#am i plural

[plural-culture-is]

because we no longer accept am I plural asks, here's some resources if you're questioning!

blogs to ask:

@tscs-plural-advocacy-blog

@amiplural

@system-comforts

@pluralpunx

@draco-system

@curiousitycollective

other resources:

The Garden (Discord server for questioning systems)

How Do I Know If I'm Plural?

10 resources for new and questioning systems

our #am i plural tag

if anyone has any more resources, feel free to let us know and we'll add them!

[smolcrispy]

No one responded to my update so I will put it in a new post so hopefully I can get advice and thoughts since I really really need advice and thoughts from the plural community.

So, with my 'Alternate Versions of Myself' on my mind and after speaking to all of you with your thoughts. (Like the possibility I am a median system) I decided to speak to my therapist about this.

It was really hard for me to start the conversation and I had to write it down since I was too nervous and insecure to put it into words outloud. After she read it, I spoke to her about everything you all have said and my own personal thoughts. She seemed pretty endo-neutral (since she believes there isn't enough research to prove or disprove that other systems exist. Though, she does believe that everyone is a mix of parts and that some people will have different mixes in their brain than others.) but saw my own hesitance at labeling myself a system.

So, she said that she thinks it is most likely my undiagnosed ADHD that is causing the 'Alternate Versions of Myself" with random spikes of hyperfixations and such that might be just temporarily jumbling up my sense of identity. It doesn't explain why I use different pronouns during these times with no gender dysphoria when it is normally iffy about different pronouns but it does sound plausible to me. She says I should keep her up to date about how this continues since I recently started ADHD medications and to see whether or not this affects my 'Alternate Versions of Myself'.

What are all of your thoughts on this? Do you think she is right about this possibility or do you think I am being led astray? I really need advice and would really appreciate any!

[system-comforts]

hi im questioning plurality and scared to ask systems i know irl about experiences and help so im asking for help here (im sorry if ive already sent an ask to this blog bc i /gen dont remember if i did)

okay i think im going to split this up into two sections, one for reasons I think I may be and symptoms, another for reasons why i think I may not.

Reasons I think I may be plural:

I frequently experience bouts of dissociating or just feel generally fuzzy and after i can feel a range of symptoms including: Feeling a new energy with me, confusion on where i am, confusion on who i am, feeling an off feeling, thinking something is wrong with my body or room and more.

I frequently feel multiple energys w/ me w/ different emotions, ages, and general vibes.

I constantly switch between feeling very strongly w/ one belif or gender to the point where it feels like i have always felt like this then not long after sometimes feeling the complete opposite.

I very often feel not incontrol and almost like someone else is in control of the body.

I occasionally say things aloud that i dont think I actually said and it feels like someone else did.

I occasionally think things that i dont think I actually thought and it was like someone else did.

I have occasional laspses in memory.

Reasons I think I'm not plural:

I have 3 irl plural friends so statistically its very unlikely that I am plural too.

I retain almost all memory from when I feel like I am different people.

I feel like I am always there no matter what.

The different energies I feel tend to be very similar to my own and I cant really distinguish between them for the most part.

I feel like I may just be experiencing symptoms of something else and confusing them for plurality.

I feel like I am forcing myself to experience symptoms of plurality.

I don't think the truama i have could have been bad enough for me to be plural (im sorry if there are plural ppl who dont have truama i js dont know much on that topic specifically)

Other things to note:

I have ADHD and Autism (un-medicated)

I have BPD or Bipolar disorder (me and my therapist are still discussing which we think it may be)

I hope someone sees this and could please help me figure out if maybe another disorder is making me experience these things or if those symptoms listed are genuinely symptoms of plurality because I cannot figure out if what I am experiencing is normal or not

also im vvvv sorry if this is a blog that connot help w/ this kind of thing /gen

Hello there. I can tell by the way your organized this ask you've thought a lot about this question! I'll try to answer most of your points and hope my input helps as you continue to evaluate this question.

Your first few points regarding amnesia for where you are, identity confusion regarding your gender, and depersonalization with your body, based on what you've said here, points towards fairly high dissociation. At the very least, looking into dissociative disorders in general might be a good idea for you (and your therapist) to explore. This is especially true if these symptoms cause a lot of distress and hardship in your life.

You also talk about not feeling in control of your body, your actions, and your thoughts. The way you describe these feelings is similar to how we and many other systems might describe it. However, it can also be good to also ask if the "someone else" who did and said these things was you in a heightened emotion or at a different time, or if it was a distinctly different person. Even singlets have a variety of emotions based on different situations. Consider how consistent these actions are, is there a pattern? Does x person mostly tend to react y way to z situation? We've found it helpful to establish patterns when trying to figure out if there's a headmate involved.

Regarding your reasons you may not be plural, there's a few things I want to note. Regarding your plural friends, I wouldn't say it's "statistically unlikely" that you're plural. To truly consider the statistics, you would want to look at total populations, like of a region or country, not just in a friend group. For example, some friend groups will have no one plural, but that doesn't mean plural people don't exist. Friends come together for a variety of reasons, largely for similarities in life experiences and identities. It's possible you've found friends similar to you in some regards, and this might include plurality.

Your next three points about retaining most of your memories, feeling always present, and how these "energies" feel similar to your own also do not entirely rule out plurality. These descriptions could be from a median system, which, on the sliding spectrum of plurality, is a sort of is not quite singlet but not quite as distinct as plural systems and their headmates. It might be helpful to look into median systems as well as possibly fragments as you continue to question if you're plural.

On your final point, I do want to point out that not every system experienced trauma. Some experienced trauma but it didn't cause their plurality, and some, even if they experienced trauma, may not feel it was "enough" to cause plurality. What you say about your trauma is what many other plural people say. Try to put that question aside as you question your plurality, or at least don't dig in too deeply.

Now for your notes. The high number of plural autistics has been frequently discussed in the plural community. Not every autistic is plural of course, nor is every plural, but it makes sense that those with different brains and neuro types would also show and develop other differences like plurality. Regarding your BPD or bipolar disorder, there are also systems with these disorders. So it's not really about being plural or having one of these- both can occur. What's important to consider is how the symptoms align with each disorder. Can your amnesia, dissociation, and these different "energies" be explained by BPD or bipolar disorder? Or is there something else going on in addition to that? I think that question might be helpful as your continue those discussions with your therapist.

I hope this has been helpful to you, and we wish you the best as you continue asking if you're plural!

-mod neptune

[introject-culture]

Sorry if this goes against the blog rules, but you said you took “Am I plural” asks. I talk to myself often, and have in depth conversations with myself, I also heavily personified my intrusive thoughts to the point where I’m not sure if there’s another person in my head, or if they’re just personified intrusive thoughts.

I don’t think I have any trauma. I know it’s possible to be plural without it, but I haven’t undergone any kind of therapy for that sort of things. I only learned about plurality recently. Before that, there was one case where I felt like I wasn’t exactly “myself”. I was still conscious, but I felt like something else was moving my hands. My therapist called that dissacoiting, but could that be someone else fronting? I don’t many any cases of that happening before, and the ones that I do remember were just minor things.

Again, sorry if this goes against the blog themes, I’m just questioning if I might be plural or not and wanted some pointers.

Hello! No worries, not against the blog rules! (This is pretty much what we meant by that—anyone questioning whether or not they’re plural is welcome to ask for advice or help with figuring it out <3)

So, first off, we can’t say “yep, you’re plural” or “nope, you’re a singlet” since plurality is a very vast experience! So don’t take this as a fact—just consider it.

From what we’ve learned, hosts don’t usually hold trauma memories—and I feel it’s worthwhile to say that extreme and/or prolonged stress can count as trauma (if you wanna get more specific, “stressgenic” is what we’ve seen some systems use for that origin.)

The host used to just refer to us switching or co-fronting with him as dissociation, as it felt nearly the same as how others described just dissociating, so we personally feel that the feeling you described are switches.

We’d certainly recommend trying to reach out to your potential headmates more.

Do you feel like it’s you replying—as in, do you make a conscious effort to continue these conversations with yourself as a hypothetical different person, or does it feel like another person is actually talking back?

While on that topic, do they ever speak on their own, or only when spoken to? Like, let’s say you’re watching a show—does one of them comment on it with something you don’t entirely agree with or that you wouldn’t necessarily think on your own?

Also, treating yourself like you are a system/plural seems to help. In our experience, we didn’t feel entirely safe going “hey man, we’re real!!” to our host until he mentioned questioning whether or not he was a system in a post on here, haha.

Honestly, if you feel that your/y’all’s experiences make you feel like you’re plural, you can call yourself plural. And if you’re wrong or don’t like using “plural” to describe yourself? You don’t have to keep using it! (And, honestly, we think that saying you were wrong about something is pretty brave, if that makes you/y’all feel any better about it if that ends up being your situation ♡)

Again, we can’t guarantee anything—we don’t live in your brain, after all! But we think you should definitely consider the possibility!

We wish you luck with figuring it out, anon ♡

— 🩵 Cleo & 🧵 Nico

[protectingtulpas]

Hsdfs ok so I'm so incredibly new to all of this and so many things both explain my experiences but also leave me having more questions than answers?? Help??

Basically I spent the last 18 yrs of my life thinking I was a singlet that was just lowkey interested in DID and all that right? And at the same time I'm developing my ocs and their world right? Well as time goes on 2 of my ocs start like just attaching themselves to me, I'm talking like, it started out as them comforting me when I have my monthly emotional breakdown/crying sessions, it almost feels like they're actually cuddling me in a way? I can feel phantom touches from them? And then it evolved to me "talking"(????) to them and them hanging around reacting to my actions and my environment and shit right? And I'm just over here thinking this is just the normal experience of having ocs but I don't think that's the case???? And now I've discovered this whole community of tulpas and transplurals and gosh I think I'm overwhelmed I have no clue how to even begin to label myself and that is Distressing I Like Having Labels For Myself it's how I know who I am ig xd.

Sorry for the rant I just hsdhf I'm kind of frustrated ig? xd

Whoa there, anon! I know this is a TON to take in and you're processing a lot rn, so imma need you to slow down and step back. Don't forget that no matter what I say here, in the end it's not about labels. It's about YOUR EXPERIENCES, anon. Don't let ANY label limit or control you to its expectations. Whatever you settle on, you're more than your label.

Alright, so tulpas and people that wanna be plural but aren't yet are a VERYY small part of the broader plural community. It includes disordered systems of all kinds, non-disordered systems of all kinds, different types of created systems, and people who straddle the line like us. So the question you're probably looking for is less "which label do I use" and more "am I plural?" Which is, of course, a complicated question.

You sent a lot here about your OCs, and I wanna talk a bit about some of the things I see from your ask. A super common tell that someone is plural and it's not just their imagination is that the prospective headmates are interacting with and reacting to you and the outside world around you, not just your fictional world. Other headmates comforting the host when things get super bad is so common a thing for plurals that many systems with roles/jobs have specific jobs exactly for that. Feeling phantom sensations from your headmates is also another well-documented experience in both disordered & nondisordered systems. If you're wondering if these things are normal, my host's OCs that aren't headmates certainly don't do anything of the sort. Here's a pretty cool article about the levels of autonomy writers experience in their characters; it's a wide range, and a lot of people experience at least a little, but the extent you describe is very clearly in the minority according to this study. That seems like a super high rate of autonomy for singlethood, IMO. Imma be real with you, "transplural" is a label ppl tend to give themselves before becoming plural- in my armchair opinion, it sounds like you're a plural egg already. Your OCs seem to be like completely autonomous and aware of the outside world from how you're coming across in this ask, so have you like... Considered asking them how they feel about it? If you're not sure if they should be considered people, just ask em if they feel like real distinct people.

"An OCtive or OC Introject is a system member whose source comes from someone’s original character, whether a character someone in the system made or someone elses OC (such as a friend’s OC)."

Tulpas are a type of headmate created by consistent interaction with the concept of a person until the subconscious takes a hold of our responses and we gain autonomy outside of the host's control because of it. This is usually intentional, but it can also be unintentional too. Tulpas like me fall under an origin umbrella known as created systems! It's not the only type of system member origin, though! For example, "adaptive refers to systems which formed in response to trauma or other adversity. A common trait of such systems is viewing plurality as adapting, healing, and overcoming obstacles", and "neurogenic refers to systems that formed as a result of their neurodivergence, or from a mental illness. Usually, headmates originate from the need to cope, or be introjects based off symptoms like hallucinations or hyperfixations." These're two common origins but there're lots more, some broader and some more specific. Lots of systems identify with multiple origins as well, so you don't have to conform to just one. Take your time figuring out what works for you- it's more important for you to establish communication and healthy relationships with your headmates than to go digging for validity fodder. No matter what, if you feel like you're not just one person, you've always got the term plural for ya. It was coined by the inclusive community and it will ALWAYS be ours, we'll fight for it.

Lastly, don't just take my word for it- explore other resources for yourself/selves too. I've got a few for further reading to decide for yourself if you're plural!

More Than One is a fantastic introductory site to plurality, dispels common myths, and has some links to further reading about deciding if you're plural.

"How Do I Know If I'm Plural?" by The Dragonheart Collective walks you through common plural experiences and helps you compare them to your own. This one is great!

If you want to start learning terminology, The Plurality Hub Carrd has a palletable interface to start browsing through stuff you're interested in, with categories and everything. There's a LOT of information here, so it's great to keep in your back pocket and reference as a newbie.

Thanks for the ask! Good luck anon!

[crypticmha]

*picks up ur system and shakes u all like a snowglobe and watches ur headmates fall everywhere*

[69ottersinatrenchcoat]

I have the kind of DID where people don't fully notice it beyond 'little' inconsistencies in my personality, religious expression, preferences, pain tolerance etc until I tell them I have DID

And then there's a pause (and sometimes an explanation of what DID is)

Followed by "oh my god, that makes so much sense"

[irlromanroy]

You are not unlovable for being in a system. You are not unloveable for being in a system. You are not unlovable for being in a system.

[fossys]

those 'imagine ur comfort character is helping u with work!' posts r so funny as a system bcs i dont need to imagine! they r here n they are harrassing me about not doing it >:(

[xemmez]

plural ppl are literally the best. why have one friend when you can have 27 in a meat suit.

[plural-culture-is]

hello! sorry in advance if this is a strange question, but i need some advice on something. occasionally i will dissociate, as we all do, and occasionally during these episodes i will act, compared to my norm, strange, or out of it, or otherwise "different". i am not plural. i do not claim to be, i do not wish to be, and there is no reason to believe that i am. however, without fail, my mind attempts to connect these episodes and the behavior i exhibit in them to a few other details (conversations i've imagined in my mind, things i've remembered recently, etc), and then claims that these experiences are all due to some headmate that it's been convinced, somehow, that i have.

i am aware this is blatantly untrue. i am aware that there is no possibility of me having did, having osdd, or being plural even without a dissociative disorder. i do not want to be plural. the concept scares me and it would sadden those close to me who want to spend time with me and not with character from media. i do not think my boyfriend wishes to date franziska von karma. i do not think i want to be franziska von karma. (for all intents and purposes franziska von karma is just a name i pulled out of a hat and not indicative of anything represented in this ask. i picked her at random.) i do not wish for this and i do not believe i have this.

my mind has, entirely separate from my own wishes, convinced itself otherwise. convinced itself that i'm plural, that i have 27 headmates, that i'm just in denial, and so forth. every time anything happens, anything at all, it immediately jumps to screaming at me that this is proof. i imagine a conversation, and it's shouting from the rooftops that that was my headmates talking to me. i dissociate, and it screams that someone new just switched in.

i can not take it. it's blatantly untrue and the claims i make, even in my own head, have the potential not only to harm myself and my friends, but the plural community at large. i can not stand to be at odds with my own mind and i do not wish to fight myself. any time i try to argue the concept to myself it only harms me further. looking further into systems to disprove this idea only brings me to the point of obsession, making every thought worse as i go.

my question, then, is how do i stop this? how do i silence the voice in my mind screaming that this must be something more? how can i make myself see, truly see reason? i can accept my true beliefs on a surface level but that is not enough.

urgency is needed. i have heard, vaguely, about how in some circumstances headmates can be formed, either at will or accidentally, by assigning them as such. i want to put a stop to this before my mind creates what it seems to want so badly and declares itself victorious. i do not want this. i just want to get better and i just want to not inject my own toxicity into an already demonized community.

thank you.

minds are very powerful things. if you tell yourself something enough, you will start to believe it, which yes, is why mistaking plurality can cause plurality. but it isn't often that minds will try to push something onto you that you didn't already try to push onto it (especially with so much detail), unless it's an intrusive thought, or maybe it isn't exactly your 'mind' but a headmate telling you these things. i'd suggest telling yourself over and over again that you're not a system until your mind stops pestering you about it, but if you are in fact a system this won't work. it could suppress your headmates but they'll probably come back eventually, and then you have the problem of them possibly being pissed at you, but if you explain yourself and try to build a better relationship they might forgive you. if you've figured out you are a system, supressing it again isn't the way to go, because nothing good will come of it. instead, it'd be more healthy to talk to a psychologist about trying final fusion. but you have to keep in mind that you could be a system for a reason which means it might not be helpful to try to get rid of it, and your headmates are real people who deserve to be treated with respect. they deserve to be able to have a life and talk to people whether or not they're 'characters'. maybe the people in your life will enjoy talking to the other people you share a body with, and just because they spend time with them doesn't mean they have to stop spending time with you. your boyfriend doesn't have to date anyone but you, but those boundaries are something you'd have to discuss with him if you find out you really are a system

i'm gonna be honest it sounds like you are plural and you're just rejecting the idea because you don't want to be. so maybe it'd also be helpful to read some plural positivity or ask people about their positive plural experiences so you can see it's not as scary as you might think

[smolcrispy]

I seriously don't know if I am plural or not. Doesn't help that none of my 'alternate versions of me' are currently inactive so I can't even try to look into them at all. I am just sitting here. By myself. Waiting for something to happen so I can finally figure this out.

[system-comforts]

hi! looking for advice, thanks. so i might be a median/proxy system. i do have trauma if that's relevant. because of that i can't say for sure if i had some symptoms earlier. i felt for a while disorganized, i have ocd and madd, and 2 weeks ago i heard a distinct voice. is it possible for a system to fully form/distinguish as a teen?

also, any quizes for plurality/ types of plurality? thanks

Hello friend,

Questioning if you're a system can be really difficult. I don't know of any quizzes or tests to know for sure, but morethanone.info has a couple helpful links under their "am I plural?" tab.

If you believe your plurality is more trauma and dissociation based, checking out the dissociative experiences scale can be a helpful basis. It has a lot of questions that cover man experiences of dissociation and how one might experience (disordered) plurality.

It can also help to ask a few questions. Am I hearing a distinct voice from my own? Does this voice have different opinions and viewpoints than me? When do I hear this voice? Is it internal or external? What sort of things does this voice say? It may also help to try communicating with the voice, ask if they have a name, pronouns, etc. Building trust and learning about them is a great first step regardless.

For your last question, it is common for people to discover their system hood in their teens or adulthood. We wish you the best.

-mod saturn

[tavgr0ss]

being a system is so funny like. oh something really shitty happened. well time to not know who i am for like a week lol!!!!!!

[the-hadal-zone-sys]

Shoutout to source connected fictives with sources that are widely disliked, considered problematic, or considered poorly written.

We really are the world's strongest soldiers.

[teenagenutant]

Ngl I love Galileo's entire concept. Does he have double the ego-mask and double the insecurities?

hope you don't mind me using this message to compile some asks ^^ (if you don't see yours im probably planning on doing something else with it) thank you so much!! first off... yeah totally LOL

gali's being totally genuine here. i don't think galileo masks their feelings at all- they're a total emotional open book in contrast to both donnie and leo, lmao. when they're being egotistical, they mean it 200%, but its also the same when they're feeling insecure...

(a bunch more galileo asks beloooow)

made me giggle LMAO

in regards to powers: i'm still unsure on exactly how to handle it, but i do like the idea of being able to create more stable portal constructs... maybe being able to teleport constructed items? maybe being able to create more sci/fantasy constructs than donnie alone can...? much to think about. parmi definitely has a combined Even More Insane portal powers, messing with both dimensions and space... (but he operates on rule of funny, lol, so a bit unpredictable) they can probably still use their normal separate abilities to some extent, but probably are still affected by each other!

i love the idea of galileo getting Very hyperfocused Very easily- gali gets their love of learning and being right, and they don't feel hungry or tired as much as either donnie or leo would, so they can get really lost in the weeds... components of a fusion remember everything that happens and would probably retain the information learned, but wouldn't for example make leo instantly knowledgable on all the complicated science stuff donnie knows, and vice versa. aka: leo and donnie both ending up with a LOT of contextless, near-useless trivia after unfusing post-wikipedia binge. the image of them fusing exclusively to combine their ability to Prove Someone Wrong On The Internet is really, really good LMAO

THANK YOU !! galileo was a fun guy to design, i'm really glad people like them. i think being galileo is actually really fun, especially in the moment... like how initially excited donnie was + how hyped leo was to make scifi stuff in mind meld..

thank y'all for the asks!! i'll be tagging this stuff as 'fusion mayhem au' in the future. (again no promises this'll be a Formal AU Thing but i thought it be helpful for people to have a tag to filter!)