what are littles?

I have often heard of littles when it came to DID. What does that mean?

Littles is the common term for the alter personalities the DID person has.

Young inside kids

littles mean many things to many different people...


those that are working on trauma therapy /the child within therapy littles is the normal feelings/emotions/ that cause a person mentally disordered or not to feel the same things they did when they were children...example when I was packing my apartment up for moving to a house my wife and I bought I felt the same homesickness, sadness that I felt when I was a child and my parents moved us across town...like I was losing my home.

for some littles can also mean a parents biological children that are toddlers in some locations..example someone I know who has DID who just moved into the USA from another country calls her son and daughter "the littles"

for some littles is a book and movie...many DID people keep / partake in reading childrens books and watching childrens movies..one such book and movie is called "the littles"

for some with DID and other mental disorders littles means their internal system of alters, ego states, introjects, or the feeling like they are a child.

here on psych central I base the definition of terms on what they have posted..

example when someone is talking about littles as an introject they are talking about times they unconsciously have taken on the abuser role of their own abuser..example I was abused by a relative. sometimes I would call myself the same names that my abuser did when I felt I did something stupid...I didnt have control over it, it just blurted out of my mouth. basically turning yourself against yourself, similar to having alters but different.

I also read posters past posts, these give me an idea of what the terms mean to the poster.

other times I ask the poster for more information and tell them what the terms mean where I live and work so they can explain to me what it means in their location and to them.

I have many littles, they live in a special place. Come out at will. Take a lot of time that I have a hard time reclaiming. My mother abused me, and my second psychiatrist. There are some attached directly to traumatizing events I can identify some not as much. They can be comforting at times , dangerous others.

to me and my System "little's" are kid parts under the age of 13.

Tamster you explained this so well....I feel the same....some are fun they like to play, color be held and read too...others carry memory
junk"

I call mine the children or kids but yeah those are littles all right. I like them . I used to hate them and find them highly annoying but
now i understand them more. I buy them cookies and crayons. They like little toys. They love my dog and kitties.

I'm glad other people have littles too. Sometimes I wonder if I'm so fragmented that others can see it like broken glass. Or maybe they hear them. My shrink can hear the difference, and has met some. I like to keep them safe and well cared for except for a couple of them, they're kind of mean and can care for themselves ok.

little ones are our inner children that can come out at times to play and do things.
Many of them are may have been around a long time ! Yet are still forever young!
we like em alot cause when they be happy we all be happy!

like the others say they be headmates that be under 11 in the way they think and act!

hopes that helps too!