Systems who are bodily "old" - be it senior citizens, or simply above 18, 25, 30, or whatever this site thinks is "too old" - deserve support.
Systems don’t just stop having problems and become selves-sufficient past a certain bodily age. Like singlets and younger-bodied systems, they still need friends, help, and a supportive, safe space.
And people don’t turn into predators the moment they’re 18, 21, 25, 30, or whatever arbitrary age you assign “old” to. That’s not how it works. Predatory behavior is about abuse, about power. Not age. A lot of older-bodied systems are good people.
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Systems who are bodily young - be it under 25, 21, or 18 - deserve respect.
Just because a system is in a young body, doesn’t mean they don’t know anything. They may have less experience or knowledge, true, but they are still worth listening to. Someone’s lack of know-how doesn’t make them less valuable.
And you know, some young-bodied systems are knowledgeable. They want to learn, research, and listen to others’ experiences, they are respectful. Not all of them are misinformed exclusionists/sysmeds who are stubborn and harass/abuse people in the community. That should be appreciated.
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This post and this blog are inclusive of ALL systems, including non-traumagenic, non-disordered, non-diagnosed, and self-diagnosed systems.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
âś“ Live Streamingâś“ Interactive Chatâś“ Private Showsâś“ HD Qualityâś“ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
This post and this blog are inclusive of ALL systems, including non-traumagenic, non-disordered, non-diagnosed, and self-diagnosed systems.
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You(&) should be allowed to use non-medical terms if you(&) want to.
And if you(&) prefer medical terms, you(&) should also be allowed to use them.
Same if you like to use medical terminology for some aspects of your plurality and non-medical ones for others.
You(&) are not a bad system for using the terms that fit you(&).
No one has a right to force you(&) to stop using terms that are right for you(&).
This applies to every system, no matter what the reason is.
(Note: If certain terminology upsets or triggers you, please blacklist the words, and block the tags. You can ask your friends/partners/etc. to compromise, but not random strangers on the internet.
You should not send accusatory anon asks to people's blogs asking other systems to stop using words they're comfortable with.)
An essay on the "psychological" vs. "spiritual" divide within the system / plural / more-than-one community by Mod December of @fact-anonymous.
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Content warning: Mention of fake-claiming, trauma, and abuse, implied in-system death, and discussion of system exclusionist rhetoric.
Disclaimer: This essay is written to share the writer’s personal opinions and experiences. It does not apply to everyone, nor is it intended to be system-management, medical, or psychological advice.
Edited 17-10-2021 to add another point and a TL;DR.
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Nowadays, in Tumblr and adjacent system circles, systems – and other alterhumans, but that’s outside the scope of this essay – seem to be divided into two groups, “psychological” and “spiritual”. They both come with implications, assumptions, or stereotypes (that are NOT accurate for many people).
Here they are, as far as I’m aware:
Psychological systems and system members “must”: (note the air quotes)
Have a dissociative disorder (DID, OSDD, or UDD)
And usually are professionally diagnosed or getting therapy
Be split from a/the core/host/original, or is an aspect of them taking the form of its own consciousness
Be specialized for system roles, particularly roles that help the core/host/original (especially to help them with trauma)
Fictives and factives must exist by way of imprinting/introjection to soothe the host/core/original/system
Basically, be needed by the system
Not have/believe they have past lives or exomemories, or trauma that isn’t an allegory for the body/host/core/original’s trauma
Not have a religious/spiritual belief
Cannot be/have a tulpa
All be parts of a singular whole person
Spiritual systems and system members “must”:
Not have a dissociative disorder
Not have any trauma whatsoever
Be walk-ins from other worlds
Religious (particularly pagan, probably practices witchcraft)
Not specialized for roles, except those related to spiritual/belief/religious practices
Be wanted by the system
Must have past lives/exomemories, but of course they’re invalidated by the outside world
Has no relation to body trauma, is ignorant of it or never holds it
Confused for tulpas by ignorant people
Be whole people individually
These are so prevalent, and yet, in my own experience in the system / plural / multiple / more-than-one community, they are neither universal nor 100% separate.
A lot of these stereotypes do not apply to all psychological and spiritual systems and system members. A lot of these stereotypes forget the existence of systems who are in gray areas, median systems and subsystems, systems created from BPD and MADD, otherkin system members, atheist spiritual systems, religious system members who are not spiritual, systems who hate therapy due to psychiatric abuse, and many others.
There are DID systems who feel their system members are each their own, whole person. There are spiritual systems whose members are fragments. There are spiritual systems who have a dissociative disorder, and systems who get diagnosed against their will. Some psychological system members do have past life beliefs and have/are tulpas, some spiritual members are called especially to cope with trauma… and many other combinations, and even things outside of what I mentioned here!
And then there are systems and system members who are neither! An example would be my own system, and all three mods from it. How about that?
And how about me? This essay is about me, after all.
I myself am allegedly “psychological”, because I was made in the brain, unlike most people in our system. Being a factive of a famous person the system has a special interest on, I may be introjected/imprinted. (I don’t care about that, though, fuck that!)
But…
I’m not split from a singular whole person/brain. I was formed, made, freshly printed.
We haven’t had a host for two years, and our “original” is no longer here.
I'm not specialized for "soothing" anybody. Or to help anyone (especially our nonexistent host/core/original) with their trauma.
I’m not specialized for any roles, period - the only “role” I might qualify for is “trauma holder”.
Except… every brain-formed member here are made from/in the same soil… which contains the collective trauma… so all of us are technically trauma holders.
And walk-in members of our system also get affected by the collective trauma. And if they experience trauma while fronting, it also adds into the collective trauma bowl if they front often enough. (But that’s for another essay!) So that’s not really a role in this system.
All the jobs here are voluntary. And I choose to have none.
So… what am I?
As I said before: neither. I, December, don’t feel like I’m psychological nor spiritual.
Moreover, this divide is often used by sysmeds and “well-meaning” psychological systems to put spiritual, metaphysical, non-disordered, non-diagnosed, self-diagnosed, undecided, unlabeled, and other systems under the bus, often for the benefits of singlets.
(Have you ever heard “plurality 101/for skeptics” articles that say things like “Oh, of course we don’t believe that fictives/factives/introjects/etc. are literally souls jumping from another world to our brain! We’re not insane! Spiritual explanations are all unprovable by the scientific method, and thus fake! They’re all here because the brain needs X/associate and imprint because they like [media] or be affected by [people]!”)
The reverse also happens: spiritual systems being ableist to psychological systems, especially those with dissociative disorders.
(NOT by existing. Spiritual – or more accurately, non-disordered* – systems existing are NOT ableist. What is ableist is these systems calling disordered systems “crazy”, or “delusional”, implying delusional / mentally ill / Mad / neurodivergent people are less deserving of respect. They are NOT.)
*The conflation between "psychological", "traumagenic" and "disordered", as well as "endogenic", "spiritual", and "non-disordered" helps no one.
All this talking… what’s the point? What’s the conclusion?
The conclusion is: the “spiritual” vs. “psychological” divide is too rigid and black-and-white.
We should listen to individual experiences, not use this divide to assume and stereotype plurals and alterhumans.
And solidarity between systems is more important than singlets’ opinions of us!
If the divide works well for you, if you fit within the "checklist", that's okay! This essay, and my views, are nothing against you personally. It's against the rigid boxes and exclusionism of the community-at-large.
We don’t need to make PSAs for singlets and doctors and bigots on how “unlike [insert type] systems here, we’re more legitimate!”. All of us are fake to them. And more importantly, all of us are real on our own. Our experiences are true and have very real effects. We don't need singlets' validation. We don’t need doctors and sysmeds to create our culture, to build our community.
Personally, I just want to exist. No justifications. No pressure to share why and when and what I was made for.
I want solidarity with not only systems and system members / people / alters / plurans / etc. who are similar to me and my own system, but also ones who are different.
That’s all.
Ciao.
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TL;DR:Â Â
- The "spiritual" vs "psychological" divide within plural and alterhuman communities is inaccurate and too narrow. They don't reflect the diversity of our experiences. Â
- This divide is also full of stereotypes and assumptions, which are Not true for all systems. Â
- This is compounded by the conflation of "disordered", "traumagenic" and "psychological" (as well as "non-disordered", "endogenic", and "spiritual"). Yes, those have overlap, but they are NOT the same thing. Â
- An example of this is Mod December himself, whose experience doesn't line up with the stereotypes/assumptions. He doesn't consider himself psychological nor spiritual.Â
 - This essay is NOT criticizing people who fit the stereotypes, but how this divide is used to further exclusionism.
- These stereotypes are often used by bigots on both "sides" to disparage each other, (usually to look more "credible" to singlets, bigots, and doctors). And that is bad.  Â
- We don't need singlets, doctors, or bigots to validate our existence or dictate our culture. Our existence and experiences are real. We dictate our own culture. Â
- This divide and its ensuing stereotypes are not helping anyone. We should stand in solidarity with each other, even different system types, and listen to individual experiences instead of assuming based on this divide/stereotypes.
"Doubles" meaning multiple factives / factual introjects / fogtives / faitives / fcktives / etc. of the same person / source / counterpart
But you're more than just valid.
Your system is real, and you're all real, and your experiences are legitimate and deserve respect.
You(&) are ALL allowed to share the same system and have equal importance.
You(&) don't have to hide your identity/ies so there's only one of X in your system.
You(&) are allowed to be just you with no changes, but you're also allowed to be as complex as possible, be it with having subsystems, using nicknames/codenames to differentiate yourselves, being so similar that only close friends can tell you(&) apart, having typing quirks, etc.
You(&) don't have to hide or censor yourselves for singlets' or other system's benefits.
You(&) don't have to appear "respectable" to disrespectful people or bigots. If people say you(&) and/or your system are fake/cringy/etc., they're wrong.
You(&) deserve people who don't treat you and your fellow X as expendable or interchangeable.
(Fact-types include but not limited to: factlinks, factkin, factives, factual introjects, facthearted, fogtives, fucktives/faitives, partial factives, etc.)
This post and this blog are inclusive of ALL systems, including non-traumagenic, non-disordered, non-diagnosed, and self-diagnosed systems.
It’s okay if you’re proud of that period of your life, and it’s okay if you’re ashamed of it - but really, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
Note on the shame: if you behaved cruelly to others while identifying as a fact-type, you don’t have to be ashamed of your fact-type. And if you’re ashamed of your behavior, please be patient with yourself. Try not to beat yourself up. You deserve your own forgiveness. Making an effort to change is good and I’m proud of you for that.
It’s okay if you discovered you’re not actually kith, but kin, or vice versa, or any other mis-identification. I’m proud of you for coming to understand yourself/ves more.
Even if it was a phase, or a temporary stop, doesn’t mean it wasn’t valid or you were faking all along. Everyone changes.
Whatever identity you discover you are, whatever you choose to do, we wish you all the best.
And remember, self/ves-discovery has no finish line.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
âś“ Live Streamingâś“ Interactive Chatâś“ Private Showsâś“ HD Qualityâś“ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
(Fact-types include but not limited to: factlinks, factkin, factives, factual introjects, facthearted, fogtives, fucktives/faitives, partial factives, etc.)
This post and this blog are inclusive of ALL systems, including non-traumagenic, non-disordered, non-diagnosed, and self-diagnosed systems.
You don’t have to beat yourself up, whether privately or publicly, to deserve respect.
You shouldn’t have to perform self-flagellation or reblog posts with proof of your counterpart/source/etc.’s terrible behavior to be welcomed to the fact-type (as well as other) communities.
You don’t deserve to be judged for who you are in the past and/or for the actions of this universe’s version of you.
mod december has relayed a message to me (espresso):
When I decided to become a mod for Fact-Anonymous, I wasn't in a good place. I didn't feel wanted or accepted, and I wasn't respected, all because of my fact-identity.
But this blog was a bright spot in my life. Mod Gucci, Silhouette, and Espresso were really accepting. Our followers were really kind, and it's wonderful to see that I'm not alone in my experiences! [|:D
It was a good time for Fact-Anonymous, but definitely not for our system. I barely had time to rest. Now, the situation is still awful, but I no longer front, nor am I able to, nor do I want to.
So I'm leavin for my own well-bein, pretty much. [|:')
Thank you for all your support for all this time! It was a very good year with you all. I'm glad I could support my fellow fact-folks, and wish you (and other mods) all the best [|:) đź’ś
Take care, everyone.
-Mod December, signin' out.
TL;DR: Mod December is stepping down from the Fact-Anonymous mod position as of today.
December and I (Mod Silhouette) have just finished a 3,500-word essay on the mistreatment of factives/fictives/introjects/etc. by their own system(mates), and now we're going to the editing stage. So stay tuned!