General Terms

Alter

The clinical term for someone in a system.

Blurring

When two or more people are fronting, and the line between who they are gets blurred; When two people mix up a little and get blurred together.

Co-Conscious

The state of two or more headmates being conscious at a time. You're usually able to communicate with each other like this.

Co-Fronting

Co-fronting or co-hosting is when two or more people are taking control of the body at once.

Exotrauma

Trauma that happened to a member outside of the current body.

Exomemories

Memories a member has from outside of the current body.

Forming

When a new person is formed. Can relate to both non-voluntary, and voluntary forming. Also referred to as splitting, though they may be somewhat different (seperate definition?)

Fronting

When someone is in control of the body.

Frontlocked

When front is “locked” or inaccessible to other headmates when a frontstuck headmate isn’t in front/the control room.

credit

Frontlock Averse

When a headmate or a select handful headmates aren’t affected by any sort of frontlock and still can go into front/the control room when the frontstuck headmate isn’t there. Their ability to fully front and do things with the body during this timeframe fluxuates and may depend on the headmates(s) themselves and how their innerworld works.

credit- broken link

Front Sticky

When someone is continuously drawn to front, no matter how many times they leave. Usually, it feels like the body wants them in control.

credit

Front Stuck

When someone is unable to stop fronting, and is forced to keep control of the body. Unlike sticky, they can't leave front at all.

Fusion

When two or more system members fuse to become one person for a non-permanent amount of time.

Headmate

A non-clinical term for someone in a system.

Headspace

Where headmates live inside the mind. Not all systems have headspaces.

Synonyms: Innerworld

Integration

In most cases, means when system mates start fusing together permanently, usually to make a system smaller. Sometimes, it can also mean when amnesiac systems stop losing memories between each other.

This can be highly triggering for some systems. It's best to be careful on who you talk about it with.

Layers

Different levels of a system, where different members reside. Layers may or may not know of each other.

NPC

A non-headmate in a system. Generally don't front, and are often times non-conscious.

Synonyms: Inner residence

Median

Being in between fully multiple and fully singular.

Outerworld

The opposite of headspace, this is the body's world.

Synonyms: Meatspace

Parethnic

A system member who is a different race or ethnicity than the body.

Plurality

The state of being plural; having multiple people in one body.

Synonyms: Multiplicity

Passive Influence

Refers to influence from a headmate that is not currently using the body. Can be in the form of disowned thoughts, memories, emotions, urges, actions, skills, preferences, etc.

Shadowing

Being conscious and (at least somewhat) associated with the body, but not fronting. Metaphorically looking over the fronter's shoulder.

Singletsona

The mask everyone agrees to act as when they aren't out as a system.

Singlet

A non-system. One person with one body.

Subsystem

A headmate with their own system; a system within a system

Switching

When people in system switch who is fronting.

The act of one headmate taking the place of another in controlling their body; changing who is in front.

System

A collective of members inhabiting a body.

System Freeze

A time where the system goes into partial dormancy in some way, usually with one main person in front for the entire time, and it feels almost similar to being nonplural for the time during the freeze due to lack of switching, activity, and headspace chatter. Can last for days, to months, to even years. Eventually will “thaw” back out into normal system activity levels.

credit- broken link

System Travel

When system members travel from the body of one system to another.

Synonyms: System hopping

System Stagnant

When the system starts to get quieter, and it’s harder for people to take front or talk to people outside of system (some even inside system). Kind of like the entire system is dissociating, and only a handful of people can really front, making them frequent fronters.

credit

You&

A way to say "you" while acknowledging the other person is a system.