on the word fragment... here where I live and work that term is used to describe what has happened..

example a paper plate is ripped into many different pieces. the plate is said to be fragmented.

so here where I live and work it is believed that the alters have been split off... walled off in other words the persons mind has been fragmented from one whole person into one person and many alters.

I do understand that some locations and mental health treatment providers do differentiate between fully formed alters that fit the DSM diagnostic criteria for having DID and alters that are for lack of better words just snippets of emotions, events, memories. and such, use the term ....fragment.... versus ...real alters.....

we dont do that here where I live and work. we have found that it can be upsetting to people who have these types of alters that are snippets, bits and peices when we have tried to call their kind of alters "fragments" some times it can make a client feel like we think they are faking it or that their kind of alters are not important..

so here we used the updated term ...Ego States. this way the client doesnt feel like we are saying their kind of alters are not as important as the type of alters that fit the dsm diagnostic criteria.

Ego states and alters that fit the DSM diagnostic criteria are vastly different types of alters, but the treatment for both is pretty much the same thing... learning grounding, attempting to establish co consciousness and communication where the ability to do is exists and for some people integration.

I have had the alters that fit the DSM diagnostic criteria, ego states, and a third kind of alters called introjects. introjects are alters formed to/ for lack of better words become the carbon copy of an abuser, or other negative type person in a persons life.

an example of an alter that is "categorical" or as the DSM term uses "distinct" was my depressed alter. her job and reason for being was to hold my sad memories, try to kill herself, cried a lot, wore gray or neutral dont call attention to me type clothing. everything about her was sadness.

An example of one of my ego states type alter or in your words a fragment...is my feeling like a child about to get reprimanded ..queit meek fearful, jump at loud noises, Sometimes I was able to remain aware sometimes not.

an example of one of my introjects type alters was when I would hear this voice either in my head or coming out of my mouth putting me down, criticizing me, threatening me, acting out abuses on me when ever I tried to tell anyone what was going on, punishing me when the alter felt I had done wrong.

my therapist and I worked the same way with each of my alters regardless of whether they were ego states, introjects or categorical. regardless of what kind they were, they were there for a reason and they all had their own thoughts about things, their own jobs purposes and reasons for being.