Plurality
What is Plurality?
Plurality is the experience of having many selves, perspectives, or people sharing a body, or an existence that is simply more than one.
Plurality is not a mental disorder in of itself, but some mental disorders involve plurality. The most prominently named mental disorder that involves experiences of plurality is dissociative identity disorder (DID). The European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation emphasizes that the plural experiences within DID and similar dissociative disorders are distinct from other plural experiences and "distinguishing between the two does not need to invalidate either" [1].
Some people who experience plurality may identify as a plural, multiple, or system. In this case, plurality is its own identity and culture. Not all people who experience plurality will identify as plurals. According to Schechter, E. (2020), "plurals don't just feel as though they are psychologically multiple - they believe that they are. And they take each of these psychological beings, inhabiting one shared body, to be a full person" [2].
Plurals often express that their plurality is healthy and enjoyable, and do not fit the criteria for DID. Ribáry, G. et al. (2017) notes this in their explorative interview study on people with multiple selves [3]. Many of the plurals interviewed refer to their plurality as a natural state of identity and challenge the notion that all plurality should be connected to a mental disorder.
Plurality is not a mental disorder in of itself, but some mental disorders involve plurality. The most prominently named mental disorder that involves experiences of plurality is dissociative identity disorder (DID). The European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation emphasizes that the plural experiences within DID and similar dissociative disorders are distinct from other plural experiences and "distinguishing between the two does not need to invalidate either" [1].
Some people who experience plurality may identify as a plural, multiple, or system. In this case, plurality is its own identity and culture. Not all people who experience plurality will identify as plurals. According to Schechter, E. (2020), "plurals don't just feel as though they are psychologically multiple - they believe that they are. And they take each of these psychological beings, inhabiting one shared body, to be a full person" [2].
Plurals often express that their plurality is healthy and enjoyable, and do not fit the criteria for DID. Ribáry, G. et al. (2017) notes this in their explorative interview study on people with multiple selves [3]. Many of the plurals interviewed refer to their plurality as a natural state of identity and challenge the notion that all plurality should be connected to a mental disorder.
Additional Sources
✧ Manchester Metropolitan University's "Understanding Multiplicity" (PDF)
✧ What we can learn about respect and identity from ‘plurals’
✧ DID and Plurality: A History and Current Ethical Considerations on Apple Podcasts
✧ What we can learn about respect and identity from ‘plurals’
✧ DID and Plurality: A History and Current Ethical Considerations on Apple Podcasts
References
- Christensen, M. E. (2022). The online community: DID and plurality. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejtd.2021.100257.
- Schechter, E. (2020, April 20). What we can learn about respect and identity from 'plurals'. Aeon, https://aeon.co/ideas/what-we-can-learn-about-respect-and-identity-from-plurals
- Ribáry G, Lajtai L, Demetrovics Z and Maraz A (2017) Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves. Front. Psychol. 8:938. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00938