About dormant alters

[Scythe]

First of all, clarification, I don't have DID, but I know people here do, and I thought to ask here to help someone.

How does someone with DID wake up a dormant alter? They also only know the alter's personalities, but forgot the name of the alter.

If you are not comfortable talking about it in the thread, please pm me.

 

[Inthewind]

I dont have did but I have a friend who does and I chat with their alters who want to talk since they dont know many people and occasionally visit. So for their system let me create a basis that every ones did is different of course and there is different set up for each of them, one of their alters said that another did person had a castle. For my friend, they have a simplistic way like linear, the front where two people+ can front, it looks like a living room so its the community room for others to chat and a curtain where they go through to front, and to co front they move the curtain or stay near it i think to listen in and can share knowledge by chatting through it. Then there are other rooms like the next area contains each of the alters rooms, then the next area is a childcare room for the children, and they have one main alter who cares for them/watches them in a way as a protector, thennnn even further(we have been getting further from the front) is the dormant alters who dont want to be alive/exist yknow. So my friend was here once dunno exactly how it felt to be there, they were there for a very long time. But there are other alters there who never reappear, its i believe probably around pitch darkness, maybe numb? i bet, no one talks about that area because they dont visit as a rule in the system is to not force anyone there to appear and these people want to be left alone so everyone must respect that. Some permenantly disappear there and are never heard from again. To wake one up.. well depends on the lay out of the system most likely, and some rooms are super big i suppose. I think it is up to the alter if they want to be reawakened, you may be able to call out in the forget space room.

 

[wait.what]

I have to admit I'm curious about what the context for this question is, since you don't have DID yourself. (I happen to have it, although my system is much quieter than it once was.)

Regardless of that, I'd advise people with DID to be very careful when they do anything that changes the balance of power or energy within their DID system. Just because an alter is dormant doesn't mean they "aren't doing anything," or that getting them active again won't have significant repercussions within their system.

That said, if I really wanted to "wake up" a dormant alter, I'd probably start with a setting that feels as inviting and non-threatening as possible. A child alter might like coming out to color or watch a favorite kids' movie. Adult or age-undefined alters may also have special settings that allow them to feel calm and safe, such as out in nature, or dancing around the house to favorite music.

I'd also suggest that a system's waking personality only wake a dormant alter for a good reason. Alters are working entities. Unlike a fursona or a Little or a role-playing character, alters were created out of necessity and with a specific goal in mind. Generally they exist to keep their system safe. This is true even of alters who seem self-destructive. As a lot of people here know, there are many things worse than self-harm. Sometimes self-destructive acts provide an emotional release valve that is badly needed.

Call up a dormant alter if you must, but don't prevent them from doing their job.

 

[Scythe]

@wait.what ty for the explanation! I'm trying to help out a friend, one of their old alters was very helpful to them but went dormant. I don't really want to get into the details out of respect for my friend's privacy.