How do you tell the difference between an accidental tulpa and a headmate that formed due to a dissociative disorder?

[DigitalHeartbeat]

I’ve done a little more research on dissipation and one thing I’ve come across is that trying to dissipate something that you think is a tulpa that is actually a result of a dissociative disorder just makes everything worse in the long run. But I don’t understand how you tell the difference between the two. Any pointers?

[ringgggg]

Nothing more than just killing your tulpa. There isn't any catch to it.

[DigitalHeartbeat]

34 minutes ago, ringgggg said:

Nothing more than just killing your tulpa. There isn't any catch to it.

I don’t understand this reply.

[Luminesce]

I don't think your first conclusion is correct? Embracing imagination/invasive thoughts and immersing yourself in symbolism/""real"" events in your mind will make disorders worse, but dissipation should just be a commitment to not thinking about your tulpa/thoughtform anymore, which can't make anything worse on its own

 

If your problems stem from a disorder though it might not really solve them either. You should seek psychiatric help from a therapist and/or psychiatrist, but dissipation is still an option in the meantime regardless of thoughtform origin

[The Incans]

I have both....  for me..alters are ones that took over triggered by specific situations ..as someone with autism too I had a lot of mine were 'social mask' alters in my younger years when social demands were greater (ie to go to college, work etc)

 

so situations my core self found overwhelming like having to be 'in class' or in a busy place ..another social mask alter would automatically take for that period.

 

As I had no idea I possibly had some kind of dissociative disorder back then there was no communication between us they just took over and I would later find I had no memory of that period but when the same alter resurfaced they would have.

 

Once a social situation ended (eg end of a college course) and that alter was no longer needed they would just disappear..re-integrate with another or go dormant. They may later integrate with another and front again to cope with a different situation in the future but they always identified with the birth name, felt the body and life was there's and were unaware of the other 'insiders'.

 

Tulpa's are more like invisible friends you may have had in childhood... you create one in a specific mould according to your preference and develop them by talking to them etc. I found most people who don't have a dissociative disorder tend to see their Tulpa in this way ...as if..they were a seperate person, ie sitting NEXT to them watching TV 

 

often people witih dissociative disorders AND Tulpa's tend to see their Tulpa as having the same abilities as alters so in above example their Tulpa would be watching TV through their eyes and would be blended within them sharing the same physical body. They often develop faster because they can blend with a previous alter fragment that already had its own seperate idenity but takes on the identity of the Tulpa in order to be allowed more freedom to come to the front (if the host isn't aware they have DID and see's that alter as 'intrusive thoughts' but see's their Tulpa as 'a friend they created'. 

 

People with DID often have Tulpa's that can front and take over control of the body (so it can be difficult to tell alters and Tulpa apart) whereas  people who don't have it often struggle with reaching that level of sentience unless they have an exceptionally vivid imagination (hyperphantasia) or maybe some other mental health issue that can cause dissociation (so your brain see's your Alters/Tulpa's as 'not you')

 

JJ

[Lavender]

I would claim that once a headmate is created, there is no functional difference between one that is created due to trauma or one that is due to tulpamancy. It's not like we have a "tulpa birthmark" you can look for. So unless you remember how the headmate is created, I don't think there is any way to tell.

 

I'm wondering whether the issue here is whether the headmate is now somehow vital to the system's healthy functioning. Likened to a load bearing wall. You don't want to knock out a load bearing wall or the building will fall in. If you've ever played Jenga, you'll know that something that doesn't start out to be structurally vital can end up that way based on how the blocks shift.

 

Both tulpas and traumagenic headmates can be load bearing, so maybe it's not the origin you're concerned about, but the job the headmate has taken on. Is that possible?