It's All Fun And Games Until This Mfer Shows Up.

Neil Gaiman about David Tennant: He's a wonderful man. He's one of our finest actors. He's really funny. He's astonishingly Scottish. He's a great father to his kids. He's extremely flammable.

YAOI IS A HENTAI GENRE??? I THOUGHT IT WAS A HOMESTUCK CHARACTER

SMPTV II mood board to get you excited for the project. Coming October 2024

SMPTV II

SMPTV II

Everything You Need To Support And Find SMPTV!

Since that’s just my Tuesday, I feel the exact same.

this book is so clearly designed for people who have not experienced a decade plus of high dosage uninterrupted tumblr poisoning because to me this whole section reads somewhat like “enjoyers of food and beverages may be surprised to hear about ‘bread’ and ‘water’”

DID and The Grand Unified Theory

Personal Post. Mentions of Fusion and Splitting.

Written by Oliver.

As the host of a system of quantum, particle, and nuclear physicists, I have found comfort in relating our disorder's elements to physics concepts. These concepts help them feel less scary and more manageable to accept. Today, I will discuss the Grand Unified Theory and how it has helped me interpret, understand, and come to terms with the ideas of Splitting and Fusion in our system. However, this is not an educational post on splitting and fusion in (Dissociative Identity Disorder) DID systems. Those will be separate posts. This post is my symbolic interpretation of these concepts in a simplified way to aid in acceptance. I want to share what we have done, as it may help other systems do the same with topics they are interested in and help them come to terms with their disorder. 

So, what is the Grand Unified Theory?

Simply put, it attempts to combine three of the four fundamental forces in the universe into one singular force at the start of the universe. 

These forces are the Electromagnetic force, which acts between charged particles (such as two protons with a positive charge), the strong nuclear force, which holds the nucleus of an atom together, and the weak nuclear force, which is responsible for types of radioactive decay. The fourth fundamental force is Gravity, which acts between any two objects with mass regardless of distance. The ultimate goal of the theory is to combine all the forces into one singular force at the start of the universe, and then model when each force splits off into its separate fundamental force. This would combine classical physics (gravity) with quantum physics. 

How do I use this theory to bring comfort to myself? 

The idea of unity:

Even though these forces are now very distinct and have grown more distinct as time went on, they all have an underlying unified and linked identity. In the same way, dissociative identities in DID are distinct but not completely separate personalities; they are fractions of one whole. So, even when things are tough or unmanageable, or when people do not get along (similar to how gravity does not fit into the theory right now), there is something that will hold us together ultimately, and there is a chance of unification. 

Splitting over time:

In the theory, if gravity can be combined into it, it is believed that gravity split from the electronuclear force at the end of the Plank era. This is so early in the universe that not even subatomic particles existed yet. The Electronuclear force split into the electroweak force and strong nuclear force, and then split again into the electromagnetic force and the weak nuclear force. This initial split at the beginning of the universe could represent the initial split the brain must undergo during early childhood to develop DID. However, the theory also represents how those splits may change or not change. An alter may not split again after their initial split; they would be, like gravity, and remain the same but develop more distinctly over time. Or, they may split again, just like the electronuclear force did. These splits can occur later in life if trauma is experienced again. 

Fusion:

This theory brings both the comfort that fusion can work and that it is also okay if it does not. The theory is not perfect and cannot combine all four forces; similarly, a system, may not be able to fully fuse, perhaps only fuse into two or three final forms,  because of trauma, or may not have the skills to do so yet, and that is okay. Some may also strive to reach the stage where they can form a final fusion, but this does not have to happen right away and can take a long period in therapy. 

Energy conversions and fusion:

Fusion can be a scary concept because it will change the alter and the way the system will function later on. As dissociative identities fuse, it begins to restore the unity of the psyche, it coalesces experiences, memories, and feelings. This mirrors the principle of energy in physics, where it states that energy cannot be created or destroyed but transferred from one state to another. This means that even though that alter appears to be gone they will forever exist even though it is in a new form. Their experiences, memories, and work they have contributed to survival will always remain within the individual unity.

Written by Oliver.

Personal Post. Mentions of Fusion and Splitting.

I made this poster for an art market this week & thought I'd share! Maybe we'll recruit some new folks to the AD scene?

i love the process of learning who my characters are as i write them

addison started out as just a smart, analytical person but now i have learnt that she is also someone who actively ranks conversations with her new coworker in her head based off of if she thinks she did well at social interaction. she's very well adjusted :)

can't wait to get into Dahlia's pov and discover what sort of weirdo she is in her internal monologue too

WHAT DO WE WANT?

It’s the thumb post y’all.

I’m opening ‘50 Shades of Grey’ to a random page and posting what I find. Part nine.

Christian Grey put his thumb in my mouth. And then the other one. And then two more. "Wider,“ he said as he put in one more. "I bet you’ve never had this many thumbs in your mouth.” I hadn’t.

Truths & Myths: Pluralpedia Part 2, Brain Activity in DID

In the fact check, we cover brain activity in switching, brain activity between EPs and ANPs in DID and how this compares to actors trying to imitate having dissociative identities.

All parts exist within one biological body, parts are caused by different brain activity, which means other parts cannot have their own DNA. Moreover, parts do not have physical bodies, any claim to a body is a visualisation tool aiding the part to develop its identity and gain comfort. This visualisation also does not have DNA but that does not mean it cannot be changed. Parts can have different types of relationships though, some parts may consider each other family. This is related to how people have biological or chosen families but in relationships between parts, they reflect those family types rather than actually being those family types.

In the fact check section, we will show studies where actors could not successfully simulate dissociative identities and switch between them. This shows how a person cannot gain dissociative identities by believing they have them or trying to create them by will or want.

Genealogist fact check:

Using quantitative electro-encephalogram (QEEG), it was seen that the change between dissociative identities was seen as beta activity (beta waves are high-frequency, low-amplitude brain waves in the awakened state and are involved in conscious thought and logical thinking) in the frontal and temporal lobes. The frontal lobe is responsible for reasoning, social understanding, executive function, voluntary muscle movements, learning, and recalling information. The temporal lobes are most commonly associated with processing auditory information and encoding memories.

Willogenic fact check:

There have been studies conducted to examine the differences in brain activity between ANPs and EPs in patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). The terms ANPs and EPs originate from the theory of structural dissociation, which will be discussed in a separate post. In summary, an ANP (apparently normal part) is responsible for carrying out daily tasks, while an EP (emotional part) holds traumatic memories and prevents them from being experienced by the ANPs. Instead, the EPs relive the trauma, rather than being able to experience the present moment like an ANP would. According to this model, EPs are present in patients with PTSD, CPTSD, OSDD, and DID but DID is the only disorder that involves multiple ANPs, setting it apart from the others.

Study one:

In a study, EPs and ANPs in DID patients were shown angry and neutral faces to observe changes in activity and reaction time to a changing coloured dot on the face. This was compared to a control group of actors attempting to simulate an EP or ANP state. The results showed that EPs in DID patients had higher activity in the right parahippocampal gyrus when presented with either face, compared to DID ANPs. The right parahippocampal gyrus is involved in the recall of autobiographical memories, with a right hemispheric predominance, and is also part of the re-experiencing of symptoms in disorders such as PTSD. This supports the theory that EPs play a role in storing traumatic memories. 

The observed activity also suggests and supports the idea that EPs within DID may perceive safe individuals as dangerous and when confronted with reminders of traumatic memories, they may reactivate those memories. While there were other findings in the study, further statistical evidence and a larger sample size are needed to conclude. However, the control group was unable to replicate the activity and reaction time of DID ANPs and EPs. Their reactions were the opposite. When attempting to simulate ANPs and EPs, the actors showed an inverse reaction time and neural brain activity for each state. For example, when the actors were meant to act like ANPs, they tended to react like EPs in DID patients. For ANP-simulating controls neutral faces were salient, they did attract much preconscious attention, as happened for authentic EP. The current findings add to the psychobiological evidence that DID is neither an effect of suggestion and fantasy, nor role-playing.

Study two:

Additionally, a study was conducted to measure brain perfusion, which refers to the passage of fluid through an organ, normally the delivery of blood to a capillary bed in tissue, during rest. The study compared DID patients to controls and found that DID patients have a higher resting state metabolism, the rate at which calories are used, in the Default Mode Network (DMN), which is active when the person is not focused on the outside world such as daydreaming, of the brain. This can be explained by the fact that DID patients’ brains are more focused on attending to their self-states during rest, something that the control group did not experience. 

Moreover, compared to an EP in DID, ANPs in DID showed more metabolism in the bilateral thalamus, the part of the brain that relays sensory and motor signals and regulates both alertness and consciousness. Furthermore, the study found that EPs in DID have increased regional cerebral blood flow in the primary somatosensory cortex, several motor-related parts of the brain, and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The primary somatosensory cortex is involved in action planning and execution, indicating that EPs are highly aware of their body being in a threatening situation. This heightened awareness would trigger the need for defensive motor reactions, making it difficult for them to fulfill the instructions for resting. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex has many roles important ones such as processing the sense of self and modulating and regulating emotional responses and heart rate in situations of fear or stress.

“Neural processes associated with intended and motivated role-playing of ANP and EP were clearly distinct from those correlated with being ANP and EP following rest instructions.” (From first source in the list)

Conclusion:

Overall, these studies clearly show different alters are due to varying brain activity but also show that DID has a biological backing whose results cannot be replicated through acting or attempting to immediately the presence of dissociative states. 

However, it is always important to note that more research should be done with larger samples, but the studies spoken about here at the time of their research were the largest.

Genealogist:

Revisiting the etiological aspects of dissociative identity disorder: a biopsychosocial perspective (Section under Neurobiology of DID)

Beta waves. (Section under Technical Aspects of Brain Rhythms and Speech Parameters)

Frontal Lobe.

Temporal Lobes.

Willogenic:

The Brain in Dissociative Identity Disorder: Reactions to Subliminal Facial Stimuli and a Task-Free Condition.

Default Mode Network.

Bilateral Thalamus. (Section under Abstract)

Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex.

Feel free to send us an echo to our page or leave in the comments any questions or suggestions for future parts to this series.

Part one of this series covered DID formation.

Made from the collaborative efforts of the system who run this blog.