All of my alts named themselves after animals- Fox, Jay, Polar, Hyena, etc. None of them act like animals, though- they all talk and type and act human.

But recently my girlfriend has been telling me that at night sometimes, I start acting strangely: she told me that the other night I tried to get out of my wheelchair and hang upside down on it. My first reaction was that it was nothing too strange, but then she reminded me that I used to sometimes at night try to hang from my bed upside down when I was younger.

Could it be possible to have a "bat" alt? I used to love bats and pretend to be a bat when I was a little kid, I remember that. And how do you deal with a non-human part?

There have been reports of people having non-human alters. Dogs. Pigs. Stuff like that. I don't see why not. There have been reports of people having historic figures as alters, too. Napolean and the like.

How do you relate to a bat alter? Dunno...

[sunrise]

Yes, I was recently introducing my therapist to a male ego state I discovered I had and was feeling very strange that I had a male, as I am female and my other parts were female too. He said this was not strange at all and that some people even had animal ego states (and by extension, animal alters). He gave an example that one person he worked with had a cat ego state. So I don't see why you couldn't have a bat. Can you deal with the bat alter in the same way you deal with your other alters? Do you have co-consciousness? Can you "listen" to your bat's thoughts? If your bat likes to hang from things, can you put a safe bar or something in your home to allow it be comfy?

[Kiya]

sunrise, i don't know why i didn't think of it before, but i also have a cat ego/or alter state. it is confusing because she calls her self a wolf (or rather a t did that she was attached to) but hisses when angry... and does that scary cat growl that changes notes. former t always knew it was her becauses when she suggested something that was not approved, a hiss always followed and t would sarcastically thank that part by name. that same part has scratched a co-worker when the warnings were not heeded and the co-worker insisted on tickling us!!!

[sunrise]

Thanks for sharing that, Kiya. Does your cat ever purr?

[Kiya]

=) oh yes... not as much these days... and usually only when she gets a spot in the sun.

[serafim_etal]

We have a wolf, a lion, a jaguar, a mongoose, a tree, and a wall! So, yeah, I would have to say that non-human parts are possible!

As far as dealing with them...it may be better in some cases to deal with why they are needed, then to deal with them directly. For me/us, the wolf protects the littles at night...he patrols the hallways while they sleep. The lion is here because one little one wanted/needed a big, strong protector that would not leave her side (to watch over other littles for example). The jaguar prevents "dangerous/scary" ones from "getting out". The mongoose we aren't sure about yet, but may have to do with combatting snakes which have been said to be (in our case) RA related. The tree and the wall, we aren't sure, but I can think of many possible reasons that a wall would be useful!

I can't really put a bar up, because I can't really hang off things due to physical issues anyways, it's more the alt tries to.

I don't see an obvious connection with a bat and my past... but I guess it makes sense? A lot of the time one of my parts, Hyena, snarls and acts as a Hyena would- but he speaks in English too.

[Kiya]

you i've been thinking.... if the parts formed as kids, and the kids watched cartoons, the the animal parts can probably talk because cartoon animals can talk. that might be a way to connect... through cartoons.