DID how many alters do you have?

A person living with DID may have as few as two alters or as many as 100. The average number is about 10. Often alters are stable over time, continuing to play specific roles in the person’s life for years.

What is the average number of alters?

The average, as I understand it is typically 10–15 for men and 15–25 for women. There are of course people who have as few as two and as many as hundreds or even thousands. More than one hundred is called poly-fragmented DID and usually involves layers and subsystems of alters.

What are the most common alters?

Child and adolescent alters – young alters are often the first discovered in therapy and are the most common type of alter. These alters emerge to handle the abuse that the original personality couldn’t tolerate. A DID alter may be referred to as a “little” if the alter acts seven years or younger.

How do you hear alters?

Hearing Voices Due to Intrusive Alter Thoughts Contrastingly, thoughts that are distinctly different from the sound of our own voice can be viewed as being based on intrusive thoughts from alters that are able to break through to our awareness.

Can alters have different mental illnesses?

My short answer is: Yes, alters can have different mental illnesses. My long answer? Well, people’s definitions for having a mental illness can differ. Some alters may be diagnosed in therapy, or they may simply experience cognitive distortions, persistent or changing moods, and behavior patterns that are similar to or match certain diagnoses.

Did persecutor alters?

Persecutor alters – these DID alters are modeled after the abuser. Persecutor alters create negative messages blaming the original identity for the abuse and telling them they need to die or pay for it. Often the host will act on these negative messages and self-harm or even attempt suicide.

Did fragment alter?

Not that there’s a DID dictionary to check in, but fragments are generally a type of alter. Someone might call one of their alters a fragment if that alter didn’t or doesn’t spend much time in the body, performs only one or a small set of tasks, or has a narrow range of responses. It’s a comparative thing.

Did alters switching?

For people with DID, switching is described as the process of changing from one alter or personality to another. People with DID have varying levels of awareness about their switching. Often people will experience some kind of physical symptom, like headaches, just before or after switching occurs.