suffered violence and trauma, it’s likely you’re already traumatized

Health risks

Trauma will mess up your immune system

Trauma can cause breathing problems and heart palpitations

Trauma will mess up your digestive system

C-ptsd can cause chronic pain and chronic exhaustion

Trauma can make it difficult both to sleep and to stay awake

If you’re struggling with trauma, here’s a link to Pete Walker’s Complex PTSD, and if you believe your trauma comes from abuse, here’s a link to checklists for parental/relationship abuse.