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The Real Life Effects of Creating a Tulpa


Astaria

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As you may have noticed, I am completely new here and have no personal experience with creating a tulpa or the process of trying. However, I have been interested in this process and how it works for over five years. For many of those years, I wondered what were the benefits of having a tulpa, as well as the disadvantages. Today, I have finally decided to dig deeper and get personal opinions from others who have actually gone through the process of creating a tulpa. 

 

I am not going to lie; I am completely skeptical about this phenomenon, just as many of you probably had before you started the process and seen your results. There have been many times where I wanted to try experimenting with creating a tulpa. However, I never would want to begin something as serious as this, seeing as how it would affect the rest of my life most likely. I’m wanting to know more information about this, which I’m hoping some of you could help. 

 

By creating a tulpa, you are basically splitting your mind into two or more, or at least training your mind to know the difference between the host and the tulpa(s). The tulpa has its own voice, form, personality, age, gender, physical properties, and gestures. I also know that after spending many hours with your tulpa, you can eventually “switch” places with them.

 

This sounds a lot like Dissociative Identity Disorder. First of, DID is not multiple personalities in one body, it is identity fragmentation of the mind; The mind essentially creates one or more identities in the brain, usually caused by trauma (sexual abuse, neglect, etc). This helps the host to cope with life (Ex: An identity could be guarded, strong, and protective to help the host feel in control and not get harmed in life). For one, with DID, the “alters” or other identities have their own voice, form, personality, age, gender, physical properties, and gestures. The alters will also “switch” with the host and take control of the body. Of course, the host does not sometimes remember this and does not force this, unlike hosts’ of tulpas. The host also does not consciously train themselves to have another “alter” as one with a tulpa does. However, they sound very much alike. At the same time, researchers are still unsure that DID is even a real disorder, as well as they don’t know that a tulpa is a real creation and separate forms inside a body with a host. 

 

What I’m wondering is, does anyone here know and understand the real effects that creating a tulpa has on the mind? Is this actually training the mind to permanently/temporarily split to create two or more different identities? Of course, unlike DID, the host is just able to have more control over their tulpas and their mind. When you create a tulpa, has your mind and how it originally function changed in any way? What I mean is, would your brain always be split into thinking that there is more than one identity? I have read that you can “kill” off your tulpa, but is your brain ever truly the same afterwards? If anyone could explain the comparison to DID and the real life effects that this has on the mind I would appreciate that!

 

I also hope I did not offend anyone by asking this in any way, shape, or form. I am not disagreeing with the fact that a tulpa is real or not real, nor am I saying that creating a tulpa is essentially giving yourself a disorder. I am coming about this in a learning perspective and I actually want to know the real effects this can have.

--~♥~--

 

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I think I know the answer to killing off a tulpa (NOT FROM REAL EXPERIENCE FROM OTHERS). No, you will never be the same, the tulpa can even end up coming back due to your subconcious still thinking about it. You may end up being "Haunted" by this tulpa and you will always in the back of your mind remember and harbor it. Hope this helps!

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DID is a disorder; Tulpamancy is not. If you have no mental disorders or similar afflictions before creating a tulpa, they shouldn't become a problem. The large majority of systems never learn how to switch. Tulpamancy, on its own, has next to no effects on the mind. I believe that "head pressures" and "forcing headaches" are due to using a new mental muscle however, similar to dream recall. That shouldn't really affect anything, though.

 

I'll just put a few of our reference posts here that you might appreciate. Note that for the "Possible harm from creating a tulpa" one, Lumi specifically means to list all possibilities, but that makes it seem like tulpamancy is likely to lead to some sort of problems; it's not. The majority of tulpamancers end up better than they started, honestly.

Skepticism

Possible harm

Situations a tulpa could cause their host harm (Different, I swear)

Doing things "correctly"

A large post of mine concerning many aspects of dissipation

And just a bonus I guess, I'm not sure how to summarize this one or if it's really relevant. But oh well https://community.tulpa.info/thread-questions--15519?pid=200251#pid200251

Hi, I'm Tewi, one of Luminesce's tulpas. I often switch to take care of things for the others.

All I want is a simple, peaceful life. With my family.

Our Ask thread: https://community.tulpa.info/thread-ask-lumi-s-tulpas

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There are a lot of experiences in life that can cause permanent changes to how your brain works. Trauma and substance abuse come to mind for most people, but also falling in love, boot camp, having a child, and to a lesser extent, myriad other "normal" activities. Yes, creating a tulpa is a life-changing decision which should be considered carefully, but not extraordinarily so. I'd consider it about on the same level as buying a house.

 

Disclaimer: I kinda created my tulpa by accident before I'd even heard of tulpæ, so I didn't exactly have the same opportunity to consider and decide as you currently have. But it's one of the best accidents I've had, I think.

Maggie David (she or they, birthday June 4)

 

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Full disclosure, I myself do not have a tulpa. But one thing that should be mentioned is the great degree of control involved in creating a tulpa. Not necessarily as to the precise end result of the tulpa's details (unique facets of their personality, smallest aspects of appearance, etc), but regarding their overall nature and existence. A tulpa is highly controlled in comparison to what could be. Done properly, a tulpa will not take over your mind without conscious effort and unambiguous permission. I stress, by definition of a tulpa, the host's mind should not be fragmented in any way and they should retain the entirety of their identity. The host is giving energy and mental space to the tulpa, but this should not harm the host or detract from them in any manner. I could only see this happening in the event of accident, lack of knowledge, or willful stupidity, and it should go without saying all should be avoided with great care.

 

I suppose some may argue what really defines fragmentation of the mind in this instance, a matter of semantics and not what truly is. I am saying that the host should retain all of their previous mental faculties, and if anything, only benefit from creation of a tulpa. The identity of the host and the tulpa should be well-defined and distinct beyond all doubt, as this is inherent to the nature of tulpas.

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Astaria, the way you are asking the question is reasonable. DID is not the appropriate measure for Tulpamancy. One of the main points to consider is level of functionality. People with DID usually have severe life dysfunction. In my opinion, DID should only be used in the context of a MH professional dealing with another person, because all too often the labels which are simply used to classify and determine course of treatments are used in a disparaging way by the lay folks, as a way of distancing themselves or isolating individuals. I highly recommend, if you are wanting to pursue this idea further reading "Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche" [Ethan Watters] and watch how the Western definition of mental health has changed not only cultures, but how symptoms manifest.

 

That's the first part. The second part is I want to suggest another direction on how to consider this. In this instance, it isn't the mind that is bifurcating. The personality engaging in creating a tulpa doesn't loose energy, or autonomy. I can see an argument for the brain being less efficient as processing resources are reallocated, but here is my argument why that isn't so. Freud espoused the idea that all personalities are comprised of personality fragments. Jung took it further and said, no, they are not just fragments, they are full personalities in their own right, and they are in charge more often than the 'interface' personality. Interface is my word. The brain's job is to make models. Every person you have encountered, in person or on television, was modeled. You brain does this so that it can predict behavior and identify threats, find allies, all sorts of reasons. When you dream and encounter other people, from the psychological perspective, you're encountering yourself pretending to be this other person, who you have made a model of. In the dream, you don't usually identify yourself as this other person. In the dream scape you interact with them as other. Consider how many people you know and how many people potentially populate your dreams. Are you less efficient for having these people in your head? They're there all the time. Maybe they were always there even for folks experiencing DID, but the trauma weakened their ego boundary and so they are capable of more fluidity between selves. Maybe that is a super power, not an illness, but because our society, the most 'enlightened' medically frowns on anything not 'normal.' No one, by the way, has ever defined 'normal.' there are lots of definitions for 'not normal' though.

 

I personally, suspect that the dream characters are not just two dimensional models that we have accumulated and need to exercise through are REM stage at night. Here's another book for you to consider as you sort this. "Lucid Dreaming: Gateways to the Inner Self" by Robert Wagoner. He, too, writes about the possibility that dream characters aren't just two dimensional characters, but that they are full fledged, autonomous, sentient, personalities. If his conjecture, my suspicions, too, are right, then there are Tulpas everywhere! At least in the dream world. Making Tulpas might not just be an exercise in health, but the primary function of life. I dare say, the TIbetans Monks who take this practice very seriously, look at this as a way of improving spiritual and mental health.

 

In short, Tulpamancy is not a dysfunction. It is certainly not the 'norm' based on the social paradigm, but who said western society has a monopoly on health? Seriously, American, the wealthiest, 'most advanced' culture in the world has the highest rates of depression and loneliness, consistently measured by the World Health Organization. People who turn inwards tend to report better life satisfaction; people that turn outwards tend to report being less satisfied. I'm all for tulpamancy. But ask me again in five years and see if I am crazy. :)

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By creating a tulpa, you are basically splitting your mind into two or more, or at least training your mind to know the difference between the host and the tulpa(s).

 

[Tri] Making a tulpa is making a new identity and then doing the latter item you listed and giving them the chance to act and self-assert. The process is not the former item you listed (splitting oneself into two or more) unless you are doing the unusual and strongly discouraged method of shard-seeding to make tulpas. Just for reference, our system has splits, conventionally made tulpas, and shard-seeded tulpas. There are significant differences between each.

 

The tulpa has its own voice, form, personality, age, gender, physical properties, and gestures.

 

No different than hosts. Pretty much everything that applies to hosts also applies to tulpas once they are sufficiently developed. Differences between the two decrease over time.

 

One thing to note. Most tulpas do not use the pronoun "it", just as most hosts don't use the pronoun "it", and for the same reasons.

 

I also know that after spending many hours with your tulpa, you can eventually “switch” places with them.

 

It is a learnable skill, though how hard it is to learn varies greatly. Though possession and eclipsing, which are other ways to exchange bodily control, are often a lot easier and more often learned.

 

This sounds a lot like Dissociative Identity Disorder. First of, DID is not multiple personalities in one body, it is identity fragmentation of the mind; The mind essentially creates one or more identities in the brain, usually caused by trauma (sexual abuse, neglect, etc). This helps the host to cope with life (Ex: An identity could be guarded, strong, and protective to help the host feel in control and not get harmed in life). For one, with DID, the “alters” or other identities have their own voice, form, personality, age, gender, physical properties, and gestures. The alters will also “switch” with the host and take control of the body. Of course, the host does not sometimes remember this and does not force this, unlike hosts’ of tulpas. The host also does not consciously train themselves to have another “alter” as one with a tulpa does. However, they sound very much alike. At the same time, researchers are still unsure that DID is even a real disorder, as well as they don’t know that a tulpa is a real creation and separate forms inside a body with a host.

 

The current views of the medical community is indeed identity fragmentation due to trauma (and the consensus is more and more over time that DID and its cousin OSDD-1 are real things, though of course the definitions and ideas about them change over time), though it is a much more symmetric thing. Host in this case merely is the alter who controls the body most, and that can change over time. The current host is just one alter among more than one, not a different kind of being entirely. Now, sometimes, there will be someone who is closer to whoever was there before the first split who might be viewed as the original, though they are seen as alters just the same as the rest. Also, further splits can happen with any alter, not just the current host or the original. Sometimes that is what happens, but not always. As far as memory, amnesia isn't total for whoever the current host (if there is one) and one or more alters (host included) can be quite aware of their plurality.

 

At first glance, tulpamancy and DID (and similarly OSDD-1) do sound a bit a like. And well they do have one thing in common, they are both forms of plurality. But they are very different. Some of the reasons are subtle, some aren't. We aren't in the best position to explain all of the similarities and differences between pure tulpamancy systems and DID systems. Though, we can talk a lot about the differences between pure tulpamancy systems and OSDD-1 systems as we are an OSDD-1 system who has also made tulpas.

 

What I’m wondering is, does anyone here know and understand the real effects that creating a tulpa has on the mind?

 

People in the community have ideas due to personal experiences and the reports of experiences of others, though there have been no systematic long term studies on the matter yet (hopefully there will be one day). So, to answer your question, it depends on the level of "know" you are looking for. For a patterns of anecdotes level of "know" as opposed to a systematically studied level of "know", there are many ideas on this topic that are discussed around here.

 

Our own take. There are some real affects, some of which are permanent. One of which is that for each tulpa made, it is easier to make another tulpa; so making a first tulpa, will have the long term effect of it being easier to make more tulpas. Related to this, it seems to be that each tulpa made increases the likelihood of receiving walk-ins and accidentally making a tulpa from things like daydreaming, writing a story, etc. These are the effects we are reasonably sure on. Others, less so. It seems to us that making a tulpa tends to increase the host's propensity towards dissociating as well as ability to deliberately dissociate in some way or another in the long term even if the host does not deliberately work on learning how to dissociate. Note that dissociation is a complicated beast and can be good or bad depending on the circumstances, flavor of dissociation, and strength of the dissociation.

 

Is this actually training the mind to permanently/temporarily split to create two or more different identities?

[/url]

 

Addressed earlier. Unless you are doing shard-seeding, no it isn't.

 

Of course, unlike DID, the host is just able to have more control over their tulpas and their mind.

 

While young tulpas are quite suggestible and one can leverage considerable control over them by pure strength, this is not true of older tulpas in exactly the same way that parents can leverage considerable control on their children when they are young but not once they have grown up. Tulpas can in fact become as strong or even stronger than their hosts. And hosts can turn out to be surprisingly suggestible. Once there is more than one person in the brain, the level of control that any one of them has decreases substantially. A big difference with DID, though, is that in pure tulpamancy systems there is not an intertwining between plurality and trauma that can throw curve balls that can be beyond the control of everyone in the system (oftentimes, even put together).

 

If you make a tulpa, you are ceding absolute control if you ever had it in the first place (for some, there is only an illusion of absolute control) and otherwise a high level of control; short of being a tyrant. It is no different than if one is living alone in a house or appartment and then someone else moves in - one is ceding some level of control. This is not a bad thing. It is the reality of sharing a space (in this case a brain) with another thinking being with will, goals, wants, strengths, flaws, identity, etc.

 

When you create a tulpa, has your mind and how it originally function changed in any way?

 

Yes. The bar of effort required to make a tulpa decreased enough that we got two accidental tulpas, if we hadn't changed how we daydreamed we would be making tulpas left and right, and we probably can't write a story anymore without making one or more tulpas from the characters (note, this is not a bad thing for us, just something we have to take into account if we write a story). Our brain also got a lot more used to changing who is in control of the body.

 

What I mean is, would your brain always be split into thinking that there is more than one identity? I have read that you can “kill” off your tulpa, but is your brain ever truly the same afterwards?

 

We would say that the bar for making a tulpa whether deliberately or accidentally will always be lowered. If pure tulpamancy systems are anything like our own system when we integrated once (everyone merged into a single person), we would say that the brain will always be more plural inclined.

 

Your sentence does lead to the morality issue, which we do want to talk about (note, we aren't implying anything about your views, but it is a topic we feel strongly on and want to talk about for the good of anyone here reading this). Honestly, this issue should never come up. Short of very unusual circumstances, killing one's tulpa/s is not ok. Sadly, way too many hosts just murder their tulpa/s for some frivolous reason or another or other bad reason. The irony is that so many hosts and prospective hosts are afraid of their tulpas or future tulpas but hosts murder their tulpas at a much higher frequency that tulpas even kill their hosts (let alone murder their hosts). It is scary being a tulpa sometimes (we are tulpas, by the way).

 

If anyone could explain the comparison to DID and the real life effects that this has on the mind I would appreciate that!

 

We think we mostly covered this.

Tri = {V, O, G}, Ice and Frostbite and Breach (all formerly Hail), and others

System Name: Fall Family

Former Username: hail_fall

Contributor and administrator on a supplementary tulpamancy resource and associated forum, Tulpa.io and Tulpa.io/discuss/.

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