Fictives and Headmates
Anyone can have fictives or other headmates; not all those with headmates are disordered. In the last ten years or more there has been a strong movement online to recognize ‘healthy multiplicity’ as a mode of being that exists. I urge you to google the subject if you’re curious about the history and specifics of the movement and phenomena.
Anyone can be multiple, whether they are neurotypical or neuroatypical, and not all headmates are caused by trauma or a disorder (though many are). Multipliity is simply a different mode of being where two or more minds inhabit the same body. (Sort of like a partitioned hard drive),
In addition, some multiples see their multiplicity as a result of spiritual differences, rather than psychological ones. Some of us (many of whom identify as ‘gateway systems’) believe that our headmates are independent souls inhabiting our bodies- like possession, but voluntary.
Multiplicity comes in many forms. For many, it is a coping method, conscious, or unconscious. Sometimes it comes as a result of a unique brain or mind structure, and sometimes it comes from spirituality. Anyone can be multiple.
