If I’m not mistaken, similar psychotherapies were/are used to treat DID. Generally, it works better to treat the patients as they want to be treated…for instance, treating all identities separately rather than telling them “You are just one person, stop this switching nonsense!” lol
I’m also thinking about this from a more… sociological (?) perspective, where everyone has different “selves” or “masks” for different situations. A work self, a home self, an online self, a friends self, etc… this is completely normal, and everyone does it. Plurality sounds to me like trying to say that these are all distinct individuals, which seems like DID in an extreme case, or a matter of roleplaying (or similar).
I guess I’m still having difficulty grappling what Plurality really is. It almost seems to me like an equivalent to someone deciding to call their inner monologue (something normal) the voice of god (something “special”), and making a community around that.
I’m quite curious to learn about the particular mechanisms behind the phenomenon as well, but what I know for sure is that my plural friend got a big boost to their self-esteem and overall mental wellness when they came out to me and got an affirming response.
Whether their alters are distinct individuals, shards of a fragmented self, or something else entirely, I’ve found that taking people at their word when they tell you who they are and treating them how they ask to be treated to be a mutually-beneficial social habit. They get the comfort of not having to mask themselves around me, and I get to learn from a whole new perspective on the human experience. 🤗
If I’m not mistaken, similar psychotherapies were/are used to treat DID. Generally, it works better to treat the patients as they want to be treated…for instance, treating all identities separately rather than telling them “You are just one person, stop this switching nonsense!” lol
I’m also thinking about this from a more… sociological (?) perspective, where everyone has different “selves” or “masks” for different situations. A work self, a home self, an online self, a friends self, etc… this is completely normal, and everyone does it. Plurality sounds to me like trying to say that these are all distinct individuals, which seems like DID in an extreme case, or a matter of roleplaying (or similar).
I guess I’m still having difficulty grappling what Plurality really is. It almost seems to me like an equivalent to someone deciding to call their inner monologue (something normal) the voice of god (something “special”), and making a community around that.
I’m quite curious to learn about the particular mechanisms behind the phenomenon as well, but what I know for sure is that my plural friend got a big boost to their self-esteem and overall mental wellness when they came out to me and got an affirming response.
Whether their alters are distinct individuals, shards of a fragmented self, or something else entirely, I’ve found that taking people at their word when they tell you who they are and treating them how they ask to be treated to be a mutually-beneficial social habit. They get the comfort of not having to mask themselves around me, and I get to learn from a whole new perspective on the human experience. 🤗