Review Article

Open Access Peer-reviewed

Research in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. 2017 , 5(2), 36-44. DOI: 10.12691/rpbs-5-2-1

Published online: September 28, 2017

Abstract Current models of mental health rely heavily on the assumption that only one agent of self exists in every one brain. Deviations from this model of singularity in mind are heavily stigmatized and often considered disordered. This paper opposes this bias by analyzing one form of plurality in consciousness: tulpamancy. Tulpamancy is a collection of meditative techniques used to create and interact with tulpas, which are experienced as fully autonomous and conscious entities within the mind. Research defining the relationship between tulpamancy and mental health is expanded on by analyzing the results of surveys conducted on the online tulpa community. The questionnaires investigate two associations previously found in members of the tulpa community. First, the prevalence of mental illness, which exists in over 50% of the population. Second, the reports of improvements in mental health and cognition, especially amongst those diagnosed with a mental or neurodevelopmental disorder. Study results reinforce the correlation between tulpa creation and perceived improvements in mental health. There is likely no causal relation between tulpamancy and the development of psychopathology. Tulpas are an experience of plurality that seem to coexist with optimal functionality, happiness, and mental health. Keywords: tulpas tulpamancy imaginary friends identity multiple identities plurality multiplicity dissociative identity disorder multiple personality disorder meditation

1. Introduction In medicine, society, and our personal biases, there exist certain presumptions about what is optimal for health, functionality, and happiness. One such assumption is the requirement that, for every one brain and body, there ought to be one identity. The words “plurality” and “multiplicity” denote deviations from this model: multiple identities coexisting in one mind. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is one such experience of plurality. It is a condition characterized by derealization, amnesia, and the trauma that causes its development 1, 2. However, rather than citing these dysfunctions, mental health professionals frequently emphasize the plurality as being what makes DID a disorder. At the time of writing, Psychology Today has the top Google search result for Dissociative Identity Disorder. The introductory article implies that all experiences of multiplicity are pathological. “Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual” 3. Here, DID is not branded by its negative symptoms like most disorders are. Rather, this definition suggests that the problem starts and ends with the plurality. The definition of a mental disorder is a set of behaviors that causes harm or dysfunction 4. A violation of a norm, on the other hand, should not be the basis for a diagnosis. In the medical literature, DID seems to be an exception to this rule. Until the DSM-V, there was no requirement of distress or impaired functioning in the diagnosis of DID.{1} “Unlike other disorders, dissociative identity is deemed a disorder and thereby dysfunctional, purely on the basis that those who experience it have a self that is not singular.” 5 Despite this stigma, online groups have formed around plurality, upholding it as a non-disordered variant of human cognition. In 2010, a community sprouted over a practice colloquially dubbed “tulpamancy.” Tulpamancy is the practice of creating and interacting with tulpas, which are experienced as fully autonomous and conscious entities within the mind. In this paper, the word “host” is used interchangeably with “tulpamancer” to describe someone who creates and interacts with tulpas. Examination will purport tulpas as a healthy experience of plurality and an argument against the stigmatization of multiple identities. 1.1. Literature Review The majority of media surrounding tulpas and non-traumagenic plural phenomena has been limited to poorly researched sensationalism. Its scientific accounts were nonexistent until 2015, when Professor Samuel Veissiere of McGill University published Varieties of Tulpa Experiences 7. In the paper, Veissiere overviews the results of a year-long observational study on the tulpa community. Data on the demographic profile of tulpamancers, socio-cultural aspects of the tulpa community, and the experiences of tulpamancers were collected through a series of opt-in surveys and interviews. Veissiere found that tulpas are perceived to be entities distinct from one’s own thoughts, with over a third of hosts reporting that their tulpas felt as real as any physical person. This is achieved in part through tulpas seeming to be independent in their emotions, cognition, and opinions. They are experienced through a mix of auditory, visual, and somatic visualizations and hallucinations. Possession, a technique that allows a tulpa to temporarily command of the body, and switching, in which the host dissociates to have an out-of-body experience while the tulpa controls the body, are widely used. There are similarities between these advanced tulpamancy techniques and the experiences of DID diagnosed folk, namely having multiple identities and dissociating from the body’s actions. However, the absence of amnesia, depersonalization, and other traumagenic symptoms in most tulpamancers make these techniques a reportedly positive and mutually enjoyable experience. On personality tests, the majority of Veissiere’s sample tested as being shy (n=74) and having few avenues for social interaction. This coincides with another of Veissiere’s findings: tulpas are made in hope of becoming a close companion. In the community, tulpa creation is seen as a way to build a relationship with someone that can understand, accept, and bond with you on a level beyond what is usually possible with another person. Despite their (on average) limited social lives, Veissiere found his sample to be highly imaginative, cerebral, and articulate, even scoring above average on theory of mind and empathy tests. This held consistent even among tulpamancers on the autism spectrum{2} (n=11), who, despite their condition, showed no hindrances in these areas. Veissiere unveiled two more associations between tulpas and mental health. Foremost, an extremely high frequency of clinical diagnoses: in his sample (n=24), 25%{3} were diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, 21% with Attention Deficit Disorders, and 18% with General Anxiety Disorder, to name a few. This is compared to the figures of <1%, 11%, and 3%, respectively, in the general population of the United States 9, 10, 11. Secondly, Veissiere found that tulpas were reported to cause improvements in mental disorders, with 94% (n=33) of respondents expressing that taking up tulpamancy had “made their condition better.” Veissiere elaborates on one example of this. In his sample, over half of the tulpamancers on the autism spectrum reported that their tulpas enhance their ability to read and understand others. These claims support the previously mentioned tests that showed no impairments in theory of mind or empathy amongst tulpamancers on the autism spectrum. Veissiere’s study remains the only published, peer-reviewed research conducted on the tulpa community. 1.2. Objective This study investigates the aforementioned associations: 1) the high frequency of disorders among tulpamancers, and 2) the reports of psychological improvements related to tulpas. The aim is to clarify the existence of these associations and identify their causes. While Veissiere showed that there seemed to be a relationship between tulpamancy and mental health, the reasons and nature of it are still a mystery. The noted associations have a plethora of possible explanations. For example, the high frequency of mental illness among tulpamancers could be rooted in a causal relationship between tulpas and psychopathology. More likely, tulpamancy could merely be more appealing or have more exposure to those with a clinical diagnosis. Regarding the improvements in mental illness reported by tulpamancers, it would be presumptive (given the current evidence of a single opt-in questionnaire whose statistics are based on as little as 11 respondents) to claim the cause is plurality being therapeutic in itself. The practice of meditation has many benefits on its own 12, and its frequent use amongst tulpamancers may be responsible for these improvements rather than something unique to tulpas. Forming positive relationships through the tulpa community could also explain the association. Finally, there is the possibility of tulpamancy itself having therapeutic qualities. The study addresses all these possibilities in order to hypothesize the cause of phenomena associated with tulpas.