[Box 1: Text: This System Doesn't Like Being Referred To As Parts.

That system feeling when your MALE alter comes out and finds your STRAIGHT boyfriend cute and then proceeds to flirt with him and makes him question everything. 😂

-Apollo

Reblogging so I can answer the question.

There are several things that I can do to influence a switch, though I would like to preface this with two things.

1: just because it doesn’t look or feel like you would expect it to doesn’t mean you aren’t switching. For us a switch is a huge personality shift even though our conscious stays mainly unaffected. Sometimes the only way we’ve realized we switched is cause either our likes and dislikes don’t match the hosts, or a friend will point out something small we often didn’t realize we’re doing that the host would never do. (Including but not limited to: breathing patterns, posture, word choice, tone, and energy level)

2. As stated in previous posts of ours, forcing a switch when it’s not necessary can be really harmful to the system and your mental health. Trying to prove to yourself that you are valid by forcing a switch is one of the worst things you can do. You validity does not hinge on if you can switch when you want to or if you even switch at all. Your symptoms are valid even if they don’t fit into the box you’re thinking of. That being said, if you need it to happen it most likely will, but if you find yourself in a situation where you can’t switch, here are some tips of how to get it started.

Positive triggers

A positive trigger is anything that can get a headmate closer to the front. Maybe it’s their favorite song or a food they really enjoy, maybe it’s as simple as talking about them irl. It’s anything that gets them excited to front.

Environment

I personally have a hard time switching in an environment that I’m not comfortable in unless I get badly triggered and someone else comes out to deal with it. So if you’re looking for a casual switch just to learn more about you’re system, try surrounding yourself with people who are aware of the system and support all of you. Or if you would rather do this on your own, try going to a safe space where no one will interrupt you.

Unmasking

It’s possible that your headmates aren’t comfortable coming out because you are telling them they have to mask perfectly. So maybe to get them used to being in the front, let them come out when you are in a safe space and no one will judge you. Give them some time and space to be themselves. Since this is mainly a covert disorder a lot of alters very well might be great at masking, but that’s no guarantee. So start of in a safe space and a healthy mindset.

Inner system communication

This is a big one, if you have any communication between your different parts try using it to express what you would like. Be honest, they share your brain and may very well know when you’re lying. Explain that they are safe to come out and do as they please, that no one’s going to hurt them (again make sure you are in that safe space and healthy mindset). This simple encouragement can do wonders, but if they’re still hesitant for whatever reason or if the straight up just say no, respect that. Otherwise you might cause discourse or tension in the system which is the last thing you want.

I know a lot of this was more mindset stuff you can work on, but that stuff can be really helpful. I’ll end this post with another warning against forcing a switch when you don’t need to, and some encouragement that even if you don’t switch like you’re ‘supposed to’ it doesn’t make it any less valid, you’re feelings are still there and they’re real to you.

Have a good day, hope this is helpful.

-Apollo

Follow-up from this post here:

How do you personally leave the front? Is there any specific thing that you do that you consider important to the switching process?

Also, are there any tips you could possibly give me about switching out of the front?

That system feeling when you’re an alter with a popular source and you don’t tell people and go by a name that isn’t actually yours so that no one can judge you for existing or the host for splitting you.

-Angelo

Ha ha. I’m out now because the host had a mental breakdown and now I’m super dysphoric cause I’m a male alter. Fml.

-Tyler

It is so fricken annoying when you are the only alter who has good posture, and because of all the time shrimping it hurts your back to sit/stand straight.

-Loki

The frustration of being a fictive from something my host created is so overwhelming. No one knows my source mates. I can’t simply look up fan art when I want to see my friends. I can’t have conversations about my friends and have anyone know who the fuck I’m talking about. No one knows me.

Power trip: push someone’s buttons.

Ultimate power trip: push your own buttons

-this has been a PSA from God knows who I am.

Tw: syscourse

I’m going to be totally honest, I don’t have a problem with endos as long as they stay in their own lane. They don’t belong in DID/OSDD spaces, but I refuse to hate someone for their beliefs. If they believe they are a system, cool, let them do their thing. I personally believe that you form a system as a coping mechanism to repetitive inescapable trauma. But if you believe something different and you aren’t hating on me for what I believe, totally cool, agree to disagree.

That being said, I will not support people who hate on traumagenic for any reason. I always tag my posts with #endos dni because so many people have been attacked by them for being traumagenic with their own ideas.

I’m not saying if you identify as endogenic you’re a bad person and you’re hateful. I just don’t want to invite endos into a place for traumagenic systems. The same way that cishets and straights aren’t always allowed in LGTBQ spaces, there are spaces just for traumagenic systems. And I want this to be one of them because I believe that trauma is the only way to truly be a system.

If you believe something different, that’s cool, I just ask that you don’t interact. I can’t stop you, all I can do is warn you that if you choose to interact anyway you are representing your community as one that does not listen to boundaries.

These are my own beliefs, please do not hate on others (including other alters in my system as they have their own beliefs) due to these beliefs. If you really want to hate on someone hate on me, just know again that you are instilling an image of a hateful community that does not believe that others are entitled to their opinion. Which everyone is.

Okay that’s it, rant over, have a good day whoever you are and however you identify. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

-whoever the heck is fronting

New metaphor for a systemhood just dropped!

Our friend said something that got us thinking of this. I always use a spaceship (the millennium falcon specifically because it’s well known and fits the metaphor) but this one works pretty well too.

Your body is a computer. Most of the time it works best when a single person is using it (fronting), and sometimes it’s helpful to have someone else in the room watching you work and make suggestions though it can also be annoying and distracting (co-con). And there are also a lot of computers —though not all— that allow you to connect multiple game controllers to them in order to play a game with someone (co-fronting), when someone is doing this it often makes it more difficult to do certain things ,like typing, until you go back to a single user —the same way that co-fronting can be complicated and messy.

And being a computer, sometimes there are glitches. And it’s sometimes best to let someone else who is more equipped and tech savvy take over to solve the issue (switching under stress) and that moment where no one is actively using the mouse or keyboard the computer doesn’t do anything (heavy dissociation while switching). It’s also important to note that there are multiple people using the same computer, and they all prioritize different things, so a lot of time important files and information may be deleted by someone who deems it’s not necessary to keep or is better off unknown (amnesia).

If anyone thinks of a point to make please lmk, I’d love to add to it. Other than that, hope you guys find a good use for this metaphor and that it helps you give a singlet a better understanding.

Ha ha, doctor’s appointment in the morning to see if I have a chronic disease. Let’s see how this goes.

-Apollo