GLOSSARY

 

 

ABREACTION

An emotional reaction when remembering past trauma.
It’s as if the person is re-experiencing the trauma with all the emotions felt at the time. This often happens during therapy.

AFFECT

The expression of an emotion such as sadness, elation, anger. It's different than “mood” which is more pervasive and sustained over a period of time. Affects fluctuate more.

ALEXITHYMIA

A person’s inability to recognize or describe how she is feeling. This is common in PTSD and other disorders.

ALTER

Meaning alternate personality or alternative.  It really means all the personalities except the Original or Birth Personality (see their descriptions).

The dissociated parts of the person’s overall personality that represent memories, emotions and ways of relating.
They are able to function independently from each other

AMNESIA

When a person has been traumatized or experiences extreme stress, he may find himself unable to remember important personal information, such as where he lives or even what his name is. It's much more serious than normal forgetfulness.

ANESTHETIC PERSONALITY

The personality who doesn’t feel pain. He may harm himself regularly (cutting, burning, etc.).

BIRTH PERSONALITY

See Original Personality

BODY MEMORIES

Bodily sensations similar to past trauma sensations.

BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER (BPD)

A disorder involving a an unstable sense of who they are which could be confused with multiple personality, and with a pattern of impulsive behaviours such as causing self harm, and instability in relationships. It is often the result of childhood trauma.

DID vs. BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

They have a lot of similar symptoms:
- an unstable sense of who they are;
- typically view themselves as evil or bad;
- have unstable relationships with others;
- get involved in impulsive and risky behaviour;
- often suicidal ideation and attempts; 
- self-injury
- often have history of child abuse;
- wide mood swings;
- chronic feelings of emptiness;
- sometimes has psychotic-type episodes.

CENTER PERSONALITY

see Inner Self Helper

CO-CONSCIOUSNESS

When one personality is aware of another personality's thoughts, feelings and actions. He may influence the other personality's behaviour.

The two personalities may be co-present with each other. See Co-presence

CO-PRESENCE

When two or more personalities are “out” at the same time. Often the person can do more than one thing at a time. It’s possible that they might not know of each other’s existence. They may influence the other’s behaviour.

See also Co-consciousness

CORE PERSONALITY

Sometimes the same as Birth or Original Personality. (See Original Personality)

DEPERSONALIZATION DISORDER

A dissociative disorder where the person feels detached from themselves, from their mental processes and /or body. They feel as if they are watching themselves from outside of their body, feel like they are in a dream or a fog.

See also Derealization Disorder

DEREALIZATION DISORDER
A dissociative disorder where a perception and/or experience feels strange, and unreal. Other people may seem unfamiliar or mechanical.

EXECUTIVE CONTROL

The  personality who is "out" and most in control of the person's behaviour. This personality may still be influenced by other personalities.

FALSE MEMORY

A term coined by the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
that memories of abuse are not real or based on actual events. The term False Memory Syndrome is not a recognized clinical term and the concept has not been proved by any clinical research.

FLASHBACK

Intrusive thoughts, feelings, or images associated with past trauma that suddenly enters into a person’s consciousness
while the person is awake or during sleep (i.e., nightmares). It often makes the person feel as if she is reliving the traumatic event.

FRAGMENT PERSONALITY

The same as a personality only he has a more limited range of functioning, emotions and life history. Sometimes this type of personality has a very restricted and specific role to play such as holding only one emotion, or memory, or performing one task only (such as writing in a journal).

FUSION

The bringing together of two or more alters in order to create only one personality.

Very similar to integration (see Integration) only not on as deep a level.

HOST PERSONALITY

Often, but not always,  seen as the personality in control most of the time over the person’s behaviour (see Executive Control). May be seen as the “central person” from which all other personalities stem from or be integrated into in the healing process.

Often the personality that first presents for therapy (see Presenting Personality)

Tends to be depressed, suicidal, anxious, often passive, submissive, dull in spirit, and may be unaware of the other personalities.

IATROGENESIS
Literally means ‘illness produced by medical activity’. In terms of multiple personality it means that the illness is caused by a therapist persuading their patient he has the illness when he actually doesn’t.

INNER SELF HELPER

The personality who tends to be more objective, serene, and rational. She can act as mediator and/or advisor for the system of personalities.

Often helps with the healing/therapeutic process and can act as an advisor to the therapist.

INTEGRATION

The blending two or more personalities into just one personality.

Removing the separateness between personalities so they share all thoughts, feelings, memories and identity.

Often seen as a more pervasive, thorough and permanent form of blending than fusion. Fusion is sometimes seen as a step before integration.

Part of the healing process

Sometimes done through hypnosis

MEMORY TRACE PERSONALITY

The personality who has complete, or almost complete,  memory of person’s life history. She can give historical information on past events and activities of the other personalities and may be quite neutral, and passive.

MOOD

A pervasive and sustained emotion affecting perception, such as depression, elation, anger, or anxiety. Unlike Affect , it is sustained over a period of time.

ORIGINAL PERSONALITY

Also called Birth Personality and sometimes Core Personality.

The identity or personality which began at the birth of the person, before any trauma began.

The one who created the first alter personality.

OUTSIDE PERSONALITY
This is my term only.

Similar to the Host personality only does not have control over the person’s behaviour most of the time.

Originally not aware of the other personalities nor the
trauma (e.g., abuse). Was not aware of abuse when a child
and usually believed her life was normal.

She may not feel she has any feelings, thoughts, or  
behaviours that are her own but rather come from the other
personalities.

This is my own experience.

Truddi Chase (When Rabbit Howls) had one personality simply called “the woman” who was very much like this.

 

PANIC ATTACK

A sudden onset of intense apprehension, fearfulness or terror, often a feeling of impending doom.

Symptoms include shortness of breath or smothering sensation, palpitations, pounding heart or accelerated heart rate, chest pain or discomfort, choking, fear of going crazy or losing control.

It may be unexpected (seems out of the blue) or triggered by something in the environment.

PERSECUTOR PERSONALITY

A personality that wants to hurt or kill the person and may actually attempt to do so. He may sabotage therapy at first but eventually becomes an ally in the healing process.
May be very similar to abuser – in looks, personality, etc.

PERSONALITY

“An entity with a firm, persistent, and well-founded sense of self and of a characteristic and consistent pattern of behavior and feelings in response to stimuli” (Definitions and Terminology Related to Multiplicity)

PERSONALITY SYSTEM
see System

PHOBIA

A persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity or situation. It causes a compelling desire to avoid it or dread it.

POLYFRAGMENTED MULTIPLE PERSONALITY/DID

A form of multiple personality when the person usually has more than 100 personalities. It is likely the result of cult/ritual abuse and/or very severe and sadistic abuse and by many perpetrators.

The personality system (see System) is usually quite complicated.

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

An anxiety disorder

A response to overwhelming trauma.

Often involves intrusive recall of the event in the form of flashbacks or remembered images or sensations of the event; or in the form of nightmares.

Also emotional numbing, where the person doesn’t seem to feel anything about the trauma when an appropriate response would be to be quite emotional about it.

Includes hypersensitivity or increased arousal where the person is easily startled, very jumpy and very sensitive to her surroundings. She may seem quite nervous and scared in certain environments.

Includes avoidance where the person avoids situations that might remind him of the trauma.  

PRESENTING PERSONALITY

The personality who first goes for therapy, often the host personality.

PROTECTOR PERSONALITY

The personality who sees his role is to protect some or all of the other personalities. He may be quite angry towards other people in order to protect the other personalities.

PSYCHOSIS
When a person loses touch with reality and has an alternate reality happening to them.

Usually in the form of ...

Delusions: the belief in something that may not be true to anyone else (e.g., that she can hear everyone else's thoughts); and/or

Hallucinations: sensory perceptions that other people don't seem to have. The most common hallucinations are hearing voices or seeing things that "aren't there".

SIGNS and SYMPTOMS
Signs of an illness are what is observed by an examiner.

Symptoms of an illness are what is experienced by the person.

SPLITTING

Term used for the creation of a new personality.

SWITCHING

When the control of the person’s behaviour, thoughts and feelings are taken over by a different personality.

Switching is from one personality who is “out” or has Executive Control, and who then retreats and another personality comes “out".

Often, but not always, is accompanied by changes in appearance, voice, gestures, mood, and level of cognitive functioning.

SYSTEM (or PERSONALITY SYSTEM)

The collection of personalities within one person.

Often organized with personalities having specific roles to play as part of the system.

TRIGGER

Something, or someone, that reminds the person of a past trauma. It could cause a Flashback or Abreaction.

The person may not be aware of the connection between the two.

Can include people, odours, events, objects, music, words, or colours (e.g., copper is a trigger for me yet I still haven't figured out why).