TheHydraSystem

Personal blog for Leo, Kioshi, Rodrich, Anastasia, Sky, Andy, Thorn, Castiel, Winter, and Lucifer

[thehydrasystem]

My younger sibling is 21 and just discovered ao3. They are now trying to explain it to me...

[clever-and-unique-name]

Some explanations about dissociated parts and memory, information from The Haunted Self and paraphrased by yours truly.

Every part deserves to have their piece respected, even if it doesn’t seem to fit in neatly with the others, even if you think it’s weirdly shaped, even if it just seems scary. 

And remember: Puzzles are put together one piece at a time.

[Check out my DID/OSDD casually explained masterpost for sources and more infographics!]

[skybound-system]

Dear [Alter]

Dear Caretakers, it's okay to worry that you're not doing enough. You are.

Dear Fictives/Factives, it's okay not to identify with your source. It's okay to identify with your source. Remember that you are your own person and that's all that matters.

Dear Gatekeepers, take a breath. I know that it's hard. It's going to be alright. We couldn’t do this without you.

Dear Littles, you're lovely. Keep it up buddy, remember that you're amazing.

Dear Persecutors, you are not evil. You are not a 'bad alter.' You are just as important as everyone else.

Dear Protectors, it's okay to take a break. You are going to make mistakes, and that's okay. You're doing your best and that's perfect.

Dear Self Destructive Alters/Trauma Holders, it's not your fault. It is not your fault. You don't deserve any hate, you don't deserve any of those awful things. You're deserving of the world and one day, some day, you will get it.

Dear Alter, you're going to make it.

[frogitivity2]

Ready to start?

Yes No

[thehydrasystem]

This is so nice

[thehydrasystem]

Things that in hindsight we're probably because we have d.i.d. :we got in trouble in elementary school for cheating on a paper because the handwriting changed so much from the first half of the paper to the second that the teacher thought we had someone else write it for us.

[thehydrasystem]

We've had a therapy breakthrough so i'm sharing it.

So I always dismiss our trauma as not that bad and say we could handle it. Our therapist pointed out that it isn't the current version of us we are talking about. Its the version of us we were then. So while I may think *insert trauma here* is something we can handle, if a random kid came up to us and said that *insert same trauma here* happened to them it would be easy to assume they were traumatized and do anything to comfort/help them.

So yeah that helped a lot with feeling like we aren't overreacting.

Hope this helps

[thehydrasystem]

So I've just had a realization that in all of the series I really love the characters I am rooting for are demons and I don't know what this says about my brain.

[thehydrasystem]

You know what's not fun...getting triggered 4 times in one day.

[anxietyproblem]

[mens-rights-activia]

When you and your siblings become adults and start reflecting on how fucked up your parents were

[thehydrasystem]

Um hi I just came back to our system. Last time I was around it was 2017. Anyways my name is Castiel.

[clever-and-unique-name]

“Substitute beliefs” is an umbrella concept that can be applied to understanding introjects (fictional and real-life), pseudomemories, non-human alters, and more.

It’s important to note that not all substitute beliefs are harmful–they may be comforting, or even feel empowering. You don’t necessarily have to stop being a ghost! That said, it may be worth mentioning in therapy to make sure it’s a healthy belief to engage with.

[Check out my DID/OSDD casually explained masterpost for sources and more infographics!]

[clever-and-unique-name]

“There is no logical or natural limit to how fragmented a dissociative patient can become. The more helpful question is What is the integrative capacity of the patient? The lower the capacity for the challenges the patient faced as a child and still faces in the present, the more dissociation will occur as an ongoing coping strategy.”  – Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation

Splitting dissociated parts is a very complicated, confusing topic–it can be difficult to determine when, why, and how it happens. As such, it’s perfectly okay to be unsure of whether a new part has split or not. Some things to know:

Splitting is a coping mechanism in response to stress

Not all stress causes splits

The same stress that causes a split in one person might not cause a split in someone else

The same stress that didn’t cause a split in the past may cause a split later; it all depends on the current coping ability of active parts

Some splits happen quickly; some can take much longer

Keep in mind this infographic pertains to people who already have DID/OSDD (you can learn what causes DID/OSDD [here.])

[Check out my DID/OSDD Casually Explained masterpost for sources and more infographics!]

[clever-and-unique-name]

Some explanations about integration and the language around it! All definitions taken (but paraphrased) from the ISSTD Journal of Trauma and Dissociation (2011).

And just a footnote: There is no “one size fits all” goal. The needs and desires of each system are between the parts and their therapist (if they have one.) Whether a system wants to pursue final fusion or come to a resolution between parts is totally up to them. Both are valid and respected options.

[Check out my DID/OSDD Casually Explained masterpost for sources and more infographics!]

[clever-and-unique-name]

My casual explanations are a combination of academic research, personal experience, and community feedback.

Footnotes: A colloquial term for less elaborated parts is a “fragment,” usually in reference to a part who holds a particular emotion or memory and not much else.

No matter where a part is on the elaboration spectrum, they deserve respect and consideration.

[Check out my DID/OSDD Casually Explained masterpost for sources and more infographics!]

[thehydrasystem]

So update: there is yet another new alter

[thehydrasystem]

I am trying to be romantic. I am making Leo a playlist of songs that make me think of him.