Fusion

⚠️ **TRIGGER WARNING** ⚠️

This page discusses potentially triggering topics. This can include discussions related to trauma, abuse, mature themes, or bigotry. If you are not in a good mindset, please do not read this page.

## Fusion

### Related Term(s)

Integration, Unification, Final Fusion, Recovery

### Community

Psychiatric Community & System Community

Often mistakenly called integration, fusion is the recovery process in which the barriers between one or more members of a plural system are fully reduced, resulting in them no longer being separate members. This results in one or more of the system members having full access to the memories, skills, and traits that were once held by the fused member. Fusion is defined by the ISSTD as "a point in time when two or more alternate identities experience themselves as joining together with a complete loss of subjective separateness."

Some systems feel like their fused members disappear, while others feel as if they are always present. Occasionally, some system members feel like they become a new person after a member fuses. This should not be confused with splitting, however, where a new system member is created entirely.

Fusion is a form of integration, which is a broad term for any sort of system recovery. Like any form of recovery, fusion is not for everyone. It should not be forced onto anyone or attempted before you are ready. Attempting fusion before you are ready or when you don't want it often results in a very negative experience.

As a personal choice of recovery, some systems choose to pursue partial fusion (when some members of the system fuse), or final fusion (when all members fuse). Fusion is unfortunately heavily stigmatized even within the system community, but it's important to recognize it as a valid system experience.

## Forced vs. Healthy Fusion

Fusion is both a common step that people with Dissociative Identity Disorder and other dissociative disorders may take on their healing journey, and a controversial subject as it is perceived by many in the community as akin to death, and may result in grief by other members of the system, or possibly those outside of the system. Fusion that is forced or attempted before someone is ready may result in worse dissociation, retraumatization, shame, and/or splitting. Although the ISSTD emphasizes that it is against medical guidelines to coerce fusion, some systems report having experienced this malpractice. It's important to recognize that fusion, along with any other recovery option, should not be forced onto someone.

Healthy, non-forced fusion is a very positive experience for many systems. Benefits can include the ability to be fully present at all times, access to memories, reduced dissociation, reduced posttraumatic symptoms, reduced suicidality, becoming better equipped to deal with stress and crises, having access to the full range of your emotions, positive changes in relationships , and can also be stabilizing sensory-wise, with the alter who is the result of the fusion having clearer vision and less muffled hearing. In order for systems to achieve fusion (final or otherwise), they may enact metaphorical rituals to help themselves understand and accept what happens. It has been noted that these rituals are more successful when they do not metaphorically involve death.

## Final Fusion

Final fusion refers to the point at which all members of a dissociative system have fused. A synonym for this is "unification". It is considered the most stable way to treat dissociative disorders by many, including Richard P. Kluft, however the ISST-D guidelines state that it is not always a viable outcome and that "resolution", where alters are fairly integrated and work together, is also a realistic outcome. It is, however, generally accepted within the DID community that final fusion is an individual system's choice.

While some fused systems who have achieved final fusion no longer view themselves as plural, many still do consider themselves to be plural and members of the community. Final fusion is heavily stigmatized and fully fused systems are often subjected to massive amounts of hatred from the community, frequently resulting in them being chased out of the community.

## Blending

Blending is a process in which a system member will temporarily fuse in order to test out what fusion is like. This technique has been used in dissociative disorder treatment since at least 1996 as a part of helping systems determine their readiness and desire for fusion or lack thereof. It is a completely reversible and safe process, although it is best done with the guidance of a professional.

When the popular children's TV Show, Steven Universe, developed a dynamic where characters could fuse into a new character and unfuse at will, many systems in the community began comparing the process of temporary fusion to this. This made temporary fusion somewhat controversial within parts of the community, namely the system exclusionist side.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 8/31/22 - Subsystems.tumblr.com
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults, Third Revision, International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, 2011
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fully fused with parts? - Subsystems.tumblr.com
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *If integration meant alters vanishing, we wouldn’t be actively working on it. - Puppydeathfarts.tumblr.com*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Our Final Fusion Journey (no more DID...!) - MultiplicityandMe
6. ↑ Integration CAN be a loss, if that’s what you want it to be - Puppydeathfarts.tumblr.com
7. ↑ HOW INTEGRATION WORKS. A GEM FUSION? All About Alters 7 | Dissociative Identity Disorder REUPLOAD - DissociaDID
8. ↑ https://did-research.org/treatment/integration
9. ↑ https://puppydeathfarts.tumblr.com/post/190783091346/healthy-integration-is-about-the-gradual-reduction
10. ↑ ablednt on final fusion on Tumblr
11. ↑ What's the Deal with Integration? Sarah K. Reece, 2015
12. ↑ Amu System on coerced fusion on Twitter
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 "Understanding Integration" By Rachel Downing, L.C.S.W.-C.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 https://did-research.org/treatment/integration
15. ↑ to all those with DID/OSDD thinking about integration - Viparious.tumblr.com
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Dissociative Identity Disorder: Ethically Unsplitting the Split Personality: How to Fully Facilitate Fusion: Blending of Light and Water
17. ↑ The Perseid System on final fusion on Tumblr
18. ↑ integration: myths and truths from a fused alter - One-last-culpeo.tumblr.com
19. ↑ Bullying, Harassment, and Violence In The DID/OSDD/Multiplicity Community By Calion Inspires
20. ↑ Multiplicity and Me on Final Fusion Stigma on Twitter
21. ↑ Dissociative identity disorder: features, etiology, and treatment, Gretchen Elizabeth Honsell, 1999
22. ↑ Steele, K., Boon, S., & van der Hart, O. (2017). *Treating trauma-related dissociation: A practical, integrative approach.* W W Norton & Co.
23. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171013051057/https://this-is-not-dissociative.tumblr.com/post/144006398892/so-one-person-told-me-that-theres-this-thing
24. ↑ DID/OSDD1 Terminology Carrd by The Lost Battalion System