Are You an Alter?

If you are new to your realization of having DID, what I’m going to talk about today might be difficult to hear: You are an alter and not any more valid or “real” than the other alters in your system. You might feel like it’s your life and your body. After all, for years you’ve been the one who deals with most of day to day life and for years you had no idea you had alters. You reasonably assumed this was your body and your life. The problem with this belief after becoming aware of your system is that perspective ignores and invalidates the others in your system.

This can feel really odd if it’s never occurred to you, but you are an alter, too! How on earth would we ever determine who is more real than the others? I don’t think we can! Everyone is equally real even if you might experience yourself as more real. If we look at this in terms of body parts, it would be like asking which part of your body is more real than all the others. Is your right pinkie finger more real than your left ear? They are all there and they all have their roles. They are all needed, even your appendix! And the same is true of the alters in your system. All are real and valid and needed.