survey results

[violenttransempire]

 We also wrote out the survey results if anyone's interested in those. lol I guess Our footnotes are just gonna show up b/c We can't figure out how to nest them oh well:
This survey was circulated on various social media sites from November 6, 2017 to December 7, 2017, during which time it received 19 responses, as follows.[1]

1.      How were you(&)[2] first introduced to the idea that alters/headmates[3] are parts/fragments of the host’s personality?

·         Therapist/psychiatrist: 2, 11.11%

·         Books, movies, or other media: 7, 38.89%

·         Online: 8, 44.44%

·         Other: 1, 5.56%

o   Relatives, friends

2.      Do you(&) believe that your(&) alters/headmates are parts/fragments?

·         Yes: 3, 16.67%

·         No: 9, 50%

·         Unsure: 3, 16.67%

·         There is no system-wide agreement on this[4]: 3, 16.67%

3.      Have you(&) had a therapist, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional treat you(&) according to this idea?

·         Yes: 7, 38.89%

·         No: 9, 50%

·         Unsure: 2, 11.11%

4.      If you(&) answered yes to question 3, was this helpful in your(&) treatment?[5]

·         Yes: 1, 7.14%

·         No: 8, 57.14%

·         Unsure: 3, 21.43%

·         No system-wide agreement: 2, 14.29%

5.      If you(&) wish to elaborate on your(&) answer to question 4, please do so here:

·         “It hurt many of us and sent most of us back into hiding. Which I think was detrimental.”

·         “It has usually led to huge misunderstandings of what we’re like that have been harmful.”

·         I’m an OSDD system and we’re all me. No core per se. Together we all make up a defined person but none of us truly stand on our own. We’re like a ring of people linked and supporting each other.”

·         “The main reaction has been skepticism as to whether we are multiple at all, or whether multiplicity even exists.”

·         “It’s really invalidating and actually makes us more anxious and dissociative.”

6.      Are you(&) currently pursuing, or do you(&) intend to pursue, integration therapy?

·         Yes: 1, 5.56%

·         No, but I/we want to: 2, 11.11%

·         No: 15, 83.33%

7.      On the whole, do you(&) believe that DID/OSDD systems should be treated as though their alters/headmates are parts/fragments or separate individuals?

·         Parts/fragments: 1, 5.56%

·         Individuals: 6, 33.33%

·         It depends (option given to elaborate): 11, 61.11%

o   “Since all people with DID/OSD [sic] experience it in different ways, I believe that it should be treated as a ‘case by case’ basis depending on the levels of ‘separation’ each system member has from the host.”

o   “Our philosophy is to treat as separate until they’re proven to be a facet of someone else. We think it’s the most ethical approach to take; it’s better to treat an entity that’s not fully independent as being fully independent, than to treat an independent being as not fully independent.”

o   “Only if it is one of the many options available and they themselves find it useful.”

o   “Depends on system. Even though I say we’re all me my therapist will refer to us as separate people. It threw me off at first but it’s had it’s [sic] place.”

o   “If a system feels it is better for their health to act as parts of a whole, that’s fine, but generally, headmates/alters should be treated as individual people.”

·         Unsure: 0, 0%

·         No system-wide agreement: 0, 0%

8.      Anything else you(&) would like to add on the subject?

·         “It really depends in our collective opinion in regards to question 7. Some systems may view themselves as rather fragments/parts of an original, whereas other systems may all view themselves as complete individuals, therefore each unique case should be treated accordingly since how people perceive themselves is up to them.”

·         “We were VERY selective in the therapist we chose, and luckily he’s treated us as our own individuals so far, which has been a huge relief to us.”

·         “Yes. I would like to add that we are not simply different emotions or a bad mood. And that switching works differently for each system & it’s still valid no matter what.”

9.      The next page contains questions about self-harm, suicidal thoughts and actions, and other things that may be triggering. These questions are optional. If you(&) do not wish to answer them, choose “no” to complete the survey. Would you(&) like to answer these questions?

·         Yes: 18, 100%

·         No: 0, 0%

10.  Has the idea that your(&) alters/headmates are parts/fragments ever led you(&) to experience any of the following:

·         Low self-esteem/self-loathing: 13

·         Thoughts or urges to self-harm: 7

·         Self-harm: 1

·         Self-destructive urges: 11

·         Self-destructive behavior (drinking, risky sex, reckless driving, etc.): 4

·         Suicidal thoughts or urges: 7

·         Suicide attempts: 0

·         Other: 7

o   “Unwillingly suppressing major system members and as a result suppressing major coping mechanisms I could have used to cope with on going trauma. Instead, I forced myself to almost fully integrate and drove myself into worse forms of coping such as hard drugs and reckless sex. I suppose that falls under self destructive behavior, but I wanted to expand on the fact that I previously forced myself into integration, which was horrific and dangerous for someone like myself who had ongoing trauma and needed system members to cope in a healthy way.”

o   “One system mate attempted to erase himself after up and deciding he wasn’t a ‘real person’; in-system suicide, essentially. Luckily, he failed, and he remains a fiercely independent person to this day.”

o   “No. The parts have had suicidality and self harm on their own. The thought I was fragmented when I didn’t know before was hard though bc I’m traumatogenic [sic] and accepting that I have trauma is a process.”

o   “It triggers intense dissociation, and often causes whomever is fronting to spiral into a self-hate cycle.”

o   “Anger that was enough to trigger several of us.”

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[1] One of the responses was entirely blank and has not been counted as part of the data.

[2] The pronouns “you&” and “your&” are grammatical constructs created in DID, OSDD, non-disordered, and non-traumagenic system spaces to indicate acknowledgement of multiple individuals being addressed. I have written it in parentheses in the questions to avoid excluding/biasing those who do not feel themselves to be multiple people.

[3] A word invented in the system spaces described above, used interchangeably with “alters” but in a manner seen as less pathologizing

[4] This option was included in some questions in keeping with the notion that alters may have differing opinions

[5] This question received many more responses than there were “yes” responses to question 3, possibly due to ambiguous wording and/or the question appearing to be mandatory due to lack of inclusion of a “non-applicable” option. This oversight renders the data here largely unusable, excepting the “yes” response; it is assumed that this response was an intentional endorsement of the paradigm discussed and has been cited in the essay.
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