For all pages tagged as being self-help related see Self-Help. There are discussions of what headwork is, what y'all, Self-HelpNotes, and advanced headwork.
For Plural Folk | For Singular Folk
For Plural Folk
For a variety of self-led series of self-help work and articles on specific themes, see the following self-help index or topic pages:
- I'm in Shock, I can't believe it, I have no idea what's going on, it can't possibly be true — OMG help! - This is the index for the total newb. Maybe you're in and out of denial, or you just found out hours or days ago that you may have DID, or suddenly realized that not everyone has voices in their head and it's just you, or are reeling from some realization and — you just know you need help. You don't know what help. Just please HELP! — then start here.
- System Safety - Some multiple/plural systems have concerns or actual actve situations that are not safe in their life, are triggering headmates who may be acting out, or find themselves with difficult internal dynamics, self-harm, self-sabotage, or other potentially harmful intrusions or behaviors. This is a group of selves-help resources to help with creating and ensuring safety, inside and out.
- Emotional Regulation - Many folk with DID and other forms of plurality struggle with internal emotional issues such as leaking depression and generalized anxiety between system members, emotional flashbacks from traumaholders, flooding (uncontrolled flashbacks, aka trigger cascades) and spoon exhaustion that goes along with constantly being overrun by other system members' emotions. Emotional regulation issues are also part of the Complex PTSD/complex trauma symptom package. This is a compilation and walk-through of various resources on how to selves-regulate and work on preventing spill-over between headmates.
- United Front Boot Camp - If you want to improve internal relationships, build internal community, work on improving coconsciousness, or want a lightweight method of meeting and greeting new system members, this is a popular self-led 30+ article self-help bootcamp by the Crisses for new plural or DID (dissociative identity disorder) systems or systems looking to start over from scratch.
- System Trust Issues - Many systems have fumbled without direction and stepped on their internal's toes. Sometimes we aren't sure how to handle situations and do the best we can, fumbling in the dark — but also we can get lousy advice and hurt our internal relationships. It may seem like there's nothing we can do to help heal these mistakes, miscommunications occur frequently, or we have eroded trust to the point that there are outright wars in our system. When you have run out of ideas for how to repair internal relationships so you can work on healing other issues and problems, this self-help series is for you. This podcast series (transcripts available) by the Crisses helps systems with continual internal disagreements, factioning, wars, or when you think that you have no good options left to work together with other system members.
- Building Co-consciousness - If you have barely any connections or communications with your headmates, through to being able to communicate but needing to explicitly share information rather than knowing or sharing what is going on in the Here & Now easily and readily, or having shared memory and information ability, this is a series of self-help resources to help you build system awareness, communication and information-sharing.
- Many Minds on the Issue - podcast - If you prefer selves-help in podcast format, these topic-driven episodes help with a variety of issues important for plural and dissociative identity disorder (DID) systems. From introductory materials through deep dives into specific troubling topics like internal trust issues and somatic trauma, the Crisses weighs in and helps you improve your system operations.
- Re-parenting - When you have many system kids creating any types of difficulties for your system, whether they're fronting at inconvenient times, disrupting functioning at work or school, interrupting adult situations with partners or during therapy sessions, if you want to proactively take better care of your inner children, or if you are concerned about your system kids latching onto unhealthy external adult relationships, this is the topic for you.
- Stuck Residents aka stowaways, lost souls, non-coaware identities, emotional parts, etc. - If you have stuck headmates, a lot of intrusive thoughts or emotions, flashback, folk who are unaware of the Here & Now, or other issues of presence, flooding, anxiety, and a lot of system "noise" this is the section of self-help resources to help improve situations with stuck headmates.
- System Rebels: internal prosecutors, persecutors, saboteurs, meddlers, miscreants, undesirable behavior, etc. - "Rebels" in the United Front paradigm by Crisses are the system folk who are either lone wolves or act in concert against the current fronting group. This can include what people call internal persecutors, or people with whom you have broken trust and had a falling out or fight, but may also include folk who are simply stuck residents and don't know any better because they're stuck in PTSD.
- Working on Work-Life Skills: plurals on the job, on the go, getting things done, managing life - Sometimes folk want or need to work or volunteer — or maybe just run a household. Some folk want to start a business or a nonprofit, etc. Whether for money, selves-fulfillment, to pass time constructively, or to contribute to society, here's a run-down of forward-facing, adulting & work-life balance materials for plural & DID systems.
Resources for singular spouses, relations, allies, etc.
Since the world is generally singular-centric, and plurality/DID knowledge is often filled with inaccuracies and misunderstandings, or curated & presented only by singular people, it can be extraordinarily challenging to find plural-positive, and plural-centric information that can help those who deal with plurals & multiples learn how to be better allies.
- Introduction for Singular Systems - Most resources on this site are intended as self-help for plural & multiple systems, but of course much of the information on the site can be useful for singular allies, spouses, friends, acquaintances and coworkers. Here's some articles and notes that will be helpful for dealing with and understanding plural/multiple systems better.