[serafim_etal]

article could be triggering

https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dsp...3_4_10_OCR.pdf

[multipixie9]

seraphim,

this article is quite disturbing but it does give some interesting ideas of why some people adopt animal alters inside their sytem. thank you for sharing this.

leslie

[Kiya]

WOW - watch for MAJOR triggers in this. I am interested in the alters, as i have 3... but do be careful all.....

[serafim_etal]

Yes...I agree major triggers in the article. I think maybe because they are trying to find the reason for animal alters and it's a scholarly article (meant for the writers peers)?

I've run into this type of problem with school work a lot...scholarly articles on many topics being triggery. Especially those in the Psych and Soc felds. Soc is my major...so that aspect has been hard.

[Kiya]

Yes, and even anthropology as well; I had to walk out and/or skip several classes. *sigh*.
Having read this article helped bring in some clarification for my oldest animal alter. Rather, she was able to look back and correct some assumptions that had accrewed along the way.
thanks, kiya

[iamtwilight]

wow, i was supposed to study anthropology. glad i couldn't go.

ok, i went on my dad's computer because i wanted to read this. even if its triggery. defying the mind!!!

crap. i can't do it. i'm floating away. i think i have one dog alter - he is a jack russell terrier - i relate to some of the stuff in the beginning.

ok. another try when in a better place emotionally. thanks for posting this serafim, it seems very interesting, it's a shame i couldn't go on reading.


twilight

[beadlady29-old]

WOW..........thanks so much for sharign
that aritcle provided much insight...soem of it mabye we're not ready for in theryap yet but helped us udnerstadn soem stuff........it was hard to read but worht the effort

beadlady29

[Kiya]

10 - my main animal alter - has really been re-identifying herself after this article. Because it talked about how the alter often became or incorporated the animal that was either hurt of used... i am still trying to understand it all... but she's always been a cat... but then about 4 years ago became a wolf... with cat tendancies (?!?) and reading this, we were able to follow that string back through the knotted other strings and see where this divergance occured and how she got so seperated from the whole. doing that, she realized that she is still a cat, but that her uncontrollable rage was called a wolf by a therapist, and it stuck. looking back - i think maybe it was because we had a cat, and that cat always got abused by the dad. anytime the cat would stick up for itself, it would get knocked down, thrown, hit, or strangled. so, being a cat alter, i think it was determined that rage and boundaries, safety and needs to defend oneself was too big for a cat. when she became a wolf, there was space for that rage (which was then taken out on the body) but she was then even more alienated from the rest. so she is now reclaiming that cat self, and starting to reexperience safety, trust, cohesiveness with the others... this is big. lots of shifts, tears, practice.... still stepping into wolf sometimes, but more into cat... being reconnected with the body and mind... cried today in the osteopath appointment (which is sort of like body work for me, even though it is realligning the body posture)... but it was ok to feel... she was FEELING for the first time in i don't know how long... feeling emotions other than rage... other than threats... having thoughts of freedom, of soaring like a bird... feeling connected and safe. even though the face didn't show any emotion, the eyes kept leaking. the dr kept asking if we were ok, what's going on in there... told her it is all good... internal processing... nothing bad, nothing scary. big stuff. Then more crying and actual emotion later.

[iamtwilight]

Trigger Trigger Trigger! - i'm using quick reply and can't put the trig icon here.

ok, i managed to read it through. that sounds more difficult than dealing with littles

i know my little terrier - think we have co-consciousness - though at one point i thought i was possessed because we kept thinking "they want me to go outside and stay there for hours" and weird stuff like "i must sit on the floor" whenever we go to a place we didn't know..

it's been going on for years.... and i got to know this alt this year...

aaaagghh. ok. i'm not in a bad place, i'm just confused. it was an interesting article nevertheless, shed some light for us.


twilight

[Typo]

This was an interesting article...answered some questions
Although I still can't figure out why my alt is a coyote..
I know I've always felt safe around animals, so Pip being an animal makes sense to me...but why a coyote I can't figure out...

[Kiya]

I didn't understand (or even ask) about the whole wolf thing either... for several years. i guess sometimes this stuff just takes time. now for me, now that she knows she's really not a wolf, but her anger needed a bigger space, why a cat? why has she always been a cat all these years?

[beadlady29-old]

Originally Posted by Kiya

10 - my main animal alter - has really been re-identifying herself after this article. Because it talked about how the alter often became or incorporated the animal that was either hurt of used... i am still trying to understand it all... but she's always been a cat... but then about 4 years ago became a wolf... with cat tendancies (?!?) and reading this, we were able to follow that string back through the knotted other strings and see where this divergance occured and how she got so seperated from the whole. doing that, she realized that she is still a cat, but that her uncontrollable rage was called a wolf by a therapist, and it stuck. looking back - i think maybe it was because we had a cat, and that cat always got abused by the dad. anytime the cat would stick up for itself, it would get knocked down, thrown, hit, or strangled. so, being a cat alter, i think it was determined that rage and boundaries, safety and needs to defend oneself was too big for a cat. when she became a wolf, there was space for that rage (which was then taken out on the body) but she was then even more alienated from the rest. so she is now reclaiming that cat self, and starting to reexperience safety, trust, cohesiveness with the others... this is big. lots of shifts, tears, practice.... still stepping into wolf sometimes, but more into cat... being reconnected with the body and mind... cried today in the osteopath appointment (which is sort of like body work for me, even though it is realligning the body posture)... but it was ok to feel... she was FEELING for the first time in i don't know how long... feeling emotions other than rage... other than threats... having thoughts of freedom, of soaring like a bird... feeling connected and safe. even though the face didn't show any emotion, the eyes kept leaking. the dr kept asking if we were ok, what's going on in there... told her it is all good... internal processing... nothing bad, nothing scary. big stuff. Then more crying and actual emotion later.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((kiya)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[beadlady29-old]

[QUOTE=beadlady29;830026](((((((((((((((((((((((((((((kiya)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))



safe hugs kiya

mary

[beadlady29-old]

(((((((((((((((((((((((((iamtwilight)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((((((((Silversparrow)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

our heart is with ye all to



mary

[Kiya]

(((((((((((Twilight, Bead, Silver)))))))))))))

[Typo]

so I've been doing some thinking, and I think I know why Pip is a coyote..
Just a theory..so feedback is welcomed'

I'm a dog person, dogs make me feel happy and safe, but a dog maybe wasn't enough to protect me? That is why he is a coyote not a dog?...not sure

((((((((((((Everyone)))))))))))

[Kiya]

Originally Posted by Silversparrow

so I've been doing some thinking, and I think I know why Pip is a coyote..
Just a theory..so feedback is welcomed'

I'm a dog person, dogs make me feel happy and safe, but a dog maybe wasn't enough to protect me? That is why he is a coyote not a dog?...not sure

((((((((((((Everyone)))))))))))

i have noticed that Pip howls a lot when he's switched in... maybe he gives you a voice???

[Kiya]

just a noticing - the animal alters will not give their names to others (easily) takes a lot of trust for that. Having just gone through another round of inroductions this afternoon, I finally saw that the others allowed me to say their names, but not 8 or 10 who both have animal-related names. those two are also my strongest alters and the most often present. Course, I wasn't allowed to say the upper controllers either and wouldn't have anyway since then ppl tend to try to speak TO them and put us into lock down. *little slow* but i get there.

[Typo]

I think Pip does give me a voice Kiya,

(((((((((((Kiya)))))))))))))

Do be gentle, you have been doing so much work here latley, you should be proud of yourself, you are very brave and strong.

[beadlady29-old]

Originally Posted by Silversparrow

so I've been doing some thinking, and I think I know why Pip is a coyote..
Just a theory..so feedback is welcomed'

I'm a dog person, dogs make me feel happy and safe, but a dog maybe wasn't enough to protect me? That is why he is a coyote not a dog?...not sure

((((((((((((Everyone)))))))))))

((((((((((silversparrow)))))))))))))

lke maybe pip does make you feel safe when you get scared..............notice he uysually comes out when u are stressed...........is ok silver



bead

Didn't read the article because of the trigger fear, but I've always really wondered about animal alts. All of my alts have names of an animal and sometimes act like that animal, but they all talk and write as well. Some are more animal-like than others.

I think it stems from my process of thinking, where I always tend to associate a person with an animal, or something, but I'm not too sure. None of them have a name beyond the animal- it's just Hyena, or Polar, or Bat, etc.

[Kiya]

Originally Posted by Silversparrow

Do be gentle, you have been doing so much work here latley, you should be proud of yourself, you are very brave and strong.

(((((silver)))) thank you. brings tears to my eyes. my 10 yr old alter/cat/wolf has been doing so much. we are so tired. and now we are sick. Not surprising. but today i talked to 2 of my dr's (and also T last night) about this cat/wolf thing and shared the newest info with them all. the first dr today listened intently and seemed to really get that things are tough right now. and the second dr asked if she could give me a hug afterwards and later pat my arm in the lobby.

It is really staggering to be cared for. And, with that care, even when i am down now, i am starting to be able to care for myself.
*wiping away tears*.