Angela B. Chrysler who now goes by Anna, was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder), in 2015. In April 2022, Anna’s Alters revealed themselves to Anna via a letter one of them wrote to her Life Partner.
Since then, Anna has worked to build, what Psychologists call “The Anna System.” The Anna System is all the Parts that make up a Multiple (a person with DID).
DID has its own language. The System is made up of Domes, the Host, the Core, the Alters, and the Creed.
- Dome – This is the location inside of a Multiple’s mind where all the Alters meet. There can be many Domes. The Anna System has 6 Domes.
- Host – The Host is the Alter who is “out” making the choices for the System. The Host does the majority of the “driving.”
- Alter – An Alter is a personality. Each Alter has their own name, sexuality, gender, opinions, views, languages, and accents. Anna has 6 Alters and the Core. Only 4 of these Alters take come out. The other two Alters never host.
- Switching – This is when an Alter switches out for another Alter.
- Split – This is the birth of an Alter.
- The Protector – Alters can range from various jobs and goals within each System. However, there is one Alter who is present in every System: The Protector. The Protector is the Alter who’s goal is to protect the System. They are the ones who suppresses the other Alters and the Core in an attempt to keep the System safe for additional harm.
- Creed – The Creed is the agreement made by all the Alters to prevent conflict between the Alters. The Creed comes only after all or some the Alters to reveal themselves to the Host.
- DID Amnesia – The amnesia and memory loss caused by the Alters switching.
- Integration – The mental process of merging the emotions and thoughts of all the Alters under one conscious mind.
- The Gatekeeper – The Gatekeeper is the one (usually the Host) who controls who and when other Alters come out.
Anna’s Alters
Angela 1.0 – The Core and Anna’s true self. Last seen at 8 years old. Angela stutters. On 22 September 2022, Angela returned.
Angela 2.0 – Anna’s first Split. At 8 years old, Angela 2.0 split and hosted for 5 years.
Angel – Angel is the Voice of the System and is a pseudo-Alter.
Joanna – The Host and The Protector. Joanna believed she was the Core until 2022. Split at age 14, Joanna was the primary host for 28 years. Joanna is Anna’s Protector. She is straight and prefers a monogamous relationship. Joanna is the one who endured the majority of the abuse and was diagnosed with PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder.
Mistress Kallan – The Witch and Fae Queen. Split at age 15, Kallan is a BDSM Mistress. She is straight and prefers being single.
Bergen – The Warrior. Split sometime in her teens, 16 or 17… Bergen is a 6’2” man. Bergen speaks with an Irish/Scottish accent. He smokes cigarettes and drinks Guinness.
Imagination – The Goddess. Internal Self-Helper. Split in May 2022, Imagination is a Boho-Hippie. She is bi-sexual and is polyamorous. She is a nudist and an exhibitionist.
Multiple Personality Etiquette:
Multiple Personality Disorder (Formally known as Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID) is a serious mental condition, and we do not make light of it. Do not romanticize this mental condition. It is only after intense therapy that we are finally healed enough to talk about it and reveal our true authentic selves to the world. What we do here is a CELEBRATION of mental healing and strength. Not a shallow romanticism of DID.
The most common question I get about DID is, “Can I ask you about it?”
Yes! Please feel free to ask us about DID. Talking about our condition validates us after being forced to hide what we are and who we are for more than 30 years.
Do not ask us to “summon” or “bring out” a personality. DID does not work that way. It also hurts our feelings. Asking for one of us is also telling the others that you don’t want them. And that is how DID begins. By being told that a part of you isn’t wanted.
Our pronouns are her/she, but we refer to all of us as “We” and “Us”
Multiple Personality FAQ:
Can you feel them Switch?
Sometimes. It depends how “obnoxious” the Alters are. I can always feel when Goddess or Kallan come out. I only know when Bergen comes out after others point out the accent. Joanna comes and goes without my knowing. I can slip between integration and Joanna too easily without my knowing it. Which is a problem.
What’s it like being a Multiple?
The best way to describe the experience is that a non-multiple has many parts of their personality all under ONE consciousness and ONE identity. A non-multiple may feel pulled in different directions and not be sure why. But a Multiple has multiple personalities each with their own consciousness. When a Multiple is pulled in different directions, we know exactly why and who is doing it. A Multiple is like having all the citizens of a democracy crammed into your brain. Being a non-multiple is like being the Borg Hive Mind.
Can you choose who Hosts and who comes out when?
No. Well… kind of… but not like you think. Each Alter is actually a conditioned emotional response to trauma. Each of them is a defense my mind created to protect me in the midst of trauma. When I feel stressed, Joanna comes out. When I feel threatened, Kallan comes out. When I feel masculine, Bergen comes out. When I feel relaxed, Goddess comes out. Knowing this, I can manipulate my emotions (smoke weed), and Goddess will come out once I relax. Likewise, drinking Guinness will bring out Bergen.
Do they talk to each other?
Yes! ALL THE TIME! In fact, they talk so much to each other and to me, that every conversation I have, every movie I watch, every audio book or song I listen to, HAS to be heard OVER their chattering in my head. It is very hard to focus. It is very hard to follow conversation. It is very hard to pay attention. It does not help that I have ADD.
Can you remember what the other does or do you black out?
I did black out before we were aware of each other. I had massive gaps, years lost in my memory with no explanation. I lost 6 inches of growth on my children. I have many gaps that I cannot recall. Conversations I had that I don’t remember. People who I have met many times over. After the integration, my memory is MUCH better, but the amnesia comes back when I’m not integrated.
How did you not know about each other for so long?
This was the weirdest part about DID… One memory that is very pronounced in my mind is when my father had me see a therapist at 16. For years, my father listened to me talk to myself (a common symptom of DID). And Bergen was hosting that day. I remember him saying, “We have to hide. They can’t know about us.” I never asked who “Us” was. But I had NO idea what he was talking about… Kallan sat through the psyche eval that day and carefully answered every question so the therapist wouldn’t know we were a Multiple. And I, Joanna, had NO idea. In addition to learning that I was a Multiple in April 2022, I also had the devastating realization in June 2022, that I was “just another Alter” and not the Original Host. I had been the hosting Alter for so long, that I forgot I was an Alter and not the Original.
Are you angry with your Alters for “taking over?”
Not at all. It was done out of pure love to protect me. All of me. We all love each other very much.
Is there a cure?
No. I am a Multiple. I will always be a Multiple.
How did you become a Multiple?
Multiples are born during severe and prolonged childhood trauma. It is the most extreme form of Dissociation. It is the process of breaking away a piece of your identity and suppressing it either to protect that part, to reject it due to guilt or shame, or both. In my case, it was both done to protect the unwanted piece of me that I was ashamed of. My father said he hated hippies. So I broke off that part of me and suppressed it to gain his love. My father said he hated my Vegetarian and Animal Rights side of me. So I broke off that part of me to gain his love. My father said he did not approve of my BDSM side of me. So I broke off that part of me to gain his love. My father told me “I should have been a man,” so my mind formed Bergen to gain my father’s love.
Will Angela 1.0, the Original, ever come back?
No. Angela 1.0 Does not want to come back. She has been dormant since 1988. She hangs out in the Dome with the others and leaves the System to the Alters. Sometimes, I wonder if Angela 1.0 morphed into Goddess Imagination. I think Imagination is the “grown up” adult version of Angela 1.0.
Which name do you go by? What should I call you?
We all always go by Anna, but Joanna is my preferred name, when I’m Joanna. Because Joanna has been hosting for 30 years, she feels most comfortable being called Joanna. Our name hasn’t been Angela since 1995. However, keeping track of all our names can be challenging and confusing for some. Call us Anna. Even Bergen will answer.
What are your pronouns?
You’ll hear us refer to ourselves as “We” and “Us” a lot, but we accept all the pronouns. We’re mostly she/her. But Bergen is a he/him. But Bergen is so used to being referred to as she/her that he doesn’t mind.
Do you have different sexualities?
Yes. We have different sexualities, different genders, and different relationship identities. Bergen and Imagination are bisexual. Kallan and Joanna are straight. When Imagination messes around with a girl, Joanna has to deal with it in the morning. It is not pleasant. For that reason, it is almost better if Joanna makes all sexual choices for our System.
Bergen smokes. The others hate that about him. Especially Joanna. So Bergen is not allowed to smoke. This is the Creed. Imagination is not allowed to play with women because it makes Joanna very uncomfortable. Joanna struggles a lot with the polyamory and the Non-monogamous lifestyles of the others, but Kallan barely tolerates Joanna’s relationship. Hence the Creed.
How does your boyfriend/partner handle this?
It is very difficult for him. He has a notebook to track all of us and can recognize each Alter now.
How does your family handle this?
They caused this. I never see my family. My daughter can recognize them and is very sensitive to each Alter. She has never known me to be any other way.