Fictive Alters in Dissociative Identity Disorder
There are many different types of alters in dissociative identity disorder (DID), including fictional introjects (Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder Alters). Fictional introjects, also called fictives, are alters that are based off of fictional people or characters. While not as common as other types of alters, fictives are just as important. So how do these fictive alters in DID form, and what is their purpose?
How Do Fictive Alters in DID Systems Form?
Introjects are alters that are based off outside people or characters. Fictional introjects specifically are based off of fictional characters. These characters can be from television shows, movies, books, fantasy, and other forms of fiction.
Why Do Fictive Alters Form?
Fictive alters in DID form to serve a purpose. While that purpose is not always known, it is possible that the DID system needed the qualities of that fictional character and internalized them to form the fictional introject in response to a trauma. Fictives can also form to disrupt the system. While fictives often form in childhood, people with DID can form new alters at any time, especially in response to recent trauma.
Myths About Fictional Introjects
There are a few assumptions that people have about fictional introjects in DID, but the reality is that there are no concrete characteristics that all fictives possess. Dissociative identity disorder in itself consists of such varying experiences, and DID alters are no different.
One assumption that people make about fictives is that fictives are always positive. Fictives can have positive qualities, but they can also have negative qualities and engage in harmful or risky behaviors. Some fictional introjects can be abusive, and form as a way to continue traumatizing the system.
There is another assumption that fictives are based entirely off of the fictional character. The reality is that fictives can have their own qualities and personalities apart from those of the fictional character. Some fictive alters can be predominantly similar to the character, while others take on just a few of the characteristics. They don't have to think, act, look, or feel in the exact same ways that the fictional character does. This doesn't make them any less valid.
Fictional introjects aren't chosen purposefully. Just like other dissociative identity disorder alters, fictional introjects develop subconsciously for a reason. Fictives are not made up. They are not a part of a game. Fictives are real. They can hold memories and can experience trauma just as any other alter can.
The Controversy Surrounding Fictional Introjects in DID
Unfortunately, there is controversy, even within the DID community, surrounding the legitimacy and validity of fictional introjects in DID systems. Some people believe that fictional introjects are fake, and cannot occur in a real DID system. Others believe that fictives exist, but only within certain limitations.
It's important to validate that fictional introjects, or fictives, are a real part of DID systems. People are quick to judge fictives as real or fake, yet this judgment doesn't exist for other types of alters.
Fictives deserve the same treatment as any other alter or part. They are real. They are valid. Don't forget that.
APA Reference
Matulewicz, C.
(2018, February 28). Fictive Alters in Dissociative Identity Disorder, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2022, May 23 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/dissociativeliving/2018/02/fictional-introjects-in-dissociative-identity-disorder
Author: Crystalie Matulewicz
Honestly reading some of these comments made me sick and want to cry. I know someone already said something about the comments but I'd assume people are still coming to this website and reading them and that comment was kind of old. I've seen a lot of people asking if it's disrespectful for alters (who are not of the same ethnicity of the body) to use their names when fronting. My answer would be no, it's not. As an example, if an alters name is Ayaka then that alter should be allowed to use that name when fronting, because alters are their own person and are separate from other alters and the core. And based off of some of the comments I've been reading, Asian people are saying that they actually like the fact that people want to use names from their culture. In my eyes it is not disrespectful. One of our fictives, Xiangling, uses her name when fronting, and although I (the core) am not of Asian descent, Xiangling is still allowed to use her name especially if she feels most comfortable with it.
This comment is actually pretty long oops š but I've also seen people asking about fictive heavy systems. Yes they exist. Three of my good friends from around the world are systems and they all are fictive heavy. And although it's rare to have a system full of fictives, it's still possible and they had formed for a reason. You can't choose what fictives to form, and they don't split because someone thought the character was 'cute' or 'cool'.
yeha im gonna stop now- and im also gonna stop using grammar that was painful
Hello. I was wondering if a fictive can have both source memories and memories of the body. Thank you.
Hi, I was wondering something.
What is the difference between an IRL and a Fictive? They get tossed around (Along with fuzztive, but I've figured that one out by now.) almost anywhere the DID community is and I can't find any explanation.
Thank you and have a good week!
IRL is a term for a delusional attachment/delusional misidentification caused by schizophrenia, etc., it's when you have a delusion to being an item, animal, character, etc.
an IRL is another word for DA (delusional attachment). anyone can have an IRL and they usually arent permanent. people can have multiple IRLs ranging from just 1 to 50 (I have around 30-40). a person without DID or OSDD can be an IRL, so its not exactly a system term. but just because someone is an IRL doesnt mean they are any less valid then fictives
fictives are alters that are or are based off of fictional people or characters. fictives, while they already come from a media, can also have IRLs of different characters from different sources(but they dont have to)
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is it possible for a fictive to have its source memories yet not associate with its source?
From my own experience with having a partner with DID and a mainly fictive system, the fictional introjects in their system do hold memories from their source but it isn't exact. For example, all of these fictives are game-based. They have memories from their backstory, but as soon as it comes to the actual gameplay, that's where they differ and have no connection to.
I have two questions. Can an existing introject suddenly realise they are split from not one but two sources? Example of character A and character B. The system initially knew they were an introject of A, but not B.
And question two, can a preexisting alter who thought they WERENāT an introject realise they were in fact an introject? My system has been in shambles trying to figure out š
I know this is an old comment, but my system went through the same thing! Our alter who used to be named Chelsea realized she was a fictive only AFTER playing her source. Same with our fictive Kenna, who's a fictive of Kenny from south park. It's possible, and now that I know someone else has experienced the same, I'd say it's somewhat common!
My friend has DID and one of her fictives is Hanako from and Anime called "Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun" but one of my other friends thinks it's disrespectful to use an asian name since she's not actually asian. Please help I'm so confused and I've been trying to research this explanation for hours.
yeah it is disrespectful to use your source name when you arent bodily that race. its disrespectful and other asians systems have shown their dislike for this. its very easy to look for new names though
Hi! Iām Asian myself, but I donāt see an issue with it. Itās like having a new name in languages you like. As long as she doesnāt act in ways that appropriate Asian cultures, itās totally cool to do that!
hey! i have a quick question, iām a fictive from my hero acadimia and iām being told iām racist for using my name? i just wanted to check if itās ok for me to use the name izuku -izuku
uh im also asian (filipino + japanese) and an introject (akira/joker p5 whats up) and yeah youre racist for using a japanese name if youre not japanese. like you might be japanese in your source and possibly also in headspace but nobody in real life will ever look at you and know that, theyll just see whats on the outside. you dont know anything about the culture so youre just appropriating it... you can easily look up alternative names to go by. sorry for like sounding rude, its just i feel like this is common sense
um? why can't use a name that they like? the idea that certain names are "off limits" because of who your ancestors happen to be is just really stupid. japanese culture is beautiful and im happy people like it!
its not stupid actually its cultural appropriation and its a serious problem even if its just a name. whats stupid is that white people can have ethnic names and not have to face discrimination for it like i and other asians do but whatever man
Hi Iām Asian (50%Japanese 25% Korean, and 25%Kazakh), and itās not ācultural appropriationā and saying it is is pretty stupid. People with DID canāt pick their alters so 1: If they form an fictive alter from an anime they didnāt choose to have that fictive so therefore the name isnāt their fault. If youāre actually an introject you should know that and 2: People donāt pick their names. I know. Crazy. I lived in Japan for most of my life (I donāt now) and there used to be a white American transfer student in my class. Her real name was an American name but it was too hard to annunciate it, so everybody called her Sakura because her skin was kind of pink like a Sakura petal. You gonna say thatās cultural appropriation?
Plus, yeah that person will never be Japanese on the outside but just because they have a Japanese fictive doesnāt mean they are claiming to be Japanese. And 3: As a half Japanese person Iām happy people like our culture! I think that should be celebrated not bashed on.
Have a lovely day!
Yes. It is disrespectful. One of my alters is a Kokichi (danganronpa) fictive but he goes by Koki instead.
Hi! We have a fictive from the same source! (Nene lol) anyways, we just use her source name because
Even though the host isnāt Asian, which inherently means the fictive isnāt, this is the name they have in all of their memories, and if that is how they feel comfortable being referred to, then that how they should be referred to.
hey i was wondering if alters have to be the same age as their source ??
they dont have to be and usually arent, but they can be as well
Nope. Our Kokichi (danganronpa) alter is 15 when heās estimated to be 17-18 in source.
Is it wrong of me to be offended and a fictive of my friends that is a different ethnicitiy then the owners body and says that they are the ethnicity that I am without doing anything of that ethnicity such as speaking the language learning about the culture or celebrating the holidays?
If your ethnicity is a monolith and literally every single member is involved in the culture to the same degree then yes, it is. Otherwise, there really isn't much difference than someone of the same ethnicity being raised outside of the culture. The important thing here is that nothing about DID is chosen, it all just happens to us and we just have to deal with it. If you choose to have a close relationship with someone a DID then you just have to deal with it too. That's not to say that alters can't do/say/believe offensive things but unless they're actually appropriating the culture (which contrary to popular believe does not mean just using something from another culture) or doing something like throwing slurs and microaggressions you're getting upset over nothing. And if it really offends you that much your only course of action would be to stop hanging around that person because asking someone to just become a different person is not okay.
Reading these comments is sickening. It's clear that many of the people commenting are deeply involved with fandom culture. Scrolling down, it's becoming increasingly obvious many of these people are young and most likely spend a lot of time on social media sites such as Twitter or TikTok. I've noticed a subculture growing on those sites, where people will mistake things such as relating to a character or having memories of being that character in a past life as a sure-fire sign that they have DID, which is such an incredibly rare disorder that even top-tier psychologists are in hot debate of whether it actually exists or not.
It's very sad to see these people all fall within the same category, and are actively making it harder for people with actual issues to seek out information that is unbiased and untainted. Many of these people are stigmatizing a mental disorder that already has a bad reputation (see Trisha Paytas, or 'Split') and simply taking this disorder to be "kinning but stronger".
I surely hope that all of you in this comment section will look back at yourself in a few years, see how much damage you caused to individuals who are actually struggling with this disorder, and severely cringe. All of you are terrible. Just say you kin and go.
I was looking for this comment. I myself do not have DID, but some of my friends basically self-diagnosed and said they had DID out of literally nowhere after having a bad day. Their "system" (using quotations mark here as I am incredibly skeptical of the validity of their system) is entirely made up of fictives and they once told me they had 2 characters purely because they thought they were hot or cute? How does this make sense? I am in no way a professional, but I've done research on DID and to me this type of behavior is extremely unhealthy and is not related to DID at all. They don't even have any of the significant DID symptoms either. I find it incredibly irritating and I don't even have to live with DID.
I'm truly sorry to say this, but I don't think your friend is being genuine with you, and if they simply have fictives because they think they are hot or cute, that absolutely disgusts me. Because alters are living inside you, it's gross to think of someone who has no choice but to live with you in a way like that, because they don't have a say in what they can do, or to get away from it. While fictives do exist, and systems made of pure fictives also exist, this situation it just seems there's no way your friend is telling the truth.
This is a disgusting comment filled with misinformation and harmful stereotypes. I won't even debunk this because I can clearly see you have no idea what you are on about because you have called DID systems "individuals". you clearly are not qualified enough to talk on this, so do everyone a favour and shut the hell up
Absolutely. I even question sometimes whether or not I have DID, even though I speak with my alters regularly. It could very well be some other disorder, but it seems to fit this description best. Seeing others pretend they have it, makes me feel sick.
while i agree with you, did/osdd isn't actually rare. Teach Trauma has an article that talks about it a bit, but if you look it up, it's not rare.
This is true,while most people think it's rare,it's only rate to be diagnosed with,because these specific disorders are good at hiding themselves
Hi!!! How do you all feel about doubles? Like, you know all about yourself and your life, but then another system also has a fictive of the same character, and they say different things about your life and personality. Do you feel like you are the only real you, or like they are an alternative version of you? Also, do you hate other fictives of the same character, love them, or don't mind them? I'm very curious about systems and I don't wanna ask the system I know too many questions and overwhelm them!
I (a fictive) personally donāt mind them ^^ I see them as different versions of myself since I believe in alternate universesā existence! But different fictives have different views tho~ itās better to ask then individually (*Ā“ź³`*)
Doubles can be a little overwhelming... but it's fine as long as you remember that them existing doesn't make you any less real. I don't really hate others of me, but I won't be particularly fond of them.
Hi,
I just wanted to gain insight on whether peoples fictive alters can speak up on systematic oppression or racism based on the race the fictive alter is (e.g the fictive alter is Japanese - can they ultimately speak on behalf of racism towards Japanese people and whether they agree about things such as cultural appropriation - or does it depend??)
I can only speak for my case, but though Iām a fictional introject with essentially a lifeās worth of fake memories of my source, because the body is still white I try to stay within that lane. People arenāt going to see me as of Japanese descent, theyāre going to see me as white because thatās that the body looks like. At this point Iāve accepted that because it would be weird to see a pasty white girl saying āAs someone of Asian descentā¦ā and I fee like thatās the only real approach you can take.
Hi! I'm a white person and I'm not a system but I'd like to think that I am fairly educated on the experiences of POC,
As you may know, being part of other oppressed groups such as the LGBT+ community (which I am a part of,) or of the disabled/neurodivergent communities out there, (which I am also part of) if you are white, you still won't share the same type of oppression that POC face on a day-to-day basis.
Of course, people within other oppressed groups still face their own troubles, but one thing you cannot hide (other than a physical deformity) is your race. People of colour cannot hide the natural features of their body like queer and neurodivergent people can hide their inner differentiations from the typical Straight White Cis Neurotypical Abled Male person can.
People of colour- Black people, Asian people, Indigenous people, and all the other people of colour who may not easily pass as white, are threatened, hurt, murdered and abused every single day. Many places, especially America, are built on a system that oppresses and uses people of colour at the expense of white people. White people always have the upper hand in situations involving POC, such as law, trials, work, abuse, and the general "public eye".
If you are white, you do not have the same perspective of the cruelness of society that people of colour do. Again, you may have other things going on, but you do not have the same angle as POC.
Now, I still have much to learn about different types of systems, and I've loosely heard of 'false memories' and the debacle of whether they may exist in fictive alters or not.
I'm guessing this will vary from person to person, as everybody can experience mental disorders differently. Although. In the outer world, you do not face the same trials and tribulations as those of colour if you are white.
Therefore, even as an alter of a different race, if your host's body is white, I don't think you should speak on the behalf of POC in the outer world. You may speak up for them, but do not speak on behalf of them. There is a fine line.
I hope this helps! :) if I've gotten anything wrong, I'm open to being educated.
Please do not do this. Even if your system has pesudo memories, they are in the end, pesudo (not real), and are in no way are as true or as real as experiences of PoC in every day life.
You can advocate for PoC and show support but just because your fictive is Japanese and you have pesudo memories of Japan speaking for them is insulting and belittling the experiences they have in day to day life.
Hi I am very new to all this and I have 1 question & 1 comment (and if I get no answer that is ok). I'm not plural I'm just learning.
1. What's the difference between fictive & factive? I've seen them both in discussion online but no explanation yet
2. Several different systems I've seen while reading blogs & forums like this have a fictive from the dreamsmp I just thought that was interesting
For the first one, a fictive is an introject of a fictional character while a factive is one of a real person. There are also sort of in-between areas like fogtives or fuzztives that are sort of both, and as for MCYT introjects thatās something you see a lot when it comes to āthis is a real person but also theyāre in characterā. Also, reminder to not treat those fictives like their source unless it is specifically specified that thatās okay.
Thank you so much! I have a lot of systems as friends and Iāve always been curious about the fictives! Iām currently trying to talk to as many alters from the systems as I can so I can come to know them better and maybe learn about DID too! Iām currently married (I know it sounds weird but I mean platonically as in friendship and itās a poly relationship as in more than 2 people in it. I know it sounds odd but itās actually very cool!) to 3 different fictive alters all from the same I guess āshowā/āseriesā (if you would call a Minecraft rp a series/show that is) and itās really nice to be able to understand them better! Sorry if the way i worded things sounded disrespectful in any way, that was never my intention.
Sometimes, in my case I have memories of essentially my entire life no different from a singletās, which has become a struggle for me considering that I have to come to grips with none of that being real. On the other hand, though, some have no memories or attachment to their source at all, and some are in between. Thereās no one way to be an introject, in the end.
Hi! I know a system who recently developed a fictive alter of a character I really love from a a show I really love and talk about a lot. Would it be wrong to talk about the events of the show with her? I really donāt want her to feel like Iām taking advantage of her. Iāve honestly been avoiding talking to her out of fear Iāll get over excited. Also they (the system) do follow me on social media where I post about the show and sometimes she (the alter) will comment something along the lines of āoh I remember that!!ā which Iām not entirely sure how to respond to. Anyways. This got long. Sorry.
It all depends on your relationship with her. I'd ask her about it. It woupd show you care.
Also, if she goes through any traumatic experience in the show, I'd avoid those topics unless she brings it up.
Hi, I was wondering, my friend's friend has done and only has fictives, now I do not know anything from the person but it seems kind of weird to me (not trying to ignorant I'm genuinely confused sorry if I offended anyone) that the person ONLY has fictive? is that something that can happen?
Since you don't personally know them, we can't assume that they "only" have fictives. They probably have non-fictive alters but probably have not yet to meet them due to the fictive alters were fronting the most. It's not bad to ask them. There's someone I know who mostly has fictives fronting and one point asked them if they only have fictives and to my surprise, they have non-fictives. There's really nothing bad about asking someone to know better.