#polyfragmented osdd

[sysmedsaresexist]

hi!! i wanna ask since i've seen this float around the internet and couldn't get more in-depth info about it, but can osdd-1 be polyfragmented?

So, this is actually a pretty complicated topic. First off, I gotta know how we're describing "polyfragmented" here. Some people use it to describe systems with 100+ parts (mostly fragments/rudimentary parts), other people use it to talk about systems with subsystems, and then lately the online community has started to say it's both and more than that but also none of that. So, yeah, I'm gonna need to know how you personally describe it to give you a more concrete answer.

Now here comes the rambles... (Also, sorry if I sound a little blunt talking about this, it's not aimed at you!)

So, I know that the online community really likes "polyfragmented" as a term, but in modern academic literature and in my medical circles, it's not really common? I just don't hear "polyfragmented" being used that often. Large amounts of parts, subsystems, fragments, etc. are just not all that uncommon or unique when we're talking about DID or OSDD. If anyone likes the term for themselves, that's perfectly fine. It really is just more of a casual term, though, not its own diagnosis or special form of dissociation.

Personally, I think "is polyfragmented OSDD-1 real" is not a productive conversation to have. The clinical field largely seems to agree that there's little difference between OSDD-1 and DID, and there's been many proposals to merge them together under a new name or as just DID... Personally, I support this idea. It's not uncommon for someone who better fits DID to get diagnosed with OSDD, vice versa. I’m not surprised that some people diagnosed with OSDD also find that they fit the definition(s) of polyfragmented.

Unfortunately, I see a lot of discourse over polyfragmented OSDD-1 in the online community just devolve into pain olympics. I’m tired of it. In research, DID is often placed on a continuum with PTSD, with OSDD in the middle. I sometimes see people in the online community use this continuum to say that DID is somehow worse than OSDD. Those people assume that "polyfragmented DID" is a worse DID. I understand that it's easier to think of these things in neat little boxes and hierarchies but this is mental health we're talking about here. It just doesn't fucking work like that!

As someone who fits most definitions of polyfragmented DID, I've met people with just PTSD who were more disabled, more in pain, sometimes even more dissociative than me. DID is on a continuum with PTSD, yes, but if your understanding of that is "DID is a worse version of OSDD which is a worse version of PTSD," then you have vastly misunderstood what that continuum means.

[henryisabigfatbitch]

System Blog Poll

[evilsystem]

being immortal and having DID must be crazy. yeah our boy Carlos hasn't fronted in 300 years and just woke up to the sound of Uptown Funk and started screaming

[littlest-bugz]

When you’re mid sentence and suddenly forget literally everything you were talking about

[omnium-gatherums]

Fellow system here! I don’t know what being polyfragmented means. Could you please explain it to me?

Polyfragmented DID is really difficult to explain because there's not really any literature on it beyond a few papers.

Generally, it means somebody who has a complicated system. Polyfragmented systems also tend to have a high number of alters, but that's not a requirement.

There is no set number of how many alters you have to have, despite what people might try to say. And having a large number of alters is not the defining feature of polyfragmented DID; it is the complex organization of a system that's more important.

Besides, most polyfragmented systems will tell you that they have no idea how many alters they have, but they know they're polyfragmented for other reasons (I myself can't tell you how many, but I know there are many based off of the many common features of polyfragmented DID that I highly relate to, my own feelings, etc.).

Here are COMMON FEATURES of polyfragmented systems:

Note that these are COMMON FEATURES and not DEFINING FEATURES. Not all polyfragmented systems will have these experiences, nor will they have ALL of these experiences, and these experiences do not DEFINE polyfragmented DID.

It's common for polyfragmented systems to have a history of trauma/abuse that lasted a very long time.

It's common for polyfragmented systems to have a history of trauma/abuse that started very early in life (as an infant, a toddler, etc.)

It's common for polyfragmented systems to have a history of trauma that occurred over many, many years (past teenage years, past adulthood, etc.)

It's common for polyfragmented systems to have a history of extreme and/or sadistic abuse (organized abuse, ritual abuse, sexual abuse involving animals, etc.)

It's common for polyfragmented systems to split alters easily, and frequently.

"As children they had been so bombarded with outrages that they had not been able to develop a cohesive and comprehensive system of alters within which their further traumata could be managed. Instead, new alters were formed frequently on an ad hoc basis, and many persisted, some becoming major, some highly specialized, and some fairly inactive. Clearly their families were chaotic and unsafe, as evidenced by the high percentage of incest victims." -- The Phenomenology and Treatment of Extremely Complex Multiple Personality Disorder

"All MPD patients were most unfortunate in their life experiences, but for many the abuse was unusual even by the norms of work with MPD patients." -- The Phenomenology and Treatment of Extremely Complex Multiple Personality Disorder

Having a large amount of alters may mean that many alters share overlapping traits, likes, dislikes, etc.

Having so many alters and so many alters with overlapping traits may make it difficult for polyfragmented systems to figure out who their alters are, figure out their system, etc.

It's common for polyfragmented systems to have alters who might seem like different "versions" of the same alter

Polyfragmented systems often might mistakenly believe that they had OSDD due to the nature of how similar their parts are, how difficult it is to discern between who is who, etc.

Polyfragmented systems may frequently find themselves discovering new alters frequently, sometimes daily/weekly/etc.

Polyfragmented systems may be more likely to feel as if they never have a sense of self, or only very rarely have a sense of self

While this is true for ANY system, small or not, I believe it's accurate to say that polyfragmented systems may be more likely to experience a presentation of DID that is not "obvious" to others.

"The more alters that a patient has, the higher the percentage of them that will appear less frequently or openly. To anticipate a point, the more alters that are both present and active, the less clearly is the patient likely to display the features expected to be found in the classic descriptions of MPD, which are based on the alternation of a small number of well-defined alters." -- The Phenomenology and Treatment of Extremely Complex Multiple Personality Disorder

"Another phenomenon that appears to have impacted on the manifest appearance of these patients, and thus upon their ability to be diagnosed, is order effect. First brought to the awareness of the MPD field by Frank W. Putnam, M.D., in a series of workshops and other presentations, this phenomenon relates to the fact that all alters are not the same all the time. Alter A may be somewhat different when it has been preceded by alter B than when it follows alter C. In situations in which many alters are switching with rapidity and facility, their appearance may not be as crisp and clear as when they are elicited in the clinical situation from a relatively placid baseline. In naturalistic circumstances, the alters of a highly complex and rapidly switching MPD patient may show few of the clear phenomena commonly associated with the condition." -- The Phenomenology and Treatment of Extremely Complex Multiple Personality Disorder

"Some multiples with subtle forms could be complex multiples with 26 or more personalities and personality states or polyfragmented multiples." -- DIAGNOSIS OF COVERT AND SUBTLE FORMS OF MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER

It's common for polyfragmented systems to have less integrative capacity, and less ability to cope with stress, leading to many polyfragmented systems splitting alters in response to any and all stressors.

"A substantial minority had developed a pattern of forming new alters in the face of trivial stressors and inconveniences, or whenever they felt cornered." -- The Phenomenology and Treatment of Extremely Complex Multiple Personality Disorder

It's common for polyfragmented systems to switch frequently, and switch easily, often instantaneously.

* This is not exclusive to polyfragmented systems; any system can switch frequently, easily, and instantaneously; I just believe that polyfragmented systems may be more likely to experience this, but not always.

"Extremely Complex or Polyfragmented MPD: Presence of such a wide variety of alter personalities with such frequent switching between alters that it is difficult to discern the outline of MPD and the multiplicity actually disguises itself." -- Common Presentations of MPD

"Switching between alternate identities has been reported to take anywhere from a few seconds. to 30 sec, to brief times less than 2–5 min. However, the switches that occurred during this study were rapid and appeared instantaneous. Some switches were readily apparent, while others were not, but for the most part the DID participants were able to identify when they had switched in the previous session." -- Measuring Fragmentation in Dissociative Identity Disorder: the Integration Measure and Relationship to Switching and Time in Therapy

It's also common for polyfragmented systems to have an extremely vast, vivid, and distinct inner world, but not always.

"Over two-thirds had developed elaborate inner worlds, in which the personalities interacted among themselves to an extent that is far beyond the norm in MPD. These inner alters were quite crucial to these patients' psychological structure and could emerge and assume executive control." -- The Phenomenology and Treatment of Extremely Complex Multiple Personality Disorder

Here are some other things that Kluft's paper mentions about polyfragmented DID:

"Almost two-thirds developed complex splitting patterns so that more than one new alter emerged on each occasion of the formation of new alters. Some developed separate lines of alters, each of which divided further on each occasion of new alter formation. Some had developed a pattern of generating new alters in clusters, such as groups each of whose members served different functions, or retained different aspects of a terrible experience."

"A like number reported that others encouraged and / or manipulated their condition."

"Epochal divisions were common in most of this cohort as isolated phenomena, but played a major role in a substantial minority. With each major life change some or all of the alters were created anew, and their predecessors might either remain active or subside, and become covert or latent. The dynamics of such configurations usually reflect the wish to make a new start , rebirth fantasies, or anniversary phenomena."

"Those few MPD patients who analogize their plights to known myths or creative works (or who generate their own) may create a number of alters with little substance to fill in roles in their myth or reconfigure the present alters to parallel the personae of the myth/ creative work. With such patients, it becomes crucial to understand the communicative function of the myth rather than to become enmeshed within its details. One patient reconfigured her alters after reading J.R.R. Tolkien 's Lord oj the Rings, and presented a complex cadre of alters based on hobbits, orcs, and wizards; another used Shakespeare's Tempest, a situation that became clear when I encountered an alter called Caliban."

"Most MPD patients have alters based on identification, internalization, and introjection, but a small percentage have formed a massive number of alters in this manner as a defense against object loss. These patients were rejected by large extended families, and introjected their members, forming alters based upon them."

"A small number of MPD patients have attributed special power to particular symbols or numbers, and these come to influence their manner of alter formation. One patient felt the number seven had special meaning to her. She wore a ring with seven stones, and her alters emerged in groups of seven."

[botanical-garden-system]

Hey, it’s not your fault. You were just a kid. You may still BE a kid. But I know a few things for certain:

You didn’t ask to be born into this world.

You didn’t ask to be treated the way that you were treated—whether it was by bullies, parents, or other family members.

You didn’t ask to “be a burden” to your caregivers, you deserved that space to be loved and safe

You didn’t ask for your consent to be broken.

You didn’t ask for the shame and guilt someone put you through.

You aren’t bad for something happening to you. You aren’t your trauma.

I’m sorry if you were ever made to feel that way, and I know that may never mean much coming from a stranger, but I know it’s something I wish I heard more.

[cosmic-collective-system-things]

Most singlets do not obsess over whether or not they are plural. If you think you have a mental disability, you probably do. If you call yourself a system and it turns out to be wrong, that is ok. It is ok to try out different labels in your journey of discovering yourself. That goes for any mental disorder.

Most neurotypical people do not obsess over symptom lists and try to find exactly why they could or could not have a disorder. If you hear voices in your head, it could be plurality, schizophrenia, or other things, but it is not a neurotypical trait. If you have dissociation, amnesia, or any of the other traits of did that led you to believe you are a system, then you probably are

[actuallyverynormalbtw]

realizing youre Real is .weird,,

like you can exist for Years??? never noticing??? never thinking about Yourself. assuming you are the host, or assuming you are another alter.

it is WEIRD to sit there with your morning coffee, having a conversation, and just suddenly the stars align . and you realize how different you are from "you" . you realize you werent "you", you were actually YOU the whole time.

I KNOW THIS DOESNT MAKE SENSE BUT I HOPE SOMEONE GETS IT

[cosmic-collective-now-endo-safe]

Space themed [plural] ask game based on common fakeclaim "criteria" because these things are valid and cool actually

🛰-Do you have a large headcount?

👾-Do any alters in your system have typing quirks?

🚀-Does your system have any Non-human alters?

☄️-Is your system neurodivergent?

🔭-Does your system use neo Pronouns?

🌠-Do any of the alters in your system have dyed hair?

🌙-Are there any nonverbal alters in your system?

🪐-Does your system have Angry or "dangerous" persecutors?

💫-Do your littles use 'little-speech?'

🌌-Does your system have little to no amnesia between switches?

🌟-Does your system have fairly clear communication?

🌘-Do you have a large or complex headspace?

🛸-Do any alters in your system have exo-memories?

👽Does your system have any tics?

☀️-is your system bad at masking?

✨️-Do any alters in your system have an accent?

🌎-Do any alters in your system speak in a different language?

☁️-Does your system use things like pluralkit and simply plural?

⭐️-are you out about being a system?

[plurapony]

what if we just started treating fakeclaimers like creepy old men. how about that.

like helloooo why are you trying to figure out if bad things happened to me as a child??? why do you want to know about the results of how my childhood affected me???? ummmm that's kinda weird ngl.

[incognitosystem]

shoutout to systems that got so manipulated and gaslighted by their abusers that it took them years to realize what they went/go through daily was not normal at all, we're with you

[ghost-jester-sys]

sometimes DID is "haha people in brain"

but most of the time its:

"fuck wait when did it become [time] why am i on my phone didnt i need to make dinner? oh no who am i whats going on"

*constant vague flashbacks as people float in and out of front*

"oh god when did i get here where am i?"

*deep dissociation*

*being unable to care for myself due to dissociation*

"i do this all the time why cant *i* do this why can i not remember?"

*forgetting important or even just every day things*

*can never think clearly*

*too many voices and thoughts that arent mine*

[cccat-in-a-meat-sack]

”I want to know your headcount” “I want to know who’s fronting” so do I, get in line

[elamorsys]

master list!

system templates

long whimsical template

shortish love template

long undertale template

long Angel template

long fruit temp

long genshin temp

short website temp

Long Neapolitan temp

long marceline temp

layer templates

Medium customizable temp

side systems templates

Medium jungle template

subsys templates

medium carnival template

medium war temp

medium coffinwood template

alter templates

medium ocean template

medium doll template

short & medium space template

medium blood template

medium duck template

long star template

long bee/honey template

medium music template

shortish horror movie temp

medium pink scene template

long Angel template

long star no emoji template

long ocean template

bio templates

cutesy temp

prn templates

star templates

display name templates

wip

simply plural layouts

our sp layout

our custom fields

our sp groups

other templates and layouts

private system server template

pronoun, genders and names

baking xeno prns

fox xeno prns & genders

space xeno prns &genders

genders we coined

performinggender

pokegender

flower hat jelly gender

tsunamic

[littlest-bugz]

How it feels when your system is trying to make any important decision

[omnium-gatherums]

What they don't tell you about DID is that almost everything is just vibes. Literally just vibes. System mapping, inner world, knowledge about alters in general - vibes.