Hey I had a question I hope you can help me understand. What the difference between a Host, Core, and Original in a system?
Many people use the term host differently. Some people confuse the term host with original. Most people use the term host to mean the part or parts of the system who front most frequently. Some systems have more than one host. Sometimes the host changes. Some systems change hosts regularly.
My system avoids using the term host because it causes distress and animosity among us. We noticed that debates about who was the host caused tension. We have an awareness of who fronts most frequently, but we don’t consider ourselves the “hosts”.
Core and Original mean essentially the same thing. The concept of a core is that it is the part of self that developed and solidified before the other parts existed.
Not all systems have a core or original. When trauma begins very early, there is no chance for a core sense of self to develop and several parts develop simultaneously. If trauma began later, the core may be the identity that was beginning to develop and take shape before the trauma began.
It’s important to understand that whether a system has a core/original or not, all parts of a system are dissociated part. All parts are alters. A system is not made up of an original “real” person and their alters. Even the core, original, and host are considered dissociated parts or alters.
Sometimes systems think that a certain part is the core or original and find out later that they aren’t. This can be distressing and disorienting. I think it’s a mistake to worry about figuring out which part of your system is the core or original. If you do have a strong sense that someone in your system is the core, that’s fine, but if you don’t then I wouldn’t worry about trying to find out. Many systems don’t have a core.
