Why Every Part Is Important (Even the Difficult Ones)

(Summary) In Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD), it can be tempting to see certain alters—like the ones who cry often, rage easily, or echo abusers—as unnecessary or harmful. But every system member developed for a reason, often to meet a specific need or survive a specific situation. Just like Lego pieces that only form a complete set when combined, each part contributes to the whole personality, making every alter vital to system functioning.

It’s my belief that every member of the system is vital to its functioning. Systems that are still early in their healing journey often don’t believe this. It can be hard for a system to understand why I’m telling them that the annoying part such as the one that won’t stop crying, or the scary part, such as the one that is easily enraged, or the one who imitates a perpetrator, is important to the system.

One reason this is true is that each member of the system developed to handle a particular need or to deal with a particular situation or demand. Without them, that need, situation, or demand is not going to be handled as well. Each member of the system is a specialist in something, even if it’s something very, very specific.

The other reason I believe this is true goes back to the two videos I just shared on whether or not an alter can be a complete personality. I explained why experts in DID say that alters cannot be complete and full personalities even if that alter experiences themselves that way. If you saw the second video, you might recall the pile of Lego pieces that I said represent all of the components of a personality a person is born with.

As the individual has different experiences that lead to DID, those Legos get sorted out into groups of differing sizes. One group might have one piece, that might be a fragment rather than a full altar. Another group might have 200 pieces and seem like a complete personality. Yet no matter how complex the groupings of Legos are, if they are divided into different groups, none of them is complete. It takes the entire pile of Legos to be the complete personality. So just from that perspective alone, we know that every system part is important to the entire system. Each alter is part of the entire personality. In the next video, I’ll explain how every member of the system is a resource and give you an example.