#programmed did

[creature-wizard]

With Trump coming back into office, it's more crucial than ever that folks with DID and those seeking mental health care in general understand that this whole idea of DID programming cults is a pseudoscientific far right conspiracy theory associated with all kinds of hateful garbage.

Here are some posts to read on this topic:

How Project Monarch fails the "Six Ways To Debunk Any Conspiracy Theory" sniff test

What the Project Monarch alter programming conspiracy theory is (and what it's not)

How the Project Monarch alter programming conspiracy theory developed

Cathy O'Brien - The First Project Monarch "Survivor"

Fritz Springmeier and Cisco Wheeler: Two Of The Most Dangerous Conspiracy Theorists Most People Have Never Heard Of

Unwelcome Ozian copied Fritz Springmeier and Cisco Wheeler - see for yourself!

I just read Unwelcome Ozian's "Rules of Programming," and Oh Boy.

How to explain to others that Project Monarch isn't real

Recovered memory therapy from the perspective of former patients

How singlets can be misled into believing they have DID

Don't let people guilt trip you into accepting substandard evidence

[outnumberedsins]

OEA Terms - Clinical/Academic vs. Community

This post aims to provide comparisons and sources for OEA community terms and their academic counterparts. This is not a post that serves to say what terms are more valid or not, just a review. I may not be able to find references to everything, so if I say a term isn't clinical and it has been mentioned, feel free to correct me. This is a long one, so buckle in. This may be updated.

Overarching Acronyms

for the sake of clarity, im going to use 'OEA' throughout this post to serve as the general acronym.

RAMCOA - Ritual Abuse, Mind Control, and Organized Abuse

RAMCOA stems from the ISSTD developed special interest group, the "Ritual Abuse Mind Control Organized Abuse Special Interest Group" (RAMCOA SIG) in 2008. [1] This, along with OEA, is the most common acronym used. There is a lot of controversy over this term, and much of the community has begun to switch to OEA.

OEA - Organized Extreme Abuse

From the ISSTD as well, emerging in 2020 as the previous SIG was renamed to "Organized and Extreme Abuse SIG." [2] This is believed to be because of the controversy surrounding the previously named group.

SRA - Satanic Ritual Abuse

An outdated term that comes from the satanic panic era in the 1980s. Much of the content that used this term is conspiracy-like in nature. However, some early OEA research (typically from 1990-2000) and books use this acronym and are genuine, so it requires a lot of critical thinking. [3][4]

RA, SA, CRA, ORA - Ritual Abuse, Sadistic Abuse, Cult (and) Ritual Abuse, Organized Ritual Abuse

These are more casual terms used in the 1990s-early 2000s before RAMCOA was established, when 'Satanic' was no longer accurate, and when there was a search to coin a new overarching term. Despite the name, these terms were used as overarching acronyms for things outside of RA as well. I've included these all in one due to their similarities and/or due to the fact they weren't used frequently. There are also a variety of other terms mentioned that I've noted in one of the sources below.[5, CRA] [6, SA][7, RA as a general term ][8, ORA, review of other terms]

DIDMCSRA - Dissociative Identity Disorder, Mind Control, and Satanic Ritual Abuse

A barely used term from 2016 coined by a community member. It seems to have existed very briefly and didn't extend past a couple of members. However, the community aspect provided is interesting.

MC-Specific Terms

terms specific to mind control and programming

Programming

Programming generally has the same definition between the community and clinicians. It is defined as "systematic torture that blocks the victim’s capacity for conscious processing, and then employs suggestion and/or classical and operant conditioning to implant thoughts, directives, and perceptions in the unconscious mind, often in newly-formed trauma-induced dissociated identities, that force the victim to do, feel, think, or perceive things for the purposes of the programmer." [9]

TBMC/TBCMC - Trauma/Torture Based Mind Control/Trauma Based Coersive Mind Control

TBMC is a term that clinically describes programming. However, within the community, this term can expand to include other types of mind control as well. The earliest mention I can find of this term was in 2007. [9]

Scripts - "Structures."

The term 'Script' is a community term to describe a phenomenon in programming where programmers will utilize certain media to program system structure. I have a whole other post on this. The term Script itself comes from an unreliable source, svalispeaks, but the idea itself is mentioned in literature under terms such as "Structures" of the innerworld. I'm just going to leave a link to my post about it if you want to explore the sources themselves, as this one is complicated.

Side Systems / 'Left' and 'Right' Systems

Sidesystems are a community made term that describes a structure in programmed systems where a set of alters are completely separate from the others, functioning as a completely separate system. In the clinical sense, this is sometimes referred to as the "left" and "right" systems, with one side being full of programmed parts and the other being daily life parts. However, sidesystems don't necessarily have to be to the left or right of each other. I'm also going to link my post that goes into more detail about them, but it doesn't provide any more clinical sources, so just take it how you will.[10, pg 131]

Screen / Cover Memories

Screen Memories are created memories that programmers use to "cover up" the abuse. They use impossible or highly improbable events, for example, an alien abduction, to discredit the victim and hide real memories of abuse. This is also called Cover Memories/Programs, and it is the same within the community. [10, pg 197]

System Reset / Epochal Division

Epochal Division refers to the phenomenon of where major life changes cause systems to replicate some or all of their alters, with the previously existing alters either remaining active or becoming more covert/dormant. OEA survivors sometimes call this a system reset if it derives from programming, though this term is the same as an endogenic coined one and is often frowned upon when used in reference to OEA. This is first documented by Kluft in reference to polyfragmented systems. [11]

System-Hopping

In the OEA sense, system hopping refers to the action of a part traveling from a sidesystem to the main system and vice versa. I am unsure of the origin of this term in OEA spaces, but it seems to be a community-made term that shares the name with an endogenic term. As far as I'm aware, this did not originate as an OEA community term and has existed in endogenic spaces years prior between the years 2001-2003.

Program Names

i won't go through all community terms for specific types of programming, only the most common ones I've seen specifically mentioned in literature or other official sources, as well as any very common within the community. these are not the only possible programs, but this section is already very long. if desired, i can make a separate post going more in detail about all of them. Sources here are triggering and often repeated.

Greek Letters

The greek letter system of programming originated from the community and is not used in clinical literature. Many of the terms originate from very untrustworthy sources (Fritz & Svali) but have expanded to be commonplace. I have also found evidence of Greek letter terms used in the community in 2003 and 2016.

Alpha / Base

The earliest mention of 'Alpha' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. However, it is described as "base" programming and similar terms clinically. The term refers to newly formed splits that have gone through basic programming (ex. loyalty to the group, following orders).

Backups / Doubles

Backup programs are the presence of programmed parts meant to replace other programmed parts should they fail or be 'disobedient'. Often, these parts will be the exact same as the one they're replacing and receive the same training. Both of these are used as clinical terms, though doubles less commonly. [10, pg 110, pg 144]

Beta / Sexual

The earliest mention of 'Beta' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. Within the community, this refers to any sexual programming, which is very commonly talked about academically. I'll link one seperate example. [12]

Callback / Re-Contact / Return

Return programs are very much talked about in literature, and all three of the above terms have been used both inside and outside the community. These refer to any programs created to have the victim return to the group/programmers. [13][10][14, pg 115 ]

Delta / Violence

The absolute earliest mention of 'Delta' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. However, violence programming is referenced in multiple official sources. In the community, Delta programming refers to any programming that revolves around violence towards others. [15]

Epsilon / Nonhuman / Paranormal

Epsilon is the community term for nonhuman programming, or parts that believe they are animals or other nonhuman creatures. This is used for a variety of reasons and doesn't have a specific term, mainly just listed as "parts who believe they are animals/nonhuman."[10, pg 51][14, pg 74 ]

Internal Handlers / Programmers / Enforcers / Organizers

While "Internal Handlers" seems to be more of a community term, Internal Programmers, Enforcers, and Organizers are used in a clinical sense. All of these things refer to varients of programmed parts that internally enforce, replay, and replace programs and programmed parts in some way. These are also often called "higher ups." [10, pg 160, pg 133] [14, pg 63]

Monarch

Project Monarch refers to an alleged subset of Project MKUltra. The idea is created by a conspiracy theorist. However, within the community, "Monarch programming" either refers to: 1. The government-led mind control that occurred during MKUltra/Project Artichoke itself, or 2. Any programming that is government-controlled, government-funded, or that came from a government connected group. It is also referred to as "Monarch-like" programming.

Omega / Suicide / Self-Injury / Lethal

Omega is the community term for all types of Lethal and Self-Injury programming. This is referred to in many different ways academically, but stick to the same general theme. [15]

Organization / Hierarchy

Both in community and clinical senses, there are various types of organizational programming mentioned. Most notably, soldiers, religious alters (angels, demons, etc), and cues such as numbers, shapes or letters, and colors. Usually, these organizations will correspond to a hierarchy. This is used as a way for programmers to more easily organize the system and keep parts in check. There is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to organizational programs, so those with the same type of organization may have completely different meanings to them. [10, pg 49, pg 131 ]

Reporter / Observer

Reporter programs refer to the same thing in community and clinical terms. They describe programmed parts whose duty it is to report back to the group and/or update them on the systems habits. This often ties into callback and routine programs.[13][10]

Routine / Internal Calender

Routine is the community term for programmed behaviors where the victim does things on certain times, days, etc. Often, this pertains to rituals. Routine programming is sometimes also referred to as an 'Internal Calender' in clinical literature and can be linked with callback programming. [14, pg 57] [15]

Scramble and Varients

In this section, I'm including any sort of programming that causes specific disorentation to make this shorter. Scrambling, Flooding, Rapid Switching, Spinning, Trance, Mist, 'Dead Head,' and other terms have been created and used to describe types of programming that cause the victim to become heavily disoriented, confused, foggy, or otherwise not able to think. There are a wide variety of clinical terms used for these types of programming, but the terms most commonly used in the community are scramble, flood, and spin programming. [14 , pg 88][15][16]

Shell

Shell alters are simplistic parts that function as a 'screen' that other alters speak through. This is used to make the victim not seem multiple and mask other symptoms caused by programming and multiplicity. There is a brief mention of "shell" parts in the context of OSDD, and some non-programmed systems may have experiences that are similar. However, a programmed shell is much different from other described experiences. [14, pg 56 ]

Silence / Speaking Programs

I've included all programs that mention voice in this section. Silence and group-specific speaking programs (programmed responses) are the two I've seen mentioned clinically and may tie into reporter programs. Terms such as hyperverbal are also used in community spaces. [15]

Theta / Religious

The absolute earliest mention of 'Theta' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. However, it has been widely used within the community outside of that. Theta is a community term that refers to any kind of religious programming, which is well documented in the clinical sense, often just referred to as religious programming or specific examples of programmed parts.

Other / Misc Programming

Things like Body Illness Programs, misc Emotional Programs, Recycle and Amnesia programs, and Isolation programs have been listed in sources provided, among many others not listed here. These are the ones I see mentioned less frequently, and thus, I haven't given a full section. If desired, I'll create a specific post going over all of them.

System Types

as a note, i do not think systems who have been through OEA are inherently more complex. as mentioned, i personally disagree with HC-DID and its creator. this is simply grouping terms i've seen together.

C-DID / Complex DID

Complex DID is a term referring to polyfragmented DID. The term is mentioned by Bennett G. Braun and R. P. Kluft. It is not specific to OEA victims, and many use it as an alternative to polyfragmented.

EC-DID / Extremely Complex DID

EC-DID is a term initially coined by R. P. Kluft in reference to polyfragmented systems, very similar to C-DID. It is not an OEA specific term. However, ritual abuse is mentioned as a cause of said complex system structures. [11]

HC-DID / Highly Complex DID

HC-DID is a community-made term coined by someone later outed as a racist and being inappropriate with minors. For the term itself, the words "highly complex" have been used to describe some system structures and cases in literature. However, it is not a separate clinical term itself and was never said exclusively about OEA survivors. The idea that all programmed system structures are highly complex is also incorrect, as there are small systems that have been programmed. Some members of the community still use this term, while others discredit it. Please keep these things in mind when considering using this term.

RA-DID, OA-DID / Ritual Abuse DID, Organized Abuse DID

These are community terms I've seen used as an alternative to HC-DID as an attempt to create a term specific to OEA survivors. These terms are rarely used and are completely community based.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or additions, feel free to send an ask or reply to this post. A reminder that I am not a professional, I am flawed, and I am just doing my best. This post, in particular, is likely to be updated, and I will reblog with changes.

[planesofdelusion]

programming things that suck:

programmed migraines

programmed seizures

programmed arousal

flood programs

spin programs

God, everything about being programmed is awful

[coining-system-terms]

Secret Keeper - a programmed alter who refuses to tell anyone certain information, whether it be about abusers, details of abuse or similar

Flag Meaning : The blue represents hidden information, or secrets. The gradient of colours represents how the secret keeper may be hiding different information from different people (ex: what can be "public knowledge," vs what can be known by abuser A vs what abuser B can know). The icon in the center represents holding secrets and the flag entirely mirrors the Tattletale flag as these roles are similar yet opposite.

[starlitvases]

I really need people to understand that when I and other systems say, "I'm grateful for my system and I'm happy that I'm a system," it does not mean that we wanted to be systems.

I never wanted to go through horrific abuse to become a system. I never wanted to be programmed to be a system. I never wanted any of that. I wanted a happy and fulfilling childhood, but I didn't have that privilege. I never did.

My system is how I survived. It's how I was able to cope and actually live and breathe. I'd be dead without my system. Do I hate how we formed? Of course, I do. Do I hate my system? Not even in my dreams.

I'm allowed to be happy as a system, especially if it's what saved me. I'm allowed to be grateful that my system kept me alive and has allowed me to begin healing. I'm allowed to have happy moments. Don't misconstrue my words, and don't belittle anyone else who shares the same sentiment.

[fragmentedfae-userboxes]

These are strictly ramcoa/cult survivor related

[ridibulous]

I'm having a bit of a normal one tonight so

• shoutout to hc-did systems who don't have a fucking clue what all their programs are or how exactly they work or how they're triggered and may constantly be living like they're walking on eggshells.

• shoutout to hc-did systems who have no fucking idea what the full extent of their trauma is and are terrified to figure out more and/or want to learn everything that happened so badly.

• shoutout to hc-did systems who don't know or understand everything about their innerworld. fuck it shoutout to hc-did systems who just Don't Know in general!

• shoutout to hc-did systems who don't have any "real" or "physical" proof of their ramcoa besides their own memories.

• shoutout to hc-did systems whos perpetrators never got a lick of punishment for what they did to you or others.

• shoutout to hc-did systems who actively want or are trying to get their perpetrators punished for what they did.

• shoutout to hc-did systems who can't have their perpetrators punished for what they did.

• shoutout to hc-did systems who might still be in danger. real or perceived.

this ramcoa shit is so confusing and exhausting and horrible and lonely and fucking (re)traumatizing and it's so hard. i'm tired I just want people to believe me sometimes but how much do I believe other people believe me when I share the sheer horrors that rear their ugly heads in our mind. from alters popping up or a memory just appearing out of nowhere to just whole somatic flashbacks. how much can we take? how much DID we take?

[cathulhu-collective]

one thing that is really devastating about being programmed is the self blame and self hatred that it can accompany. I feel like a freak for some of my thoughts and some of my desires, they're disturbing to the degree that the dissociation is there to push it as far away as humanely possible, to convince myself I don't have any such desires. for example, a huge part of me doesn't want to separate from my handlers, or live a normal life. but that can't be right. the things being done to me aren't okay. why am I attracted to them? to pain, abuse? why does it make me feel safe? well I know why, but it's still devastating.

[requiemsystem]

WHAT IS RAMCOA

TW for discussion of RAMCOA and programming RAMCOA stands for Ritual Abuse, Mind Control, and Organized Abuse. below i will explain what each of these means RITUAL ABUSE is abuse done in a ritualized manner. this can have an ideology behind it but it doesnt always. an example would be abuse occurring at the same time of year (for example, on the individuals birthday, or on a holiday) in the same manner, or abuse occurring at the same time of day each day with a religious ideology behind it MIND CONTROL includes things such as TBMC and programming. TBMC stands for Torture Based Mind Control, it is the intentional implementation of triggers (cues) into a victim to make them behave in specific ways or believe specific things, done through torture. programming is a form of TBMC done with the intent to form dissociative states ORGANIZED ABUSE is abuse done in an organized manner. this involves multiple perpetrators and often multiple victims as well. some examples would be cults and trafficking rings in my opinion, you do not have to experience all of these to be a RAMCOA survivor. they often go together, and are closely linked, but not all OA survivors will be MC survivors, for example, and that doesnt make their experiences any less real - grey

[creature-wizard]

Okay so, this wonderful infographic gave me what I need to explain how it can be extremely easy to make someone think they have DID when they don't, and talk about my own experiences as someone who doesn't have DID, but has had my brain do things that could look like programmed DID to the people who were convinced that this is a real thing.

So as this infographic shows us, everybody is multifaceted. We all have different parts within our selves, so to speak. Different parts of ourselves can hold completely contrary opinions and beliefs.

So here's an example: There's a part of me that believes that there is no supernatural activity in the universe whatsoever, and that we live in a deterministic universe.

But there's another part of me that's like, "Hmm, actually, there are a few reasons to think there might be some supernatural things, and there's no strong evidence to support a deterministic universe. And besides that, determinism is kinda demoralizing, and there's the fact that people behave better when they believe in free will, so..."

There's a lot of contradictions like this in my brain. And my anxiety/depression often gives me some gnarly mood dips that often prompt my brain to prioritize its more pessimistic parts. But ultimately, I'm still experiencing these states as a single person.

For most people, these different parts are essentially integrated with each other, blending smoothly into each other so that it forms a fairly cohesive self. Most of us don't effectively become a different person when something happens to prompt us into prioritizing a different part.

But in a multiple system, these parts aren't integrated, because childhood trauma disrupted a key stage of brain development. This means that for multiple systems, each part is essentially its own entire person.

Now, here's one way somebody can be tricked or trick themself into thinking they have DID: Denial and repression.

Here's a hypothetical example: Someone grows up in a church where they're always told that the church's teachings are perfect. But they see where the church's teachings don't really prevent abuse; in fact, talking about abuse within the church is discouraged.

However, they've also been taught that eternal damnation awaits anyone who defies the church and its teachings. So they always push away the part of them that acknowledges that the church's negative aspects and force themselves to focus on whatever positives they can find.

However, this repressed part is still there, stewing under the surface, building resentment toward the church and toward its god.

Then one day something finally snaps, and this person can't hold this part of themselves back any longer. It bursts to the surface and they make a raging rant against the church and against God.

Once this person gets it all off their chest and the pressure is relieved, they find themselves absolutely horrified because what they've just said is in such drastic conflict with the part of themselves they've forced themselves to prioritize, the part that they've convinced themselves is their only set of beliefs and feelings.

This is where the SRA/RAMCOA/TBMC/ITBC/whatever they're calling it now "expert" can come in and explain that actually, they just experienced a programmed alter fronting. Then they explain how there's all of these secret Satanic cults that program people to have good Christian front alters but also program them to have other alters that hate Christianity.

Literally anything somebody might be repressing this way could be interpreted as a programmed alter. A woman who represses the part of herself that wants to explore taboo sexual desires or even just present herself as a sexual being can be convinced she has beta kitten programming, for example.

Another way people can come to wrongly believe they have DID is failing to understand that different parts in a person's can become associated with certain characters or figures, and that these parts can be "channeled."

For example, someone with abusive parents watches a TV show with a character who feels outraged over the way their parents abused them. This resonates with the part of their brain that feels outraged about the way their parents treat them, and they form an association between this character and their own feelings.

Once this happens, they can experience this character expressing opinions and stating intentions fueled by these feelings, and when their brain prioritizes this part of themself, they might find themself acting more like this character in some way. Furthermore, they might also be able to "talk" to this character and have this character respond, or feel an emotional reaction from this part of their brain.

This is something my own brain does. Sometimes when I watch media, I occasionally have a character get associated with some part of my brain, and sometimes they just seem to pop out and insert their opinions. Or I can just go "Hey character, what's your opinion?" and they throw out an opinion from that part of my brain.

This link can also be reinforced by writing fanfic about the character, because the writer is using that set of feelings to guide how they write the character.

The more somebody watches or writes the character, the more their brain implicitly understands what the character "should" do, and so it becomes easier for their subconscious to just throw stuff out. Again, I have personal experience here, and numerous writers out there can confirm that they experience characters like this. Many writers report experiencing this kind of thing so intensely that it completely throws their story off the rails - the characters effectively "take over," and the writers just have to go along with it. It's a well-known thing among fanfic writers.

Of course, you don't even have to be into fiction for your brain to associate some kind of figure with a certain part. Anyone can easily associate the general idea of a strong, powerful man with the part of themself that wants to do violence. Anyone can associate a dog with the part of themself that wants to play and frolic. Anyone can associate flowing robes and glowing auras with the part of their brain that believes in transcendent divinity. If you access these different parts of yourself and try to imagine what they would look like as a person, you will probably find your brain creating what feels like an appropriate embodiment for them. And then you can channel them, and you will experience them speaking to you or through you. And if you get into it deeply enough, you might even experience them taking over your body for a time.

Ultimately, a person can have such a character or figure take up residence in their brain with such vividity and apparent autonomy that they do in some sense function as a kind of separate entity, without DID or TBMC/ITBC being involved whatsoever. (In fact, torture would be more likely to hinder, rather than help this process.)

Dr. Alison Miller really gave the game away when she described how she has her patients communicate with their alleged alters. In a case of genuine DID, alters really aren't at a person's beck and call like this. (Edit to clarify: This isn't to say voluntary switching can't happen, or that alters can't be called forward in certain cases, but Miller was basically trying to get freshly-diagnosed people in contact with long-buried alters using a technique that was basically just channeling. A long-buried alter isn't likely to respond to this.) But this is how it works when you don't have DID and you're poking around at your own very integrated (if very repressed) parts.

[outnumberedsins]

What "Counts" as OEA?

I saw a post that disgruntled me enough to want to talk about this, so here we are. There seems to be a heavy amount of misinformation on what "counts" as OEA, often excluding adult victims and non-programmed victims. So, within this post, we'll go over what the terms "OA, MC, and RA" mean, as well as commonly construed myths.

Organized Abuse

all-encompassing.

Organized abuse is a wide term that includes experiences of ritual abuse and mind control but is in no way exclusive to them. Often, only organized child sexual abuse is mentioned, which leaves out a lot of experiences it includes.

The most simple definition of organized abuse is "Abuse that involves a number of people doing something together in a pre-planned and/or structured way, rather than acting alone." In short terms, abuse done by multiple people in a planned way. [1]

All groups under the RAMCOA/OEA label will fall under this category. This includes, but is not limited to, Cults, Trafficking Rings, Labor Camps, "Troubled Teen" Camps, Intra-Familial Organized Abuse, and other experiences that fall under this definition. This includes victims indoctrinated into cults, trafficked, or otherwise abused as adults, as well as children born or brought into it. Location of the abuse (at home, in a church, at school, at a daycare, etc) doesn't matter, and someone does not have to go through ritual abuse or mind control to have experienced organized abuse.

Ritual Abuse

not inherently satanic.

Ritual abuse is a term often confused with SRA, or "Satanic Ritual Abuse," an outdated and often harmful label for forms of organized extreme abuse. Not all forms of organized abuse are ritual abuse.

Ritual abuse can be defined as "Abuse that occurs in a context where symbols or activities have superstitious, supernatural, or religious connotations. It is organised, often involving multiple perpetrators, and the abuse often happens as part of a rite or ceremony." Alternatively, the word 'ritual' refers to "a rite, ceremony or pseudo- religious service which involves a series of actions performed in a fixed order and/or at certain times; something that is done in the same way whenever a particular situation occurs." [1] [2]

Because of this, ritual abuse can be defined while including spiritual themes and non spiritual themes. So, many definitions include other forms of abuse that is ritualized/specifically repeated in nature, such as on a specific day or time or in a specific order.

This type of abuse is most dominated in literature by satanic overtones, once again from the term SRA. However, this is not exclusive to satanic cults. Any group based on a belief system or using other reoccurring themes/abuse can perpetrate ritual abuse. Though ritual abuse is also more commonly linked with mind control and child abuse, programming and age have no impact on if an experience is ritual abuse or not.

Survivors of ritual abuse include things like ritualistic ceremonies, games, symbols, set-ups, abuse on specific days/holidays, abuse in a specific order, etc as common experiences.

Mind Control

programming and beyond

Mind control tends to be the term that receives the most problems, as many people tend to only think of programming when hearing it. However, MC is not exclusive to programming survivors, and many types of MC have been recognized.

A good definition of MC is "Methods of thought reform to force submission or information from enemies and victims, or to indoctrinate and increase cooperation in members and captors," and is a synonym to coersive persuasion, defined as "attempts to force people to change beliefs, ideas, attitudes or behaviors using psychological pressure, undue influence, threats, anxiety, and/or intimidation." [3] [4]

Programming is an example of the far end of mind control, a severe form of conditioning. However, things such as cult and religious indoctrination, psychic driving, terrified submission, etc, are all also forms of MC that can occur within organized abuse. MC is not exclusive to child victims, as most forms of MC can be performed at any age.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or additions, feel free to send an ask or reply to this post. A reminder that I am not a professional, I am flawed, and I am just doing my best.

[planesofdelusion]

people on fdc: you gotta trust therapists, they know more than you

DID therapists who know more than them: *engage with their clients as people, assume they're telling the truth when they disclose trauma, try to understand how their experiences shaped their systems, study neurological and psychological responses to get a picture of how certain abuser groups operate, generally practice psychological medicine well the way therapists should*

people on fdc: no, not like that. those therapists are conspiracy theorists and should never have been licensed

[divinefleshandwires]

I'd love to live in the world of the fucking people who vehemently deny that people come together to do fucked up things to children for their own benefit. Instead I get to remember horror after fucking horror every day while acting like everything is fine so I don't end up in a psych ward where I will undoubtedly get traumatized further. Instead I get to deal with the crippling fear I have of making decisions because I'm still so terrified that making the wrong one will result in us getting tortured again, despite us being so very far away from where our group was. I hate people. It's already so hard to talk about with people I know irl because I feel like there's no way I'll be believed. It took me years to finally accept that my own memories are real. The belief that it's all fake hurts survivors. Pretending this level of vile cruelty and greed doesn't exist only fuels our and other survivors' denial and fear. By not believing victims you are siding with the people who hurt us. They want you to think it's not real because that means they get to keep doing it to more children. They get to profit off of more suffering. Maybe not the healthiest outlook to have but I believe if you deny the reality we and so many others face, you're almost as bad as the ones that made it hell in the first place. I probably won't feel the same about that later but rn I'm just hella pissed off at having to see so much idiocy and ignorance on here.

To other oea/itbc survivors, I believe you, wholeheartedly. There is no part of your story that would make you less credible. You didn't deserve it. No matter what was done to you, no matter what you had to do to survive, you are worthy of love and acceptance and a place to tell that story freely, without judgement. My dms are open if you ever want to talk or vent. Take care of yourselves as best you can. You're all doing amazing and you're all awesome.

[rottedchildren]

I feel like persecutors are demonized so easily, they dont want to be this way in most cases this is just how they learned to survive and theyre not to blame for that. Of course this doesnt excuse harm they cause to others but just recognizing that theyre not evil and a horrible person is a huge step towards helping them. Some persecutors are demonized so much that they probably havent be appreciated in months or even years. Idk I just feel that if a persecutor was told for once that theyre cared for and loved for that could make their day.

[ghost-jester-sys]

I see many people talk about successful programming on here

And yes, that is terrifying

But I want to talk about my experience as a failed program

My name is Edie [It was changed from "Failure" by a gatekeeper in our system] Helping me write this will also be Artifice and Faelan [Both similar to me as failed programs]

For whatever reason, the "method" they used to make me form and give me a role was entirely unsuccessful. I do not want to give details on what my intended purpose was as it's highly personal and dangerous to share details of.

I was deemed useless and was then hurt by them.

Not every programming attempt will be succesful, whether this is for good or bad I'm unsure.

We have MANY successful programs and while they are both terrifying and sad, failed programs can be that as well.

Any time fronting is spent fearing my handlers, fearing what I may have done wrong or worse [Not sharing here]

Feeling like I have let people down because I didn't "correctly" respond to torture is terrifying and something I do not wish on anyone.

This post may be a bit garbled and rambly, I struggle with thinking clearly like the rest of the system but my thoughts are particularly scrambled and unclear.

A note from Artifice: I think is important for both non-programmed and programmed systems to understand that failed programs do exist and acting as if they do not harms them more

A note from Faelan: feel as much terror as programmed AND non-programmed alters in system and feels bad being stuck in a "limbo" between the two.. and feel is important that this known

~~~

A final reminder that any attempts at fakeclaiming will be blocked. Anyone who beliefs RAMCOA/TBMC to be fake will be blocked. I will not engage with discourse on this post unless it is a genuine question with good intentions. This is for my safety and because I do not owe you my life story.

[pink-devolve]

As someone who is a programmed PF-DID system, we need to stop using the term HC-DID. Here’s why ⬇️

1. The system that coined the term is a groomer and is anti-semitic. There is evidence(some screenshots included below) of the MayMay system(The 20y/o coiner of the term) being sexual towards minors up to 5 years younger than them. In MayMay’s discord server, 15 year olds are allowed in NSFW channels that have sexting in them. MayMay has joked about sexually assaulting a 16 y/o. There is a 15 year old that seems to always be with MayMay, and constantly talks about interacting with MayMay in a NSFW context. Etc etc etc. There have also been screenshots of MayMay using the term “Jew” as a derogatory insult.

2. The term excludes programmed systems that do not have a highly complex case of DID Many programmed systems can not use the term “HC-DID” due to having OSDD, not having PF-DID, etc. All programmed systems have distinct differences from non-programmed systems, but programmed systems without a highly complex case of DID don’t have a straightforward term to describe their experience. I’ve seen a lot of people use the term HC-DID and programmed interchangeably, and imo that’s not fair to other survivors trying to find community.

3. You can have a highly complex case of DID and not be programmed. You can have trauma that is just as extreme as the trauma experienced by programmed systems, end up with a highly complex case of PF-DID, and not be programmed. I’ve met some non-programmed PF-DID systems with insane system structures. One system I knew was not programmed, but had hundreds of different alters, all with very specific roles, hierarchy, and layers, that all fronted to do very specific tasks. They told me they had a specific alter who fronted to wash their hands, and another specific alter who fronted to sleep on wednesdays. Their case could absolutely be considered highly complex, but again, they weren’t programmed.

4. We have terms used/created by professionals, that don’t have any of these issues. The terms mind-controlled DID (MC-DID) and Torture based mind control DID (TBMC-DID) have both been coined by professionals, can be used with other plural disorders(MC-OSDD), or to describe all plural disorders at once(MC-system), can’t be used to describe non-programmed systems, etc.

Overall, I don’t have an issue with individuals that use the term HC-DID, I just think it’s annoying that it’s the default way to say “programmed system”. I honestly think the term is a fine way to describe systems with a highly complex structure, and should still be used in that context. But if we do that, the term should be open to non-programming survivors as well. There is absolutely no reason to fight over this term. It’s really not that deep. But if you’d like to debate respectfully I am happy to.