#splitting alters

[bloodiedfangs-collective]

When I go through trauma and just indulged in a new media :

[multiplicity-positivity]

hi, i hope this is okay to ask. we've been looking all over the place and can't really find any resources or posts about what splitting feels like - sometimes we have new guys that just show up but we usually don't know if they're new or from pre-syscovery. also in general we're just curious about how it may feel for others and wonder how others experience stuff. thanks in advance to you guys and to anyone who might chime in in the replies :)

Hey, every system is different and splitting can look vastly different from system to system. We can only speak on our experience, but here’s what splitting looks/feels like in our (DID) system, generally.

First, a traumatic or overwhelmingly stressful event occurs. In our system, usually one of our main fronters is fronting when this happens. We in the main fronting group can’t handle trauma that well, and most of us don’t have access to many trauma memories. So we heavily dissociate, check out, feeling numb and disconnected, and everything looks and feels blurry and hazy.

We’ll often get a really bad headache and body pains. We will feel physically and emotionally drained and exhausted. We will feel confused, lost, and disoriented. When we are splitting, it is entirely unsafe for us to do things like drive, cook, or handle potentially dangerous equipment. The last time we split, I (the host) stayed in bed for like 18 hours, and we ended up being taken to a crisis stabilization unit.

After a split, we usually will slowly come back to normal after a couple days. We’re often incredibly dissociated, so in the past our partner sys has helped us make sure we’re eating and drinking water during these times. There’s also a lot of shame and low self-worth that comes along with a split, for us at least, that we need to work through.

Once we’ve managed to calm down to our emotional baseline, the new part may or may not interact with us immediately. We might not even be aware that we split until much later. Our gatekeeper does keep track of us, but she uses her own discretion to reveal parts to each other, in order to keep us safe.

In our system, if a new part just shows up randomly, or when we’re in a safe/comfortable place, most likely they’re not actually a recent split and just have managed to connect with others for the first time after being blocked off by dissociative barriers for most of their life. If a new part shows up after some sort of extremely overwhelming or traumatic event, chances are they’re a genuinely new part.

Sorry if this seems rambly or all over the place… it’s kind of difficult for me to talk about. But if anyone else would like to share their experiences with splitting, please feel free to do so.

[lakestranger]

Any other systems feel like they might be splitting again rn? Bc we feel like we are and we aren't sure what is going to come of it. Newbie is welcome, but we are very I'll prepared considering we only have communication between like 4 or 5 of us.