INTRODUCTION & DISCLAIMER: This post has been on the back burner for months, but was inspired by recent incorrect information spreading regarding introjects (i.e. 9/10 introjects are factives of abusers) This will be a long post so strap in! Each subtopic will be divided into sections for easy viewing.
Section 1: Clarification On What "Introjects" Are.
When I talk about introjects I am talking about 3 specific types of introjects:
Standard Introjects These are the most common type of introject. Most fictive/factives fit into this category as a Standard Introject simply introject few or many personality traits/quirks from something pre-existing.
Concept Introjects These are introjects that are founded on a concept. For us they usually happen when gaining an introject that we are unfamiliar of the source - so the traits that are introjected are assumptions we made.
Grounded Introjects These are introjects that aren't really introjects at all. They have their own unique personality traits and qualities but have their identity tied to a pre-existing character in order to be grounded to reality.
There are some gray areas and some parts that will not fit into these categories, and that's okay. There are some parts who will present as a Standard Introject but refuse to identify with the label of "Introjects". It's important to remember that if a part wants to identify as an introject that decision is ultimately up to them and them only.
Section 2: Introject Rarity/Prevalence Outside DID
Introjects aren't rare. Many people like to act like introjects are a super rare phenomenon and therefore all introject heavy systems must be lying or faking - but that's not the case. Simply put? Introjects are drawing their identity from a pre-existing source.
It's not limited to DID either! Sometimes people want to base their identity off a character they like (have you ever seen the people who spend thousands on surgeries to look like a celebrity?) and there's nothing wrong with that. Other disorders that present with identity issues also have introjection such as autism and BPD. It's just not that much of a big deal! It can happen and there's nothing wrong with it when it happens.
If you're interested in learning more: here's a Wikipedia article about (non DID specific) introjection!
Section 3: Types of Introject Sources
When looking at the discussion of introjects online there are two types of statements I see often - "Most introjects are of abusers" & "Most introjects should be from childhood/of childhood media"
I've extensively looked online and I cannot find any verifiable statistics regarding the prevalence of the types of introject sources, so I'm going to go off a purely anecdotal and logical lens.
For us personally? Of all our introjects approximately 5% are of past abusers. It's important to note that even if you know a system you will not know whether they have introjects of abusers! Most of our parts who are introjects from abusers feel incredibly ashamed by it and have distanced themselves from their source. It's very difficult for them to have their identity tied to such horrible people and it's a secret they prefer to keep. I don't really understand that view that the most common introject are of abusers, there may be a need to introject for protection/dealing with trauma but abusers are not going to have "admirable traits" and at a certain point there isn't going to be a need for the brain to introject more of them.
Childhood introjects! Now this is something I like to talk about! Oddly enough, many of our introjects from childhood have showed up later in our recovery process as they held trauma we were not able to handle at the start of our recovery. It makes sense logically that if you are heavily prone to introjection in adulthood, you probably were heavily prone to introjection in childhood and visa versa! And that's the part that most people don't understand, they will argue that most introjects should be from childhood and neglect the fact that it makes sense logically that someone who had many introjects as a child will also have many introjects as an adult.
Section 4: Hyperfixations & Introjects
This is one of the possibly most misunderstood part of introjects. You cannot have introjects from a hyperfixation ALONE - due to the fact that all splits are going to be negatively induced. But if you are experiencing stress and trauma while you have a hyperfixation? Of course it's possible.
Let me break it down for you and explain how a hyperfixation takes over your brain. You find this new thing (show, game, etc) and it's something you really enjoy. So for the next two weeks every waking moment you spend interacting with the hyperfixation. You go to sleep thinking about your hyperfixation, you wake up excited to interact with your hyperfixation. You disengage completely with the outside world and escape into this hyperfixation. It controls every aspect of your life and you just have to comply with the hyperfixation in order to get your happy brain chemicals.
So... Why is it such a strange concept to gain an introject during that time? It's in your brain 24/7 for an extended period of time, why would it be odd for the hyperfixation to influence your split?
Thank you for reading if you made it this far!!! I've been meaning to make this post for SOO long!! I hope you learnt something and if you didn't, I hope my words resonated with you! 🩷
