Member-only story
Gatekeeper Alters
The Part That Keeps You Safe
The definition of dissociative identity disorder (DID) is that people living with it have alternative selves, or alters, that are parts of themselves caught in trauma-time. These alters have differing tastes, thoughts, and emotions and fulfill many roles.
One such role of alters is the gatekeeper, of which there may be one or many. This article will focus on gatekeeper alters, with formation and functions.
What are Alters and Their Functions?
There is much debate amongst the DID, and psychological communities as to what alters are and how they came to be. That being said, please don’t kill the messenger as I attempt to describe the answer to the questions of what alters are and their functions.
An alter is a dissociated self-state often associated with dissociative identity disorder. A set of alters is known as a system or by some other synonym. Each alter has their own perception of who they are and sometimes view themselves as separate from the whole.
It is believed that alters form when a child is brutally and repeatedly subjected to abuse and/or neglect, such as severe sexual/physical abuse or torture. Some alters form because the child is forced to witness or partake in ritual abuse or the abuse of other…
