The Ghost Zone

Innerworld/Headspace: The world inside of a system's brain. We personally use this term to describe the "back" of the brain. There is no access to the "outside world" from here

Control Room: Ghost Zone specific lingo. We use it when referring to the part of our innerworld that can see to the outside world. This is where those who front or are co-con are.

Front: Essentially the driver's seat of the body. If an alter is fronting, we consider them to be in control

Co-Con/Co-Conscious: When an alter is co-con, they are able to observe what is happening outside of the innerworld. They do not have any control of the body at this point

Subsystem: Basically a system within the system. Not always in the sense that they share the same body. Sometimes it is just that they are grouped together in some way

Blurry: A term used to describe when it becomes unclear who is fronting

Introject: An alter based on an idea, person, place, or location

Source: The world in which an introject was based upon

Source Connection: How strongly an introject identifies with the character, idea or object that they were based on and how it and the world the alter was from affects them

Host/Co-Host: Considered to be the alter who fronts the most and interacts the most with the outside world (we personally delegate co-host status to those that are present in the "control room" the most and not specifically on how often they front)

Protector: When an alter is protecting the system without actively harming the system emotionally or physically, they are considered a protector. (Not all protectors will take actions that are good for those outside the system.)

Persecutor: Those who intentionally or unintentionally cause harm to or put the system in danger. These can either be misguided protectors who's idea of helping is causing harm to the system or can be alters who utilize harmful coping mechanisms. (MOST PERSECUTORS ARE NOT BAD AND TYPICALLY ARE JUST MISGUIDED)

Caretaker: An alter in the system that cares for other system members. They can also be tasked with taking care of the body but this is not a requirement. Our caretakers tend to take on familial roles with other alters despite not sharing a source (ie. sister or father)

Soother: Alters who calm the body or other alters. For us, just their presence near front can calm us down

Moodbooster: Similar to a soother, boosts the mood of the system whether intentionally or just via presence

Trauma Holder: An alter who holds memories of traumatic events usually so the rest of the system doesn't need to. Fictives often hold trauma disguised as source trauma (at least for us) so it is a hair tricky on occasion to identify them

Symptom Holder: Alters that more prominently display symptoms of mental disorders. For example, while the entire system shares having autism or AVPD, only a small group of them display those symptoms to their extreme

Little/Middle: Child and teenage alters. Less of an actual role and more just a general category

Gatekeeper: An alter who can control who can and cannot come near front as well as what memories we can access at a given time. They can also sometimes force certain alters to front

Fragment: This one is also very dependant on each system but to us, fragments typically have no definable role