Hi!

If you're reading this, you're probably an alter in a system, likely a newly formed alter, a first-time-fronting alter, or an alter who's been in dormancy for a while.

"What does any of that mean?"

Don't worry, this page will walk you through it! There will also be a bunch of links/resources provided incase there's anything mentioned that you specifically want to look more into.  

Table of Contents:

1. Where am I? What's going on?

2. What are systems & alters?

3. Who am I?

4. I need help setting up PluralKit/Tupperbox/Octocon/Simply Plural

Where am I? What's going on?

Disorientation is a totally normal experience, especially for new alters and alters back from dormancy. Maybe what's happening around you is very different from what you are accustomed to, maybe you have memories that don't align with what you can see happening around you, maybe you're just a bit confused about where exactly you even are or how you got there. This section's goal is to help with that.

 
Firstly, you are here! (If that link doesn't help, try looking for a map app on your phone or tablet; it might be able to give you a clearer answer.) And this is the current date and time.

 
"How did I get here?" You are an alter in a system, likely either one that has newly formed, is fronting for the first time, or is newly out of dormancy. We'll get more into what all of that means in the next section! You can click here to skip to that section.

 
"What about my memories?" There are many reasons why you might have memories that contradict what's going on around you. The most common reasons are being "time stuck" or having pseudomemories.

"Time stuck" alters may experience disorientation or confusion with reality as they believe that they are still in the moment or time period when certain events (typically traumatic or stressful events) are taking place. An example of this might look believing or having the feeling that oneself has spontanesouly been relocated to a different place or time, or believing that events or circumstances of the past are still ongoing in the present. This video gives an overview of time stuck alters.

"Pseudomemories" are literally defined as a false-memories, but more descriptively, they are a "recollection of events that never took place, as opposed to a memory that is merely inaccurate" [source]. For systems, a common type of pseudomemory are "source memories" which are memories of something that took place (roughly) according to the source of an introject ("introject" refers to an alter who is based off of an external figure such as an object, person, or character [source]). An example of this might look like having memories of locations or people that do not exist/only exist in fiction. There are many other types of pseudomemories, you can read more on how they work here. It is important to acknowledge that pseudomemories, while a genuine experience which can effect much about how a person may act or think, are not real. This can be a very disorienting and even stressful experience overall, but it will become easier to work with over time.  

What are systems & alters?

An alter is a dissociated state of identity and consciousness seen in people with dissociative identity disorders such as DID or OSDD. A person with DID/OSDD has at least 2 alters, if not more, and these alters are collectively referred to as a system.

In length, DID and OSDD are quite complicated disorders, so if you want to read more about what causes them to develop or know more about how systems and alters function, you can check out these resources: about DID/OSDD (carrd), DID/OSDD system terminology (carrd), did-research.org.

 
"What about being newly formed/newly fronting/out of dormancy?" A "newly formed" alter refers to an alter who recently came into existence. This might happen for many reasons, but the overarching reason is that the system's brain/(sub-)consciousness responded to the need for something by creating, or "splitting", a new alter. Some common reasons include that the system underwent a new occurrence of trauma and/or stress and needed a way to cope with/dissociate from/protect from/aid with/etc with the trauma/stress.

"Newly fronting" refers to an alter who has already been in existence for some period of time, but who has never "fronted" (had control of the body) before. This could be that the alter was created following a trauma/stressor in the past, but only existed on an internal level until now.

"Dormancy" refers to when an alter stops being active in the system, meaning they stop fronting for a period of time (typically a long period, often for months, if not years), and typically are also inactive on an internal level (such as in the system's innerworld). An alter coming "out of dormancy" means they are active in the system again.

Its possible for an alter to be both newly fronting and out of dormancy simultaneously, for example, an alter who formed in early childhood who has not been active, possibly even being unknown of to the rest of the system, and who is only now fronting for the first time. It is typically more common for these alters to experience being "time stuck", as described in the previous section. Its also possible for alters who have come out of a long dormancy and are fronting for the first time to believe that they are newly formed alters.  

Who am I?

There's a lot to know about yourself and it can feel totally overwhelming. Here are some prompts and resources to help get you started! Also note that not every alter necessarily has or knows the answer to each of these!

– What's your name? → Try out magic baby names or other baby names websites. → Is there a starting letter you like? → Do you remember having a name previously?

– What pronouns do you prefer? → Try out the pronoun dressing room. → Neopronouns are also an option!

– How old are you? → Alters frequently have a differently percieved age to that of their system's physical body, and some may even present as a range of ages, vary in age over time, not age, or present as immortal, ageless, or as an age beyond what humans are able to live to. → Do you feel younger, older, or about the same age as the body? → You can read more about alter ages here.

– What species are you? → Alters may also percieve themselves to be a species other than human. Some may be a specific species or object, some may consider themselves to be simply nonhuman, some may be a mix of both. → Do you internally percieve youself as having nonhuman traits, such as limbs, traits, or abilities? → You can read more about nonhuman alters here.

– What gender are you? → Alters may not be the same gender as their system's body. → Do you feel as though your gender leans more to the masculine, femenine, neutral, or a mixed side? → There are hundereds of genders our there that fall under different categories and describe difference experiences. Here is a good list with lots of different subcategories and explanations. → Remember that gender identity is not the same as gender presentation! For example, a non-binary person doesn't have to exclusively use they/them pronouns, present androgynously, and use an androgynous name.

– Do you have a system role? → Alters frequently have a "role" in the system that typically has to do with either why they formed and/or what they do. Alters may also have mulliple roles, or have no role. → Here is a list of some of the most common roles that alters have, though there are often alters who don't fit into these roles, so there are many community-based roles that you could look into if the ones listed don't seem quite right.  
 
Here are a couple other resources that might be useful when it comes to figuring out who you are: The Unblur Doc, Get to know yourself questionaire.  

I need help setting up PluralKit/Tupperbox/Octocon/Simply Plural

PluralKit, Tupperbox, Octocon, and Simply Plural are all tools that can be used by systems to help keep track of system and alter information, such as collective information, profiles for different alters, and keeping track of switches. Not every system uses them, but if yours does and you need help getting a profile for yourself set up, here are some links that can help! PluralKit and Tupperbox are both Discord-exclusive bots, while Simply Plural has its own app, and Octocon has both a Discord bot and an app.

PluralKit Member management

Tupperbox Customising tuppers

Octocon Alter commands

Simply Plural Video tutorial

And that's it! Of course there is a lot more about being an alter in a system, but I can't cover everything here. Luckily there are dozens of good resources out there!

Hopefully some of this was useful, and best of luck to you!  
page made by @ourstarsys