Miscellaneous Terminology

## General Terms

### Age regression

Can be a therapeutic technique, a conscious action, or an unconscious action of “aging down” to a mental state similar to that of an age younger than they normally mentally are.

### Age Slider

A member in a system whose age can fluctuate between different ages or within a range.  They may change appearance, role or personality when changing age.

### Blending/Blurring

A temporary type of integrative experience, where fronters inside can tap into each others abilities and skills. When a system is blurring, it is often hard to tell who is fronting because they might feel mixed or like a whole different person.

### Caretaker

Alters who take care of others in the system. They may have a parental role to others in the system.

### Co-conscious/Co-aware

When several alters are aware of each other, what is happening, and what others are doing. Often shortened to co-con.

### Co-fronting

Where two or more alters are fronting and in control of the body.

### Dormant/Dormancy

When an alter goes quiet or isn’t active for a longer period of time. They may or may not still be visible/active in the inner world.

### Fronting

Being out, and in control of the body and able to interact with the outer world

### Frontrunner

An individual who is frequently in front.

### Gatekeeper

A system member who can control who is fronting and access to memories.

### Host/Main

A main fronter. Can have more than one alter who hosts.

### Internal Self-Helper (ISH)

Generally a protector or leader in the system who knows who everyone is and works to maintain stability and help everyone. Doesn’t usually come out very often. Can overlap with gatekeeper.

### Innerworld/Inside/Headspace

A mental place where alters can be when not interacting with the outside world.

### Insider

Those who rarely front and might miss time passing of the outer world.

### Little

A young alter, nearly always under 13 years old but sometimes under 10.

### Middle

Another type of young alter. Ages can vary between 10 and 17, depending on individual definitions of the term.

### Multiple

A person who has more than one identity living in their body. Used more in the DID/OSDD community and individuals who are not median.

### NPC

Non-Player Character, gap filler people in the innerworld who are not alters.

### Plural

Systems who have more than one identity living in their body. Includes other non pathological systems and median systems.

### Persecutor

An alter who is misguided on how to help the system and often isn't helpful to others or harms the system. They are a type of protector, and with work they can find more helpful purpose for the system. They frequently hold more trauma than other protectors, which causes them to reenact it on the system to protect them.

### Positive Trigger

Something that triggers a system member to come to front, but is not negative. Examples can include interests, music, and people they like spending time with, but there is much variation in what can be a positive trigger.

### Presenting Self

The singlet façade, what would be the "main personality" that other alters would try to replicate when fronting around others.

### Protector

A system member whose role is to protect the system. There are various different types of protectors e.g. emotional, physical, sexual, internal.

### Singlet/Singleton

A body with one identity; a “normal” person. Person without system members.

### Sub-system

Used to describe a specific group who are a system within a system. There are 2 types: Separate internal groups within one larger system and alters who have their own alters.

### Switch

The change in who is fronting; where another alter comes out.

### Switchy

The feeling that you’re about to switch with another alter

### System

A collective term to describe headmates as a collective.

## Clinical/Mental Health Terms

### Alter

An other within a DID/OSDD system, an alternate identity/ state of consciousness. Also referred to as an Insider/Part/Other/Headmate/Systemmate/etc.

### Amnesia (Dissociative amnesia)

Can be anywhere from seconds to years long of loss of memory.

### Core/Original

A debated term referring to the original person/ identity born with the body. More information about structural dissociation and cores can be found at this link.

### Depersonalisation

Detachment within the self, regarding one's mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself

### Derealisation

An alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems unreal.

### Dissociation

An experience where a person may feel disconnected from themselves and/or their surroundings.

### Emotional/Memory Bleedthrough

When one or more system member experiences emotions or memories that are not there own and have come from a different system member.

### Emotional Part (EP)

Holds traumatic memories and traumatic responses.

### Fragment

An “incomplete alter” or a kind of extreme form of compartmentalisation of thought and action. Often holds a single memory, handles a single emotion or does a specific task.

### Grounding

Connecting yourself back to reality, the 'here and now' and your environment. Typically used to help cope with flashbacks or dissociation

### Integrate

Often described as when two or more alters merge into one, also refers to the owning of memory and sensory information and awareness that you are the one who observed/did the thing.

### Introject

*Main page:* *Introject*

An alter who has split off to represent an outside source (can be fictional or a real person). Fictives and factives are common types of introject.

### Neurodivergent

Having a brain that functions in ways that diverge from the societal standards of “normal.” for example Dissociative disorders, ADHD, Down syndrome, and Autism are a few covered under this umbrella

### Pseudomemories

Memories that did not happen to the body. Commonly mirror real trauma, but aren't real themselves. Introjects may experience pseudomemories from their source.

### ‏PTSD/C-PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Co-diagnosed with DID/OSDD.

### Racing Thoughts

Uncontrollable, random thoughts and memories, with very fast switches between them.  Prevents the person from focusing on one topic or sleeping.

### Secret Keeper

Alters who keep information of abuse or other information away from the system

### Split

The level of dissociation which causes “creation” of another alter inside.

### Theory of Structural Dissociation

The theory that no one is born with an integrated personality/identity. Instead, infants operate based off of a loose collection of different ego states that handle their different needs- feeding, attachment to a caregiver, exploring the world around them. Over time, these ego states naturally integrate into one coherent and cohesive personality, usually by the ages of 6 - 9.

### Trigger

Anything that sets a series of thoughts in motion or reminds a person of some aspect of their traumatic past, and could cause a response such as panic attacks, flashbacks or another type of stress.

### Trigger Warning/ TW

When something is written that could cause a trigger

## Community Terms

### Front stuck

When one or more system member is fronting and unable to leave front.

### Vennsexual/Vennromantic

A form of attraction where a system (or an individual in a system) is mainly or exclusively attracted to members of their partner system(s). This attraction may be gender-blind, or may be limited by another sexuality (i.e. gay, asexual, etc). Coined by Exit Serenity and The Sungolden System.

### Wonderland

A term for a parogenic inner world. Frequently avoided by traumagenic and dissociative systems due to it being a reminder of ritual abuse.