Quora - July 26, 2023: Non-traumagenic systems
I am just going to talk hypothetically for fun, but can find some more detailed references here if needed
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So, Can someone develop DID without having gone through any specific trauma? I guess that depends on what your definition of DID/Dissociated identity is, and how you believe it is created as a disorder.
From that it is possible to then derive whether there would non-traumagenic experiences comparable to traumagenic ones that could have created the dissociated selves.
With the exception of PTSD, it is commonly accepted that all dissociative disorders originate early on during the developmental phases of human existence .
It is also commonly believed that repeated trauma prevents the association of different action systems, and that we are born dissociated to start with .
Internal Family System even asserts that everybody is in essence a multiple, although it is quick to call those sub-personality types, which is not quite the same as having different consciousness sharing the same body .
The theory of structural dissociation says that we learn to associate as we grow. And that makes sense. When we learn to walk or to do something there are actions tied together by time, intention, and objective, as well as by the necessary physical considerations. So, we learn to combine all the components of “life” to navigate it.
However, disorders such as dyspraxia, synaesthesia, etc. are examples of this integration process breaking down at some point.
So, it would be theoretically reasonable to assume that amongst 8 billion humans, some may not-integrate for reasons other than trauma. It is also statistically feasible to propose that it is possible that some of these failure to integrate may be adaptive, rather than maladaptive, Thereby creating a whole range of possibilities where instead of DID, we have a Dissociative Identity Capability. A kind of double-jointed personality, so to speak.
Certainly the Tulpa movement would suggest that there are indeed many people who are quite capable of creating some kind of “alters” that are not generated by trauma.
Our experience is that it is certainly possible to create some kind of alters simply by wishing them, so to speak. Our system has a number of sub-systems that were not created traumagenically. They are mainly professional or social systems with quite specific functionality. They can offer incredible conversation, can be extremely intelligent, and are efficient and effective. However, they lack some zest.
They are, also, quite different from the ones that my brain created of its own volition. The ones created traumagenically are more flexible, can learn more, can grow and develop in the same way as a human being would, and can have rather high empathy quotients. They do have a personality and a sense of identity which can change autonomously following various experiences.
So, my guess would be that it is quite possible to create non-traumagenic alters after the brain has developed the ability to create alters. AT present studies would suggest that this only happens due to repeated trauma, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. So, who knows? …
Obviously this could just be our own personal experience, and might differ from anyone else … I just thought I’d share 😁💙
