Alter Age vs Psychosocial Development
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
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For me, an alters age is created by two things: 1. A time capsule of the age of the body when the trauma happened. 2. Whatever is needed by the brain. Like I have an alter that's in their 50s or sixties (the body is 18) because I need someone to be stable when I have intense emotions or flashbacks. My brain saw that stability in much older women. How I know her age is by when she fronts, she sees the hands as to be extremely young, and she has wrinkly ones. She feels the most comfortable with older woman too
We are an OSDD system and don't have amnesia between members, so that probably complicates things for us with regards to age, but we have 2 littles (2 and 6). They both have the memories and mental capacity of the body age (32) but personality wise they are kids. So like they are perfectly capable of doing advanced math and driving but they have no interest in doing those things because they want to color and watch cartoons and be kids.
hey, i was just wondering what an OSSD system is? i’ve seen it mentioned in a few videos but they’ve never gone into detail. i’ve tried to google it but it keeps coming up with stuff about diplomas. can i ask what is it, and how is it similar/different to DID? i don’t mean for this to be intrusive and if you don’t feel comfortable answering then that’s fine
OSDD Grove System haha sorry never mind, just saw another video in my recommendations about it
@@meepmeepinton Glad you found the info! We are always happy to answer questions though if you're still curious.
The Rings System makes really good videos about it
We have a fictive alter who is kind of almost 16 thousand years old who is really a lot more like someone in their 20s. If someone asks we usually just say he's 22
Honestly big mood-
Wow 16 thousand... Makes me curious to what humanity was doing back then.
Edit: First human migration into North America
@@nvwest he claims to be from the future it's kinda confusing
@@bayothepandabear2216 I can't even imagine what that must be like, but thank you for the response
@@bayothepandabear2216 That does sound confusing, but from I've learned about DID (which is mostly from videos like this one), I can understand why a system would need an old wise alter from the future. The sort of power and strength that comes from having someone like that on the "team". As a singular person, I imagine creating an alter to be like when a singular person creates a character that they need in their life, except with DID that character comes to life and lives their own life and plays the role they need.
My protector is older then me because he believes it helps him do his job, not that he's actually anymore mature
We hadn't considered age that much tbh, but we're kind of a mix in our system. Our littles identify as the ages they were when they split off (5 and 6) and that's very important to them. One of our protectors ages with the host and the body, and she sees it as necessary to her job. Another protector split off from us at 13, but aged for two years until 15, when he stopped aging again for no apparent reason. It's all over the place, I guess.
Thanks Daniel! That was a helpful video. Numerical vs psychological age is pretty complicated for my 'system'. It's just 2 of us. I developed as any typical person would, but my other half is both 3 and 9, depending on her mood, since those were both really hard times for us. Emotionally, she's usually 3, but she's mature enough to make adult decisions when she has to because, obviously, she's had an extra 40 years of experience and isn't actually 3. But she' still 3 when it comes to what she wants, dealing with difficult emotions, and impulsivity / delaying gratification. And it's hard for me to know when to say no and when to let her do her thing because 1) I spent my entire life holding her back because it wasn't safe to let her out, and 2) it's not always an appropriate time to be indulging 3-year-old behavior, wants, decisions, etc. We often have disagreements whenever I have to go to the store, for instance, but we try to compromise, because lol when you have a toddler with a debit card in a store full of cookies and toys, limits need to be set. 😂 We're still figuring out the balance, but we've certainly come a long way from the days of 'alter amnesia' and acting out without understanding what was going on, etc. I suppose the next step is letting her front more so she can explore the world and grow that way, since the whole reason we split in the first place is because my mother didn't like it when I asserted my individuality as a toddler. Anyway, thanks for making these videos. They help a lot. :)
Thank you! Your videos help my DID System to better communicate, and me to understand. I've realized my 6 yr old "little" is a caretaker for my other "littles", including a 9 yr old. I am now more flexible with her being in front because she is much more mature, but this was puzzling me. Now it finally makes sense! Hugs 💖
We define age in our system as kind of a mash up of both. Our three littles and one teen are "age stuck" when their trauma happened, but the rest of our ages are compared and matched to the ages I (the host/core) hit social maturity milestones. We tend to "age up" whenever I hit a new one, which happens slower and more purposefully because we are autistic.
This was a super helpful video, Daniel. We are the same way in our system. Some alters are more mature than their age and others lack maturity and all of that is super a-okay. Age itself is so complex without having DID I reckon. Throw that in and it can seem super complicated, especially when you have age sliders. -Moenna.
We have an alter who is an age shifter (13-23), and another who sees herself as her daughter. The daughter is 19. When people get confused, we just tell them, “It’s system logic, just go with it.”
I’m getting a Masters in Mental Health Counseling and I have Mental health issues and your videos helps tremendously by contributing to my own personal journey and my educational journey. Thank you!!
We're an OSDD system of 11 people. Our host just recently discovered the rest of us. The body is 16 but our oldest alter is 30. Whilst his inner world maturity matches his age, when he's out he doesn't fully act like an adult. So, as littles can understand more mature concepts in an adult brain, it definitely works vice versa as well. He's an adult but resides in a teenage brain that's still developing.
-Luke
Our 7 year old little has gotten so much more mature but still identifies as 7, thank you for talking about this Daniel!
-the sweater weather system
Love your system name
I live on a tropical island thank you! It took us forever to come up with one
this is very late but I also love your system name
All of your videos are always so informational and wonderfully put together, thank you all for the work you do 💕
Yay Daniel! I'm always glad to see him. I'd like to see him in more casual videos. Maybe a livestream? :D
This is something we have been thinking about a fair bit lately, we went through a rough patch before Christmas during which one of our younger alters took a fair amount of responsibility over the situation and it was kinda tough to rework the idea of age and responsibility level, especially as this particular alter age slides. It was tough to know what amount of responsibly was okay for her to take on and what was to much, and I think we are realising that her age played a lot smaller of a part in those decisions than it would in the case of a single individual. We also have two alters in a relationship that consists of one having a fixed age and the other ageing, this has been quite distressing for them in terms of having growing age difference and what that means for their relationship, so this video has been helpful for them and the 'Stages of Psychological Development' looks like its going to be really helpful resource of them, aswell as our system in general so thank you! :D
The alters in our system who who have ages, age a lot like you guys. But we also have a lot of immortal alters since we have a lot of trouble with death. But they act in their 20s. Thanks for sharing, it was definitely helpful and interesting.
This was really interesting, and I liked the tie in with Ericson!
Many of my systems ages are determined similarly to yours, though I also know my part, Stacy, who was 16, was created when the physical body was much younger. Stacy was what my child self *imagined* a 16 year old would be like, because it allowed us to handle situations that were... Uh, far beyond what someone our actual age could ever fathom handling, so Stacy doesn't really know how old she is now, she's older than 16 (at least identifies that way), but I hadn't thought about y'alls point that someone's a part may identify as an age that doesn't match their emotional/developmental age, and in that way, Emily who is 10 is likely the most mature etc on that scale, while Stacy is 16 (but she was also a 5 year old's idea of a 16 year old, vs actually having split off at the physical age of 16)
Certainly an interesting topic, thanks for sharing your experiences, I really hadn't thought too much about it but it's worth considering, thanks so much for all your videos! Y'all rock! :-D
Hello Daniel, it's great to see you again...! We missed you... :) I hope you're doing well. Thanks for another awsome video!
I think this is a really good thing to talk about. And I’m sure it might be quite different for each system. For us, there are two of us that age with the body, most of the rest have fixed ages, and two seem to age slide? And we also find that just because an alter is a certain age, doesn’t mean that numerical age is the extent of their inner development. Our best example is what our therapist calls our “inner helper”. She’s 10, but she communicates (only through writing, she doesn’t talk) really really well, has probably a better vocabulary than a 10 year old, understands more complex things, etc. and I do reckon, and have heard, that’s because even if a part/alter is a certain age, some of them have still experienced the whole body’s age worth of life. So yeah. Don’t know if any of that made sense.
But yeah. I think it’s very individual to each system, and I think it’s a good thing to talk about. And also, how it can be that a younger alter can be young still too. Like our younger alters don’t drive. I don’t think they can. But yes, very interesting.
Daniel, this was awesome! Thank you for breaking it down in this way. From a non-DID standpoint, as a mom, I am very protective and aware of my little guy's psyche and how various experiences could effect him as he grows and develops. It can be overwhelming at times and this really helped me gain a bit more focus and insight to his specific needs at different age ranges.
I took a psychology class in college this year andI learned a lot about Erickson. I did a big presentation about these stages. This is fascinating to see how they apply to your lives, and how you operate.
As a psychology student in university I agree. I’m actually taking a class on child development right now. Similarly David Wechslur created WAIS, and WAIS-IV or 5, which is the test for IQ in relation to chronological age and mental age.
Very interesting video! This is the part of DID that really intrigues me. The way the mind works and how alters age/their duties is just so facinating to me. The brain is a complicated and mysterious thing. Love this video. Hope all you guys are well. ❤
It warms my heart that you left links!
Hello.~ This is such an interesting topic! We are the masters of essay comments, but there's always so much to say! Most of us have always just HAD our ages, had an internal sense of "aging" if we age, and that was mostly just that. For us, age already can be a bit different than socially recognized-we're autistic and some of us are much more prominently autistic than others, which gives the impression to people who don't understand certain behaviors that some of us are younger than we actually are.
03 is 15 and always has been, but has a lot of traits people would commonly associate with being younger, sometimes MUCH younger, but isn't. The way he behaves might seem weird and/or immature to other people, but the fact is that he really isn't eccentric by autistic 15-year-old standards. His symptoms just show a lot more than with, say, Wyatt, who is a bit younger than 03 but easily hits the "more mature" and "more highly functioning" bar that non-autistic people set up (autistic people don't like this bar, by the way; in fact, most of us who can grasp the concept seem to absolutely hate it). Age mixed with how our autistic symptoms sometimes vary make things more confusing for other people than a lot of them are willing to understand. There's not really a solid "more adult" vs "less adult" thing when it comes to ASD, but that always seems MUCH more complicated for other people than it's ever been for us.
Our fictional introjects mostly held their original ages. Magnus formed as being his source age (16) in November of 2017, had a birthday in 2018, then had another birthday this year, and he's 18 now. Celty is a fictive of an immortal being, so she's never cared about age or birthdays. Gilbert formed as a character who had a canon birthday and canon-ish age but a status basically as an immortal, but he only calls himself 20 to simplify things, and his birthdays are all for show so he can demand special treatment or appoint himself to "ultimate king status" (we don't actually know what that means, either) for a day. A final example would be Shell, who formed more around the age he was perceived by the ex-host as when she was reading his source, rather than the age that was officially canonized, and he hasn't seemed to get any older, and doesn't talk about having a birthday at all.
- November
Edit: Hello, UA-cam, do you mind not wigging out and posting comments before they're typed out properly?
Ex-host? I'd like to hear more about that if you guys don't mind me asking. If it's not ok please ignore me completely, and I apologize. Be well!
I hope I'm not overstepping into rude/too personal territory here, but I find your co-diagnoses very interesting. I'd be interested to learn how other disorders/conditions/etc (such as your ASD or even physical conditions) are expressed and handled (for lack of a better word) within a system. Please completely ignore me or let me know if this not an ok thing to ask. I have a number of chronic illnesses, so I understand a little (and to a very different degree of course) how trying to explain things to people who can't truly understand can be exhausting sometimes.
@@Luis-ej4ei It's a bit of a long story. She was out rather consistently for a long time, in control of most things even while unaware of the system. She took breaks without even realizing (such as when Doe took over for those months when the body was 10-11), but last year around March, she realized she was very much not fit to keep in control of things. Her mental health was deteriorating and things were getting worse, so she stepped down and hasn't come back to fronting regularly again. She comes out whenever she can manage, seeing as she has a lot of friends she still wants to talk to often and she misses her hobbies, but she isn't well by any means and being out right now in our current environment isn't possible for her much of the time.
- Kiryu
@@beloredoreisystem307 thanks for replying. I hope she recovers soon and that you guys are safe in 2019. Sending much love ❤
@@alex_long You're not overstepping at all. Over time, our system has become a rather open book about most things. We have multiple comorbid conditions (physically and mentally), so I can definitely empathize with living with things others don't understand. It truly depends on who is out at a certain time and we're polyfragmented, so I'll give a few examples to explain things a bit.
For the autism, we definitely have a very wide spectrum of how it presents and what symptoms show how much. At a public high school, 03 sat down in the dirt, drew things with his finger, and swallowed a few rocks. He's very sensitive to other people and cares very deeply for them, but sometimes he needs completely thorough explanations as to why a certain thing might make someone feel a certain way if he would or thinks he would have a different emotional response. His methods of comforting people and apologizing for hurting their feelings seems very strange to some people. This is pretty similar to someone else in the system, except for the fact that 03 could theoretically keep himself alive for an extended period of time. His critical thinking skills are usually sharp, but aren't immediate and, unlike the prominent expectation for ASD, he can be a very abstract thinker.
Are you still with me? Okay, good. Just making sure.
But everyone else except one other alter knows better than to swallow rocks or put random things in their mouth. Most of us wouldn't even think to just sit down in the dirt in the first place.
And actually, many of us are abstract thinkers, or at least capable of abstract thinking. Some are very dexterous between abstract/concrete, but others are completely or almost completely concrete while others are more often expressive through abstract means. This hampers communication style severely sometimes. For example, Lora doesn't register the same sort of jokes and comments Koizumi spouts off frequently.
Outward communication in general is odd that way. Some of us have stunted capability with putting words together because word comprehension in our own heads is difficult and use a lot of hand motions; others have that bad comprehension but fewer motions so their point is much harder to get across; some are perfectly eloquent or at least mostly coherent in verbal conversations and don't need anything more to help get things across. Some of us are hyperverbal and can't help but just go on and on at times, while others rarely ever talk . It's also easy to notice some of us are completely unwilling to look at a person's face when speaking to them.
Some are hyposensitive, others are hypersensitive, which means a lot of planning for situations sometimes and occasionally having to quickly come up with a lie to slip out of a situation if we switch last-minute. How we are to being touched, having pain, feeling things, tasting things, hearing certain sounds, etc. is widely varied. Because of certain sensitivities to taste and texture, actually, diet sometimes shifts a lot, completely disjointed from anything related to the ED many of us have.
Here's my shorter version of this: Individually, we generally live fine with our ASD, but the way it varies from alter to alter completely ruins certain plans. How are we supposed to go out and enjoy a day at the mall Olivia planned out when Kael switches in last moment, as he can't handle loud noises? How is a day at the movie supposed to go with someone who can't take focus on something they're not hyperfixated on, or if the movie is suddenly too loud and they scream unexpectedly, or when they need to use the bathroom but are easily distracted by flashing signs in the hallways and end up lost? How are we supposed to eat a certain dinner when the person out gags on the texture and can't even swallow it? How are we supposed to go to a family meetup when the person fronting cries or even screams at touches many of us can quietly tolerate? Planning around differences in alters is already difficult, but when autism comes into the mix, we've come to find that many of our struggles and many of the areas we need to use careful planning in are unique to us as a system with ASD.
I hope that gives some answers, and I apologize for the length.
- Kiryu
In our system, we just go with however we feel. One of us is completely ageless while another has jumped from 15 to 19 just because he felt he had changed and matured to that age. We also have a little who age slides between 3 and 10. Her age at any moment is simply determined by her behavior and whatever she says she is. Age works different for each system and even each alter.
You know, this video is super informative and interesting but also just for basic child psychology you've really explained a hell of a lot!
X c. C. N z
none of us really have defined ages i'd say! it's kinda weird we all more have age *ranges* of sorts like one of our littles being about 5-7 or me being 12-16 it's kinda complicated and feels like we dont fit in with any other systems ;3; -Emil
my system is very similar, we can't ever really pick a specific age but we feel an age range
@@poppysquids oh cool! it makes us feel a lot better to know there's other systems like this :D -Emil
I know that Sally from Dissociadid is an age slider.
I don't have D.I.D but age sliders seem to be pretty common in systems.
@@acc45460 it's not age sliding for us, it's a general age range. i think i would describe age sliding more as, like in the name, sliding between ages but still having one at a given moment, if that makes sense, while our age range is more like "im something around this age, but not too specific". -Emil
I hope this isn’t disrespectful, but I think I have a theory? Could it be that the mind isn’t sure when a certain trauma occurred so the alters go into an age range of where the trauma most likely occurred?
This video was very skillfully put together!
One little of ours doesn't hold trauma and ultimately doesn't *need* to be 4 years old (regardless, she age slides a little bit but never even to teen years) because we believe nothing happened for her at that age. But she has the full wherewithal to mentally process things that the body does a vast majority of times. We've always separated our system's age categories between "physical" and mental ages.
Marnie is "physically" 4-6 but age slides mentally to be essentially anywhere between 2 and 20. Our Host slides "physically" (headspace speaking, of course) between maybe 6 and the body's age of 23, and we believe her mental age is around that same slider. However, they are not always operating on the same dial. Marnie can be 6 years old "physically" and make all our business calls because she feels the body's age mentally while our Host can feel comfortable in the body's form but be mentally at a 10 year old's level and thus find difficulty in adult tasks. It's all very strange to juggle, but we make do lol
Further, Marnie does get very upset when people diminish her to her "physical" age. Because she always knows her potential, no matter her current mental processing power. Being told that she's "too young to play a video game" that she enjoys is a prime example. She always goes the "you don't know me" route in retaliation. So she is very grateful to hear that you guys can agree to always simply get to know an alter before judging their capabilities! There are very competent gatekeeper alters that are Littles out there! Age hardly means a thing in system operability, we've come to find. It's much more a sentimental thing, at least for us.
Yes!!! We love these videos by Danial, the way he explains things is so clear and helpful, thank you soooo much for this!!!!!!
I love how good Daniel is at explaining anything, I normally have to take some time to wrap my head whenever you guys post a new video, but when Daniel's the one explaining, I can understand it right away!
The majority of us are agesliders, so it's kind of comfusing sometimes. The only one of us who really has had a concern/problem regarding age is Shadow because he identified as ten until more recently, but would age slide above and below the age he identified with and because he fell in love with our partner but felt awkward about identifying with the age of a child when being romantic and stuff. It was defiant a process for him to become more comfortable with it, but at this point he's spending most of his time as more of an adult now in response to our new little, who's kind of his adopted son
"Someone that has one personality." Just use the term singlet😂😂
This This is so helpful. I have some thoughts I might be OSDD (I have a C-PTSD diagnosis), and this really helpful about understanding some of the trauma actually. ... the toddler part felt so relateable
We take note of age because it works similarly to how you described it - it designates an important piece of information about each alter, most often when they split off or when they went into hiding. Further than that, I don’t think we’ve ever consciously thought about the stages of development, although that is a great idea, and we just sort of. Exist? Perry, our youngest, is very much a five year old and we care for her as such. Triss, who is eight, has a vastly more adult view of the world through her growth and experience, so she had a lot more freedom.
It does frustrate some alters more than others that how they feel doesn’t match the age they are - Jack, who is a main fronter in system, age slides between 17 and 19, but we would never treat him as anything less than the bodies age; which is how he most closely identifies, he just can’t age up.
I watched this video a few days ago and tonight i was reading my DCF standard class (getting my 40 hours done so i can work in a dacare) and look what i found under the chapter on "child growth" (i instantly thought of this video and wanted to let you know about it because i think its interesting how relevant this is to my system and my new job)
Erikson’s Eight Conflicts
Infant - Trust vs. Mistrust
Trust is developed over time by providing an infant with a consistent, comforting environment.
When needs are met, trust is established.
Trust builds an emotional foundation.
A lack of trust can result in poor emotional stability.
Toddler - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Toddlers need to explore their own bodies and environment in order to become confident about themselves.
When autonomy is allowed, a person can become comfortable with his/her choices.
A lack of autonomy can result in a feeling of shame or insecurity.
Preschool - Initiative vs. Guilt
Four- or five-year olds begin to develop an interest in exploring beyond themselves.
Children who are not allowed to pursue their natural curiosity will be prone to feel guilt for their actions.
When initiative is encouraged, a person experiments within one’s environment.
A lack of encouragement for initiative can result in a feeling of guilt for acting on one’s natural curiosity.
Grade School - Industry vs. Inferiority
Between the ages of 6 to 12, children show the ability to develop competencies. Children who are inhibited in developing these skills and abilities will experience inferiority.
When children experience success, they attain a sense of adequacy and pride.
A lack of industry can result in a feeling of low self-worth.
High School - Identity vs. Role Confusion
Between the ages of 12 to 18, children are attempting to define who they are and where they are going.
When children are given the opportunity to develop their own ideas and opinions, they can form their own identity.
A lack of identity will lead to confusion about who they are.
Early Adult - Intimacy vs. Isolation
Between the ages of 18 to 35, young adults are exploring the development of relationships.
Young adults need the opportunity to develop close relationships with family, friends, and partners.
A lack of intimate relationships can lead to individuals feeling isolated and alone.
Middle Adult - Generativity vs. Stagnation
Between the ages of 35 to 64, adults are seeking a sense of accomplishment in life through family and career.
Adults need to see progress in their careers or success in their contributions to society.
A lack of accomplishment often leads to feelings of resentment and regret.
Late Adult - Integrity vs. Despair
After the age of 65, adults seek meaning in their lives.
Adults are reflecting on their accomplishments and fulfillment in life.
A lack of achievement may lead to despair in the final years.
Thank you for explaining all this! I was one of the people that asked about Kim Kim haha sorry if it was weird to ask. But things make so much more sense now. Thank you again!
Honestly, everyone in our system (that i know of at least) are older than the body, with the exception of the little. The little seems like their age in almost every aspect, except they'll display some incredibly emotional intelligence and act a lot more resilient than a child with their experiences would (they're an emotional pain holder who somehow usually is like a happy 5 year old).
We also have an ageless/immortal fictive to whom age does not apply, and our caretaker is non-human but would place an equivalent age at around the 20s, probably because we needed someone mature and able to take care of us as a kid. And I almost always identify as like 2 years older than the body because my job is to be the strong one, the one who takes the pain and trauma of our life, and being older makes me feel stronger and therefore safer.
Honestly, this makes a lot of sense to someone who's not a system. I think even among people who don't have a system, you can see a lot differences between people of the same age. But especially within system, because not only is the brain x years, so is the body and mind, as well as experience of course. But it was definitely educational to hear that the designed numerical age itself can have more meaning, which is why you should respect it. ^^
Thank you for making this video! I understand alter ages so much better now and that's extremely helpful for figuring out my own system.
One of our littles identifies as 7 yet her maturity slides in different situations. We even have an ageless alter, who doesn't front much at all and is an internal self helper. Yet for the most part, mostly our headmates' ages match their maturity level. I know systems whose alters don't match age and psychosocial development stages though, and they are just as valid as the rest of us.
You explain things so well. I was definitely experiencing a lot of insecurity through my childhood and teens
This all makes so much sense, thank you!
This hit home, I had a traumatic childhood due to various medical issues from the very beginning of my life and when I, very late in life, started going to therapy I asked her what my mental age was. I was 25 at the time (27 now) and she answered that when I first started I acted 12 but had developed enough to match an 18 yo, and since I think I have developed further and I feel somewhere between 20 and 23, maybe so I definitely understand the concept.
Great vid. This is why you cannot judge any alter or their actions by their identified age. I intentionally avoided age discussions with my partners system for a long time because maturity is not precise. We've had brief discussions on it but I find it kinda rude to define anyone's capacity to self actualize by age, it's very much down to the individual. Much better to just run with their ideas than stereotypes from the outside world.
I can relate so much! This describes my/our situation so well and hearing your perspective helps so much feeling less self doubt bc 'age should be the easier part of it all' (hope that makes sense). Sending love 💜
We jump in age as well as others who just kinda stay the 1st age. This video is interesting. It's nice to hear someone elses way the system works.
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Very interesting! I am currently taking Developmental Psychology in college. Erikson's work is very valuable and I love the time capsule analogy. I did a research paper about Erikson's work and connecting it to DID about a year ago, but I wanted more research about the connection with it! Also, totally going to use your video when we actually *learn* about Erikson in Dev. Psych as a reference. You explain it perfectly.
For us, age doesn't really matter unless it matters to the person.
So, we're polyfragmented so we have a spreadsheet with everyone known to us and in the age formatting, we just simply have age groups (unless either their age is important to them like Ren, or they're a factive or something and it'd make sense to just put their age).
Right now, our age groups are Kids, Teens, Adults, Lost Adults, Undefined, and Ageless
Obviously the first three, yeah.
Lost Adults are I guess would be the opposite of Kim-Kim, basically bodily in system they look like adults and identify with older ages but mentally they think more like children. They're more rooted in self, more simplistic in thinking, possibly don't have the same info as the others, can't really do maths or writing, any number of things together that would make them "Lost Adults". Obviously "selfish" or "idk how to do multiplication" wouldn't be the same as someone who is simply emotionally, mentally stunted age-wise etc.
Undefined is for like, nonhuman alters, or "fusions", or in some way their age is unrecognizable without being ageless.
We have religious introjects or even nonhuman alters that are just... Ageless. For example, the angel of Justice, he's a very active alter and he's under Ageless.
(As an aside we've been thinking of adding another group for even older adults, since we have a few Parent-type alters that are around 45+, and usually Adults is a range of people about 18 - 35~)
Age sliders tend to care about age a lot, factives tend to care somewhat too, but usually no one really "searches" for the age unless someone outside our system asks how old someone is (like an alter in their system is 30 and they wouldn't be comfortable being close with someone who was 20 even though they were in the adults range or something).
We're still discovering all of ourselves, but we have a range that runs from 4 and a half to alters that are older than our body. So far we seem to be severely encapsulated in those points in time, with little blending- especially with our little(s). The perspective shift is terribly jarring for us- knowing that your body is older buy physically seeing and feeling and thinking as that age. It's a strange double awareness that can be really uncomfortable; actually it's one of our switch causes currently. Being and knowing that you're 4 and a half, playing or coloring and suddenly seeing these huge hands instead of yours... whoosh goes the switch, and then owwwwwww... comes the headache...
This is so helpful to me. I’m just getting to know and discovering my parts so sometimes a part will come up and say they’re 3 and I think no you’re too mature to be 3, you must be at least 5
But then this helps me realise it’s not so important to match the age with the development as long as that part is happy with that age x
Thank you Daniel, this is so helpful! I’m 15/16 but I swear I’m one of the most emotionally mature ones in our system 🙈 maybe not socially though, I struggle outside of our headspace. Ash identifies as 26 (our body age) but everyone always thinks she’s younger and she’s waaaay more immature than me, but then all of a sudden she’ll step up and be a big sister for me if I need. Jay was super responsible and mature (he’s just turned 27) but has in the past couple of weeks regressed to ‘stubborn teen’ arguing with Cara! I definitely agree age number and internal development just aren’t connected in us at all 😂 -Miffy 🐰 xx
No wonder Kim Kim seems so mature!
We've honestly... never really put much thought into age. We're still working on connecting with each other, so we're not at the stage of getting to really know each other yet
I feel like i haven’t seen you in forever Daniel i missed you 💖
We were finally able to set up our DID Channel. We are L&LHoosiers -- Lani, Jessie (co-hosts)
Yeah I'm our host and struggle a lot with doubt and inferiority and "adulting". We have a little who is super productive and eager to help and actually does most chores and studying, but she behaves very childlike and loves fairies etc.
I HAVEN'T WATCHED THE VIDEO YET BIT OMG DANIEL I LOVE YOUR TDG SHIRT LIVE STARTS NOW IS MY FAVORITE ALBUM OK ILY BYE
Love the time capsule analogy! I will definitely use it if I have to explain our ages to someone.
Finally Daniel !!!! 😘 And of course a needed topic explained well enough to give insight 👌
Notification squad! I'm 4 hours late tho because Europe :D Daniel your hair looks so good! And thank you for this video, it was really informative! I was familiar with how your system felt about maturity and mental age, but I did learn that numbers can be a representation of something important, and that these numbers can be really really important. Also really cool that you mentioned Eriksson's theory, I learned that in school :D
Thank you for this clear explanation!
Oh and so good to see you again Daniel! :)
Great video! Thanks Daniel. It’s still confusing but the saying “age is just a number” comes to mind! I love that I could tell it was you presenting purely based on the thumbnail image lol. Do I watch this channel to much? Lol
Ages are an interesting thing.. Few of us care about age. Only 5 of us have birthdays and it's those days more than our ages that are important. Of course I might only be speaking for myself- the others of the masquerade might have different opinions to give you though. It's good to see you around Daniel, another well spoken video.
So interesting to think and try to understand, yeah it's complicated, but it also makes a lot of sense. PS. Daniel your hair is killer :3
Our littles ages correspond to what age the body was when they split off. We have an alter who age slides and that is dependent on how they are viewing a situation, like if they cant do something a normal adult can, they slide down, but if they are doing something they didn't think they could do they would slide up. One of our alters is 23 (body age is 17) and that's because when she was created the thing that created her was seen more as an adult thing so she is an adult.
Most of our system, (13 out of 19) would be considered "age sliders." even though they don't have one set age, the age that they are at that time is very important to them. There are three alters who are ageless, but they do have "psychological ages" I guess. One would be 26ish, another around 20, and the third about 15. Even though these are technically their psychological ages, they would be pretty upset if someone actually considered that to be their true ages.
This makes so much sense! Thanks!
I hadn't really considered age that much.. other than knowing that abilities can be "off" compared to age because certain things(knowledge) get shared between alters, where other things don't. :)
Yay it's Daniel!!! Missed you my dude!!!
This is alot to take in. We have had a lot of confusion in this area. Billy is some where in sn age range of 7 to 11. Cause he's the size of 7ish. Wants to do things of a 9ish age, but has a complex thought/obsevational response more like an early teen. We just thought he was an age slider. But your explanation just seems more fitting. Thank you. We have to think of this more.
Super interesting. Thanks for the video!
Age indentification in our system is very tricky. I'll use one of us as example. Snow says shes 25-27 but she behaves very much like an angry preteen when provoked. All of our alters shift so drastically in maturity that theres even times when we question if (for example) Snow actually has ego states that effect her, or that she has a seperate mental health issue causing such dramatic shifts in her ability to rationalize. Only one has a fixed age, and that's The Narrator who is in their early 40's, maturity wise but looks more mid 30's in our head space.
We missed u x
One thing we've noted about age is that our youngest alter (who is probably 6ish? Maybe 8? We're not sure) is actually capable of answering questions in a second year university class. She's also pretty young maturity wise, probably a little older than Mi.
First of all, I love this video!! (as always)
I am not part of a system, but still I can really relate to the importance of this number. I struggle a lot with my sense of self based on my age, as I am 19, look younger then that, but still am more mature then most other 19 year olds. So my psychological age and physical age also don´t match. Yet I am stuck with this number that just feels so wrong to me.
So it is nice to know that this is something other people also experience.
I appreciate the struggle but that’s not quite the same thing. You may be mature for your age but you’re still your age. You have existed in this world for 19 years and you are therefore 19 years old. I am 12, but I have existed in this world for 21 years (I split off when the body was 7). The body I’m in is an adult body and the physical brain I have is a fully developed adult brain. I literally do not match my age.
Minds in DID warp things to help cope with stress or trauma and that’s why I don’t feel comfortable with any number but 12 right now. I will age normally as I slowly process the event that happened when the body was 12 but I will live my life as an adult. -Kim Kim
@@TheEntropySystem Thank you Kim Kim for your answer and explenation. I think you are quite right and I feel like missunderstood things. I hope that my comment wasn´t offensive to anyone because I assumed and missunderstood things.
I can still say though that it is remains a kind of comfort for me to know about this, even though I now see that this is quite different.
It’s kinda weird, two of our littles seem to actually act younger than the age they identify with. Our six year old sometimes tends to be interested in things that seem more appropriate for toddlers, and our ten year old also enjoys things that most ten years olds think are too “babyish.” I wonder if because they both hold on to a lot of memories and emotions surrounding trauma, they both are kinda regressed despite still identifying with one age. -Bella/Rachel
Although despite their ages they are both able to do things like drive, read at an adult level, etc.
For us we have some alters that are a lot older than the body (body is 19 and oldest human alter is 28) and a couple that are littles. Aiden, who identifies as 10, has very little knowledge of the world and I'm not quite sure how that happens. He's asked what marshmellows are and what kiwis are and literally had no idea what the are even though everyone else in the system knows what they are. He's mentally about 5. That being said, he's 10. That's what he identifies as. He can't take care of himself because he doesnt know a lot about food and has very little information on how to do pretty much anything. Do you know ehat could cause this?
for us its however the personality feels most comfortable, which is sometimes a scale and so that becomes their age scale.
Random girly comment: wow the body’s hair has gotten long!
Great explanation of the stages of development. “Singles” can get “stuck” in development stages due to traumas as well. And finally, hi Daniel! Nice to see you! It’s been a while. ❤️
.When I found out I was in a system and alters started revealing themselves to me, I just asked them how old they are and they approximated based on their identity. We have 2 age sliders, and they we tough to figure out. Everyone's age is based more on maturity than self identification, which seems like the opposite of you guys lol
Holy hair Batman! :D Lookin' killer, Daniel!
Her hair changed. Instead of purple bangs she has a purple dip dye. But that’s about it. -Wyn
Is it alright if I ask why you named your system the entropy system? I hope that isn’t too personal!
Was literally just about to ask this!
Was thinking the same!
Entropy is a scientific term which means the randomness in a system it's commonly used to describe environmental systems but I think it suits this system great
Kassandra Gonzalez oh,thank you!
Isn't there a theory that in the future the entropy of the universe will be zero because everything will kind of become the same thing, like at the same temperature, and be in equilibrium. It makes me think about the system's goal of total integration, and how the number of alters right now is high and represents their state of randomness, i. e., their multiplicity. But once integrated: zero alters, total homogenization of the personality. This is probably highly inaccurate and I hope it's not offensive, but that's what comes to my mind.
Hello Entropy System! Unfortunatly the link in the description box doesn't work. Could you maybe check and give me a working link? Thank you very much!
Thanks for another video that gets my gears turning.. and fins flapping 🔸️🖤🐡🐠
Finished watching the video but I'm still curious how your theory works with age sliding alters. Like for example, my little alter Ariel age slides from around 5 (maybe younger) to about 10. Is that supposed to mean that for every year in between is significant to this alter. I don't have many memories of her time, only the memories she gives to me.
hello there, I'm diagnosed with did, they Will not communicate with me fully at this time, but I luv the movie Halle Berry made entitled: Frankie and ally. a true story of someone with did and had a good out come, marrying a psychiatrist and teaching. thanks for your videos, they helped me to be patient:)
Interesting how you chose to speak on this. I've been wondering how all of you fit into Erikson's theory. Cool.
we don't even think about the concept of numerical age at all, we kinda just see how each of us do and how to deal with that. All our lifes we've seen adults throwing tentrums and young people being mature, and all our non-human alters describe their perspectives about how all humans seem to be equally mature no matter the age and just try to hide immaturity and childish things with "look at me! I'm making big people decisions!". So numerical age is something that really just flies by our heads far away.
we still have "age categories" tho, like "he's an older guy", "he's like a teenager or something", "adult", "young adult", which has to do with self-image and behaviour.
Side comment: Kimkim reminds me of Wendy Marvel from Fairy Tail - young yet extremely capable and independent. Not to mention the twin tails too.
Thank you for making this video! I am usually quite good at understanding the complex nature of our system, but age was not something I had a full grasp on till now. One of our protectors Mallory identifies as 14, but has much more mental maturity than our host who is 19. Developmentally it would make more sense to switch their ages, but certain things cause Mallory to identify as an early teen, such as her interests, people she is attracted to, etc. As for one of our littles, he has been wanting to age for a while. I'm wondering if we work on his development he could get older? As far as we know, he has been 5 for a very long time. Again, thank you for the video! -Annie, Inner Self Helper
Age is an interesting conundrum. I wonder how the age comes to be for an alter older than the body, like Mistletoe who identified as 45 (I think). Thanks for continuing these conversations.
erik erikson? what a name!
(i know you guys will get this)
😂 oh those Sides -Kim Kim
So I want to message you and ask you a couple of questions is there a way to get ahold of you?
I understand how 16 is very important to kit, because in numerology the numbers 1+6 signify a sense of spiritual grounding where you find your own spiritual awareness. Thank you for explaining it so well.
Our little recently aged up to middle/preteen. A lot of folks often would ask me how a 5 year old can read and write before hand though 😅
I don't have DID, but I still feel that how old I feel is more important than how old I really am
How do I navigate numeric age? Not at all, to be honest. I'm totally lost.
My therapist keeps asking what age I would associate with emotional states my consciousness dips into and, truly, I cannot answer that for the life of me. Even as a "child", I was so heavily parentalised that I didn't feel like a child. I felt weirdly old yet ageless and out of place. I still feel that. I assume (though I don't actually know it) that all my parts will feel a version of that confusion. So when my mind shifts and leans towards whoever is on the other side and their emotions bleed through, I'm lucky if I can describe that energy or name that emotion, but there's no . The mere concept of that is really weird to me.
I have a question... could you do a video on how an alter chooses a name? Do they hear them from somewhere or put syllables together that harmonize or are literally made up that sound cool? I think that is an interesting topic that I would like to learn more on.
This was a cool video.