Tulpamancy: Transcending the Assumption of Singularity in the Human Mind

图帕学：超越人类思维中只允许一个意识体存在的假设

檬虎、芭芭拉、小门 译

译者注：此论文可信度较高，但由于研究者本人是一位宿主，一些地方得出的结论在学术层面仍有一定的商榷空间。

另外，因为作者在欧美Tulpa社区内的不良行为，尽管论文给出了他的联系方式，但目前很可能已经无法取得联系。不过，考虑到作者无偿为欧美社区提供了包括论文及视频在内的很多帮助，这些内容仍然是值得一读的。

这份译本尚处于最后一轮修订中（最后一次更新于23.6.13），因此部分内容可能翻译质量不佳（如格式错误、语句不通顺、图片缺失等）。如果觉得本文太长，可以直接阅读文末的结论部分。

Department of Communication, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States

*Corresponding author: isler@utexas.edu

通信学院，德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校，奥斯汀，德克萨斯，美国

*作者联系方式：isler@utexas.edu

Research in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 2017, Vol. 5, No. 2, 36-44 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/rpbs/5/2/1 

©Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/rpbs-5-2-1

心理学和行为科学研究2017, Vol. 5, No. 2, 36-44 在网上可以获取到：

http://pubs.sciepub.com/rpbs/5/2/1

©Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/rpbs-5-2-1

A.摘要

Current models of consciousness, the human experience, and mental health rely heavily on the assumption that only one agent of self exists in every one brain. In the status quo, 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 such plurality of consciousness: tulpamancy.

现在的关于意识、人类经验和心理健康的模型在很大程度上依赖于这个假设：每个大脑中都只有一个意识体（自我）。在此情况下，一旦与这种假设（即脑海中仅有单一的意识体）有所不同，就会遭到严重的污蔑和歧视，并经常被认为是病理性的。本论文将通过分析多意识体的一种形式来反对这种偏见：图帕学。

Tulpamancy is a meditative technique used to create and interact with tulpas, which are experienced as being fully autonomous and conscious entities within the mind. This paper builds on research defining the relationship between tulpamancy and mental health by analyzing the results of a series of surveys. It investigates two associations found in the population of tulpamancy practitioners: first, the prevalence of mental illness, which exists in over 50% of the population. Second, reports of improvements in mental health and cognition, especially amongst those diagnosed with a mental or neurodevelopmental disorder.

图帕学是一种冥想技术（译者注：论文于2015年发布前，Tulpa社区内仍然以冥想为主导技术，但现在以互动和对话为主流），用于创造tulpa并与ta们互动。Tulpa被认为是大脑中的另一个完全自主的、有意识的实体。本文基于对一系列调查结果进行分析，来研究并阐明图帕学与心理健康之间的关系。对两个社群的调查显示，图帕学实践者（宿主）中存在这样的现象：第一，精神疾病患者较多，占到了总人数的50％以上；第二，有许多人报告说他们的心理健康和认知能力有所改善，尤其是那些被诊断为心理或神经发育障碍的人。

Keywords: tulpas, tulpamancy, imaginary friends, identity, multiple identities, plurality, multiplicity, dissociative identity disorder, multiple personality disorder, meditation

关键词：Tulpas、偷帕学、幻想伙伴、身份、多重意识身份、多意识体、多样性、分离性身份障碍（DID）、多重人格障碍（MPD）、冥想。

Cite This Article:

引用本文献

 Jacob J. Isler, “Tulpas and Mental Health: A Study of Non-Traumagenic Plural Experiences.” Research in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 5, no. 2 (2017): 36-44. doi: 10.12691/rpbs-5-2-1.

（译者注：这一部分根据学术格式要求需要使用英文，故不作翻译。此外，由于作者为跨性别者且已经进行过性别重置手术，所以他亲自对我说，现在名字应该替换为Jade Isler，特此注明。）

  • Introduction

In medicine, society, and our personal biases, there exist certain presumptions about what is optimal for health, functionality, and happiness. One such supposition is the requirement that, for every one brain and body, there ought to be one consciousness. Consciousness is used in this paper to describe the self-reflecting cognition that forms an identity. The words “plurality” and “multiplicity” are used to denote the phenomenon of multiple consciousnesses coexisting in one mind.

B. 导言

在医学，社会和我们的个人偏见中，存在着关于健康、具备日常功能和幸福的最佳选择的某些假设。其中的一种假设是要求对于单个大脑和单个身体而言，都应该只有一个意识。 这篇论文会使用“意识”来指代通过自我反思而形成身份的认知过程。“多意识体”和“多重人格”（译者注：统一在后文译作多意识体，用于指代现象）这两个词用来表示一个大脑中同时存在多个意识的现象。

Nowhere are assumptions of the desirability of oneness more apparent than in the scientific literature surrounding Dissociative Identity Disorder, one such incarnation of plurality. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a condition characterized by derealization, amnesia, and the trauma that often causes its development. However, rather than citing these dysfunctions, psychologists frequently emphasize the plurality as being what makes DID a disorder. ​Psychology Today’s most recent publication that introduces the disorder 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” (Psychology Today, 2014). 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.

对单意识体模式一元论的可欲性（译者注：desirable以及desirability是在当代政治哲学文献中经常出现的词，一般学界大多数学者都将desirable译为“可欲的”，将desirability译为“可欲性”，意指某种社会制度或社会原则是否令人向往、是否值得追求）的假设在关于DID的科学文献中比在其他任何地方都要明显，而DID其实只是多意识体的一种特殊代表。分离性身份障碍（DID）的典型特征是：现实解体、失忆，而创伤性事件常常导致这种情况（译者注：通常为6岁及以下时发生的心理或生理上的创伤，这些创伤可能是反复出现和叠加的）。然而，心理学家从不提及这些功能障碍，而是经常认为多意识体本身就是DID。最新出版的《今日心理学》介绍了该疾病，并在其中暗示所有多意识体都是病态的。“分离性身份识别障碍（DID）是一种严重的疾病：存在两个或多个不同的身份或人格状态，他们交替控制一个人。”（《今日心理学》，2014年）。其中，DID并没有像大多数疾病那样因为“带有负面症状”而被打上疾病的标签；恰恰相反，该定义暗示多意识体本身就是问题。

In clinical psychology, a behavior may be considered disordered when it inhibits functionality or health. The violation of a norm, on the other hand, ought 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. “Unlike other disorders, dissociative identity is deemed a disorder and there by dysfunctional, purely on the basis that those who experience it have a self that is not singular ( Klayton, 2005).”

在临床心理学中，只有当一种行为抑制功能或健康时，才可以认为该行为是紊乱的（译者注：一般认为，如果一种“症状”、现象本身引起了临床意义上的痛苦，或者社交、职业等重要功能方面的损害，可以被认为是紊乱的）。此外，与寻常的人不同不应作为诊断疾病的标准。在医学文献中，DID似乎是该规则的例外。在DSM-V之前，诊断DID不需要痛苦或功能受损的条件。 “与其他疾病不同，分离性的身份被认为是一种疾病以及功能障碍的原因，这完全是基于那些经历过这种疾病的人都是多意识体的情况而认定的。（Klayton，2005）。”

Despite this stigma, groups have formed around plurality, embracing it as a non-disordered variant of human cognition. In 2010, an online community sprouted over a practice known as “tulpamancy.” Tulpamancy is inspired by traditional Tibetan meditation techniques (from which the word “tulpa” is borrowed) and is defined as the practice of creating and interacting with tulpas. Tulpas are experienced as being fully autonomous and conscious entities within the mind. The word “host” issued in this paper interchangeably with “tulpamancer” to describe someone who creates and interacts with tulpas. This paper uses tulpamancy and the experience of healthy plurality as an argument against the requirement of oneness in mind.

尽管存在这种污名，但仍有一些群体围绕着多个意识形成，并将其视为人类认知过程中非疾病的特殊形式而接受。2010年，一个在线社区萌生了一种称为“图帕学”的技术。图帕学的灵感来自传统的西藏冥想技巧（借用“tulpa”一词）（不准确，应该借助的是scrupla一词—译者注），将其定义为创造tulpa们并与tulpas交往的做法。Tulpa在大脑中是完全独立自主的、有意识的实体。在本文中，“宿主”一词可与“ tulpamancer”互换（中文仅用宿主一词—译者注）并定义为创造tulpa并与之交往的人。本文以图帕学和健康的多意识体的经历作为反对在脑海中只能单个意识的原因。

注：

l The DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR do not list distress or dysfunction asdiagnostic criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder.

“Diagnostic Criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder:

A. The presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states(each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and self).

B. At least two of these identities or personality states recurrently take control of the person’s behavior.

C. Inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.

D. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g.，blackouts or chaotic behavior during Alcohol Intoxication) or a general medical condition.”[6]

l DSM-IV和DSM-IV-TR并没有将痛苦或功能障碍列为分离性身份识别障碍的诊断标准。

“分离性身份识别障碍的诊断标准。

A.存在两个或更多不同的身份或人格状态（每个身份或人格状态都有自己相对持久的感知模式，思考并与环境和自我相关）。

B.这些身份或人格状态中至少有两个经常性地控制着该人的行为。

C. 无法回忆起重要的个人信息，而这些信息的范围太广，无法用普通的遗忘来解释。

D. 这种干扰不是由于药物的直接生理作用（例如，酒精中毒期间的停电或混乱行为）或一般的医疗状况造成的。

  • Previous Research

Until recently, media features of tulpamancy and healthy plural phenomena have been limited to infrequent online articles, with its scientific accounts being all but nonexistent. This changed with novel research from Professor Samuel Veissiere of McGill University​. In his paper, Veissiere (2015) 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.

C.以往的研究

直到最近，报导图帕学的媒体和有关健康的多意识体现象还仅限于很少的在线文章，其科学依据几乎不存在。麦吉尔大学的塞缪尔·维西耶尔教授的全新研究改变了这种情况。 Veissiere（2015）在他的论文中概述了对tulpa社区长达一年的观察研究的结果。通过一系列的选择调查和访谈，他收集了宿主们的人口统计数据，tulpa社区的社会文化方面信息，以及宿主相关经历的资料。

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 because tulpas seem to be independent in their emotions, cognition, and opinions, and they are experienced through a mix of auditory, visual, and somatic visualizations and hallucinations. Possession, a technique that allows a tulpa to temporarily be in 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 both common techniques in the community, with an abundance of guides written on how to master them. However, despite the similarities between advanced tulpamancy techniques and the experiences of DID diagnosed folk, the complete absence of amnesia, depersonalization, and other symptoms make these techniques a reportedly positive and mutually enjoyable experience.

Veissiere发现，tulpas被认为是与自己的思想截然不同的实体，超过三分之一的宿主报告说他们的tulpa们像任何自然人一样真实。之所以会这样，是因为tulpa看上去在情感，认知和想法上都是独立的。宿主体验着来自于听觉，视觉、身体描绘和幻觉的混合感觉。附体是一种可以使tulpa暂时控制身体的技术。而交换则是当tulpa掌控身体时，宿主解离，并经历体外感知的技术。这两者都是社区中的常见技术，并且有关于如何掌握它们的大量指南。然而，尽管图帕学的进阶技巧，与DID的诊断标准相类似，但tulpamancy完全没有失忆症状，人格解体等其他症状，这让图帕学被多次报告为积极而又令人愉快的体验。

Demographically, Veissiere characterized most tulpamancers as being middle class, white, and educated. On personality tests, the majority tested as being shy and having few avenues for social interaction. This coincides with another of his findings on tulpa creation: the most cited reason for creating a tulpa is “loneliness.”

从人口统计学的角度来看，Veissiere将大多数宿主归为中产阶级、白人和受过教育的人。 在性格测试中，大多数的测试结果为内向害羞并且几乎没有社交途径。这与他所另外发现创造tulpa的一个原因相吻合：创造tulpa的原因大多是因为孤独。

However, this all contrasts starkly to his other observations. 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, who despite their condition, showed no hindrances in these skills. Faced with all this, Veissiere went so far as to hypothesize that tulpas may enhance theory of mind and empathy.

然而，所有这些与他其他的观察形成了鲜明的对比。Veissiere发现这些人具有很高的想象力、智力和表达能力，甚至在心智理论和共情测验上得分都高于平均水平。对于自闭症谱系中的宿主而言，甚至也一样——即便他们有这些疾病，也没有显示出这些困扰。 面对这些情况，Veissiere甚至假定，tulpa可以增强思考能力和同理心。

Veissiere further investigated the relationship between mental health and tulpamancy and unveiled two surprising associations. Foremost, an extremely high frequency of clinical diagnoses: in his sample, 25% 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 3.1%, respectively, in the general population of the United States (Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, 2016; Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016, National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). Secondly, Veissiere found that tulpas were reported to cause remarkable improvements in mental health and social life, with 93.7% 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进一步调查了心理健康与图帕学之间的关系，并揭示了两者之间有着出人意料的联系。首先，有临床疾病的频率非常高：在他的样本中，有25％的人被诊断出阿斯伯格综合症（自闭症），有21％的人患有注意力不足症，有18％的人患有广泛性焦虑症。相比之下，美国普通人群中这三个病症的概率分别为<1％、11％和3.1％（利斯特希尔国家生物医学通讯中心，2016年;疾病控制与预防中心，2016年，美国国立卫生研究院（《心理健康》，2016年）。其次，Veissiere发现，报告显示tulpa可以显著改善宿主的心理健康和社交生活。有93.7％的受访者表示，图帕学可以“使他们的状况更好”。 Veissiere详细阐述了一个例子，在他的样本里，有超过一半的自闭症谱系宿主说，tulpa们增强了他们的阅读能力和理解他人的能力。这些语言支持了前面提到的测试，这些测试显示了在自闭症谱内的宿主没有失去思考能力和同理心。

  • Purpose

The purpose of this study is to further investigate these two associations: the high frequency of disorders among tulpamancers, and the reports of psychological improvements related to tulpas. The research seeks to clarify these associations’ existence and gather data that allows us to hypothesize their cause. While Veissiere showed that there seemed to be a relationship between tulpamancy and mental health, the reason sand nature of it are still a mystery. The noted associations have a plethora of possible explanations.

D.目的

这项研究的是为了进一步研究这两个关系：宿主们心理疾病频繁发生，以及与tulpa相关的、改善心理的报道。该研究旨在弄清这些存在的关联，并收集数据，以推测其原因。Veissiere指出，图帕学和心理健康之间似乎存在某种联系，但其原因仍然是个谜。这些的关系有的解释可能有非常多。

For example, although unlikely, the frequency of mental illness among tulpamancers could be caused by a causal relationship between tulpas and psychopathologies. Alternatively, tulpamancy could merely be more appealing or have more exposure to those with a clinical diagnosis.

比如说，虽然不太可能，但是宿主中精神疾病的发生频率可能是由tulpa与精神病之间的因果关系引起的。另一种可能是，对已经被诊断出患有精神疾病的人而言，图帕学可能更加有吸引力或者影响力。

Similarly, it would be presumptive given the current evidence to claim the association between tulpamancy and perceived improvements in one’s mental health is caused by plurality being therapeutic in and of itself. The frequent practice of meditation has many benefits on its own (Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H., 2010). Its frequent practice amongst tulpamancers may be responsible for these improvements rather than something unique to tulpas. Likewise, forming positive relationships through the tulpa community could also explain this association. Additionally, there is the possibility of tulpamancy being therapeutic.

同样的，根据已有证据，现在认为因为成为多意识体本身是治疗方法，所以图帕学改善了心理健康这一结论，是轻率的。频繁的冥想练习本身就有很多好处（格罗斯曼，P。，尼曼，L。，施密特，S。，＆Walach，H.，2010）。宿主频繁进行这些治疗行为可能就是改善心理健康的原因，而不是tulpa特有的。同样，通过tulpa社区建立积极的关系也可以解释tulpa与心理健康之间的联系。另外，图帕学也可能具有治疗性。

The research looks to address as many of these possibilities as possible in pursuit of identifying the cause of phenomena associated with tulpamancy.

该研究希望尽可能多地发现并确认这些可能性，以确定与图帕学有关的这一现象的原因。

  • Methods

This study was observational and non-experimental. A series of randomly sampled surveys were used to gather data from users on several of the most popular tulpamancy forums and chat websites. The majority of the tulpa community is based on four websites: http://reddit.com/r/tulpas (a subreddit), http://tulpa.info (a forum and Internet Relay Chat (IRC)), ​http://tulpa.io (forum), and ​http://tulpa.im (IRC). The tulpa subreddit was excluded from the study due to an inability to view a list of its users. The user bases of the http://tulpa.info IRC, ​http://tulpa.io forums, and​http://tulpa.im IRC were the studied population. A total of 365 accounts existed on these sites on the survey request date (January 13,2016). These accounts were sent a message requesting their contribution to the survey, and participation was limited to individuals who had received this message.

E.方法

这是一份通过观察而非实验的研究。一系列的随机抽样调查会对几个最受欢迎的图帕学论坛和聊天网站上的用户调查并且收集数据。tulpa社区大多基于四个网站：http://reddit.com/r/tulpas（Reddit的分站点），http：//tulpa.info（论坛和Internet中继聊天（IRC）），http：/ /tulpa.io（论坛）和http://tulpa.im（聊天室）。由于无法查看用户列表，因此将tulpa subreddit排除在研究之外。 http://tulpa.info IRC，http：//tulpa.io论坛和http://tulpa.im IRC上的用户是此次研究的被试范围。 在调查发出当天（2016年1月13日），这些站点上总共存在365个帐户。我们向这些帐户发送了一条消息，希望他们对调查做出贡献，并且参与者是仅限于收到此消息的个人。

Before completing the survey, participants were required to give informed consent and agree to the disclosure and publication of their responses. The purpose of the study was outlined on this consent form. The survey consisted of 58 questions divided into four sections: relationship to the tulpa community, experiences in tulpamancy, mental health, and demographic information. Questions were predominantly Likert scales, polar, or short answer. The remainder of this section is an overview of the questions of greatest significance to the conclusions. For a full transcript of the survey, see Appendix A. 

在完成调查之前，参与者有知情同意权，需要同意公开发布其回答。在同意书内，概述了研究的目的。该调查由58个问题组成，共分为四个部分：与tulpa社区的关系，图帕学体验，心理健康和人口统计学信息。问题主要是有利克特量表（Likert scales），两极选择或简短答案。本节的其余部分是对结论中重要问题的概述。有关调查的全文，请参阅附录A。

Experiences in Tulpamancy

图帕学的体验

Survey participants were confirmed to be practitioners of tulpamancy by answering the question, “Does your system practice tulpamancy and/or have a tulpa?” with the option yes and no. Respondents who answered “no” skipped the subsequent questions and were directed to the end of the survey. Respondents who answered “yes” were directed to more questions inquiring their specific practices and experiences with tulpas.

通过回答“您是否有系统的练习图帕学/或tulpa吗？”，可以确认参加调查的人是图帕学的实践者。 选择是和否。回答“否”的受访者跳过了随后的问题，调查结束。回答“是”的受访者会被问到更多的问题，以询问他们创造tulpa的方法以及和tulpa之间的体验。

To investigate the effect of meditative practices often performed alongside tulpamancy, the survey asks: “Please select all the techniques that are/ have been used by your system for tulpamancy” with meditation and hypnosis among the possible responses.

为了调查冥想对于图帕学的影响——一项常和图帕学结合在一起的技术——调查询问：“请选择所有你使用的练习图帕学的相关技术”，冥想和催眠在可能的回答之中。

To explore how individual goals and the relationship one forms with their tulpa impacts their overall experience, the survey asked, “What relationships exist between [you and your] tulpa(s)?” and “If your tulpas came to be through conscious effort and/or forcing, for what purpose did you create them?” Both questions have similar response options that included, “Friends or companions, “A romantic relationship or significant other,” “Curiosity or experimentation,” “To become a part of a community,” and “Self-Improvement or life/mental health benefits.”

为了探究宿主创造Tulpa的目标与他们和tulpa之间的关系如何影响他们的整体体验，调查询问：“ [您和您的]tulpa之间存在什么关系？” 和“如果您的tulpa是通过明确的努力和/或塑造而来的，那么您是出于什么目的而创造他们的？”这两个问题都有类似的回答选项，包括“朋友或同伴”，“恋爱关系或重要人物”，“好奇心或作为实验”，“加入社区”和“自我改善或对生活/心理健康有好处”。”

2 The author does not uphold “low empathy” as being the cause of autism or something possessed by all people on the spectrum. Even so, research continues to show that, on average, those on the spectrum perform lower on theory of mind assessments, including adults of an almost identical demographic of Veissiere’s sample [8].

3 All percentages are rounded to the nearest integer.

注：

2 笔者并不主张将 “低同理心 “作为自闭症的原因，或作为光谱上所有的人所拥有的东西。即便如此，研究仍然表明，平均而言自闭症，谱系患者在心智理论评估中表现较差，包括与Veissiere的样本几乎相同的人口统计学的成年人[8]。

3 所有的百分比都四舍五入到最近的整数。

注：

5 In the tulpa community, “forcing” refers to the meditative techniques used to create and interact with tulpas.

5：在Tulpa社区内，塑造指的是通过冥想相关的技能用于创造以及和Tulpa互动

Relationship to the Community

与社区的关系

To probe how one’s experiences and relationship with the tulpa community affected the perceived impact of tulpas, various questions queried the participant’s opinions and commitment towards the online community. The survey asked: “On a scale of 1-​9, how would you describe your involvement with the tulpa community?” with options like “7:​ I regularly view or post in forums, blogs, or chat rooms of the community.”

为了探究自己的经历和tulpa社区的作用——这二者的关系如何影响人们感知tulpa？参与者被询问了各种问题来了解他们对线上社区的看法和参与度。 该调查问：“在1到9的评分内，您如何形容自己在Tulpa社区的参与程度？” ，调查中有类似的选项，例如“7：我经常查看或发布在社区的论坛，博客或聊天室”。

It later asked: “How would you describe your opinion of the parts of the tulpa or plural communities you regularly interact with?” followed by subtext that read: “What type of feelings come to mind when you think of it?” and possible responses “Very negative,” “Negative,” “Neutral,” “Positive,” and “Very positive.”

问卷后面问到：“您会如何描述您经常参与的tulpa社区或多意识体社区的看法？”然后是带有以下文字的副标题：“想到时会想到什么样的感觉？”以及可能的回答有：“非常负面”，“负面”，“中立”，“积极”和“非常积极”。

Associations with Mental Illness

与心理疾病的关系

The association between tulpamancy and disorders was investigated through several questions in the survey. Participants were asked to select yes or no to the question: “Have you been diagnosed with a mental or neurodevelopmental disorder?” If “yes” was selected, the participant would be directed to more questions investigating the relationship to their condition(s) to their experiences with tulpas. If “no” was selected, they would skip those questions and be directed to the next portion of the survey.

通过调查中的几个问题，可以探究图帕学与疾病之间的关联。 调查要求参与者对以下问题选择是或否：“您是否被诊断出患有精神或神经发育障碍？” 如果选择“是”，则将引导参与者回答更多问题，以调查与他们的病情和他们的tulpa之间的关系。 如果选择“否”，他们将跳过这些问题，并转到调查的下一部分。

To inquire the potential of there being a causal link between tulpamancy and mental illness, these respondents were asked “Were these diagnosed before or after you began practicing tulpamancy?” To follow up this question, the next one asked: “If any of your disorders were diagnosed after you started tulpamancy, do you think this practice contributed to the diagnosis?” Response categories were “Yes, significantly,” “Yes, somewhat,” “Unknown,” “No,” and “Not applicable.”

为了探明图帕学与精神疾病之间是否有可能存在因果关系，这些受访者被问到“在开始练习图帕学之前或之后，这些病是否有诊断？” 为了跟进这个问题，下一个问：“如果您在开始图帕学后诊断出某些疾病，您认为图帕学有助于诊断吗？” 答复分别为“是，明显”，“是，有些”，“不清楚”，“否”和“不适用”。

It is also possible that the high volume of psychopathologies in tulpamancers is caused by the practice being especially appealing towards those diagnosed with a condition. To address this, the survey asked: “Do you feel that your condition(s) influenced your decision to begin practicing tulpamancy?” with subtext reading “Did your disorder(s) make you want to have a tulpa?” Respondents were given the options: “Yes, strongly,” “Yes, somewhat,” “Unknown, and “No.”

宿主中精神病病高发也可能是由于这种做法对那些被诊断出患有疾病的人较有吸引力。为了确定，调查询问：“您的病情是否影响了您践行图帕学的决定？”带有副标题“您的疾病是否使您想创造tulpa？” 受访者可以选择：“是，强烈”，“是，有些”，“不清楚”和“否”。

Continuing this line of thought, the next question read:“ How do you feel the symptoms of your disorder(s) affect the desirability of tulpamancy?” with the subtext “Does your condition make tulpamancy a more appealing or enjoyable practice?” Respondents were requested to select what best described their experiences (for example, “They make tulpamancy a significantly more desirable practice”).

继续这一系列问题，下一个问题是：“您认为自己的疾病症状会影响对图帕学的渴望吗？” 和副标题“您的病情会让你感觉图帕学是一种更有吸引力或更令人享受的做法吗？”要求受访者选择最能描述他们感受的选项（例如，“疾病使图帕学成为明显更有吸引力的做法”）。

Later questions explored the relationship between tulpas and perceived mental health in these respondents diagnosed with a psychopathology. The question “How do you feel tulpamancy has affected your condition(s) or ability to cope with them?” requested respondents to select what best described their experience for example, “It has significantly improved my condition or ability to cope with it.”

后来的问题探讨了这些被诊断为精神病的受访者中的tulpa和察觉到的心理健康之间的关系。问题“您觉得图帕学怎样影响了您的病情或者你对病情的应对能力？” 这要求受访者选择最能描述他们经历的选项，例如“它极大地改善了我的病情或应对能力。”

The survey also queried a specific phenomenon that could help explain the association between tulpas and perceived improvements: “Does your tulpa seem to be independent of your disorder(s)?” The question’s subtext read:“For example, if a host has ADHD, a tulpa that is independent of their host’s disorders may not struggle with hyperactivity and attention. Essentially, does your tulpa seem to be unaffected by your disorder(s)?” Respondents were given the options: “Yes, strongly,” “Yes, somewhat,” “Unknown,” and “No.”

该调查还询问了一种特定现象，该现象可能有助于解释tulpa与宿主能察觉到的改善之间的联系：“您的tulpa似乎独立于您的疾病吗？” 问题的副标题是：“例如，如果宿主患有多动症，那么独立于宿主疾病的tulpa可能就不会被过度活跃和注意力不集中所困扰。 更重要地，您的tulpa似乎不受疾病的影响吗？” 受访者可以选择：“是，明显”，“是，有些”，“不清楚”和“否”。

This was followed by the questions of greatest significance to the survey: “How do you feel plurality has had an impact on your social life?”, “How do you feel plurality has had an impact on your mental health?”, and “How do you feel plurality has had an impact on your overall life?”. Response options for these three questions were “It has had a significantly positive impact,” “It has had a somewhat positive impact,” “It has had a neutral impact,” “It has had a somewhat negative impact,” “It has had a significantly negative impact,” and “It has not had an impact.”

其次是这次调查中最重要的问题：“您感觉多意识体对您的社交生活有何影响？”，“您感觉多意识体对您的心理健康有何影响？”和“您觉得多意识体对您的整体生活有影响吗？”。 这三个问题的回答选项是“它产生了显着的积极影响”，“它产生了一些积极的影响”，“它产生了中性的影响”，“它产生了一些消极的影响”，“它产生了显著消极的影响”和“它还没有产生影响”。

Answers to most of the other questions in the survey will be analyzed for associations with the responses to these four inquiries.

调查中，大多数其他问题的答案也被分析，用来查找这四个问答之间的关联。

The survey concluded with questions inquiring the age, gender, country of residence, and race of the respondent.

调查结束时还询问了被访者的年龄，性别，居住国家和种族的问题。

  • Results

F.结果

Out of the 365 survey requests sent, a total of 63 responses were submitted. 1 submission was removed due to the respondent selecting that they had not practiced tulpamancy and did not have a tulpa. Results of greatest significance to the investigated associations are overviewed in this section. See Appendix B for additional survey results.

在发送的365个调查请求中，总共收集到了63份调查。 由于有一位被访者没有练习过图帕学并且没有tulpa，因此删除了1份答卷。本节概述了对这个社区所进行的研究中最重要的结果。 有关其他调查结果，请参见附录B。

Demographics

人群统计

74% of the sample classified themselves as Caucasian, with the other most frequent identities being Multiracial (11%), Asian (5%), and Black (3%). With regards to gender, 59% of respondents identified as male, 29% as female, and 12% as“other.” A total of16 nationalities were represented in the sample, with the United States making up 58% of the responses (​Table 1).

74％的样本声称自己是白种人，其他最常见的身份是混血人（11％），亚洲人（5％）和黑人（3％）。 在性别方面，59％的受访者为男性，

29％为女性，12％为“其他”。 样本中共有16个国籍，其中美国占58％（表1）。

表1. Tulpamancers的国籍（n=55）

国家 频率

美国 32

联合王国 5

澳大利亚 3

加拿大 2

墨西哥 2

新西兰 1

白俄罗斯 1

波兰 1

比利时 1

德国 1

意大利 1

丹麦 1

新加坡 1

奥地利 1

波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维纳 1

爱尔兰 1

Experiences in Tulpamancy

图帕学的经历

Most respondents reported doing meditation (54%), hypnosis (25%), or both (21%) as part of their tulpamancy practice, with 31% of the sample reporting doing neither. 

大多数受访者报告称，他们在练习图帕学的过程中进行了冥想（54％），催眠（25％）或同时做这两种行为（21％），而31％的样本中两者都没有做过。

Responses to the question, “What relationships exist between [you and your] tulpa(s)?” revealed that tulpas are most frequently created in pursuit of companionship. Results from the question, “For what purpose did you create [your tulpas]?” shows that this is achieved in most cases, with most respondents stating that their relationship with their tulpa is friendship (n=46) or romantic (n=18).

对以下问题的回答：“ [您和您的]tulpa(s)之间存在什么关系？” 显示了大多是tulpa是为了追寻陪伴而被创造的。“您是出于什么目的而创建你的tulpa们？”这个问题的结果表明，这个目的在大多数案例里可以被实现，其中最多受访者表示与自己的tulpa的关系是友谊（n = 46），浪漫（n = 18）。

Associations with Mental Illness

与精神疾病的关系

56% of the sample (n=32) reported being diagnosed with a mental or neurodevelopmental disorder, with the most common diagnosis being Depressive Disorders (n=14), Anxiety Disorders (n=10), and Autism Spectrum Disorder (n=9) (​Table 2).

据报告，有56％的样本（n = 32）被诊断出患有精神或神经发育障碍，最常见的诊断是抑郁症（n = 14），焦虑症（n = 10）和自闭症谱系障碍（n = 9） ）（表2）。

表2. 精神障碍的频率（n=32）

诊断频率

抑郁症 14

焦虑症 10

自闭症谱系障碍 9

双相情感障碍 5

多动症 4

强迫症 3

创伤后应激障碍 2

分离性障碍 2

应激反应综合征 1

发育协调障碍 1

阅读障碍症 1

妥瑞氏症 1

It was also found that 79% of these diagnoses occurred before the practice of tulpamancy, and even among those who were diagnosed after (n=7), only one respondent stated that tulpas contributed towards their diagnosis.

还发现这些诊断中有79％发生在练习图帕学之前，即使在诊断之后（n = 7），只有一名受访者表示tulpa们没有帮助他们的诊断。

Two thirds of respondents reported that their decision to begin practicing was either somewhat (33%) or significantly (33%) furthered by their condition. An almost identical ratio of respondents stated that their condition made tulpamancy a more desirable practice, with 37% citing a significantly positive influence, 37% for a somewhat positive influence, and the remainder noting “no or neutral impact.”

三分之二的受访者表示，他们开始练习的决定在有些（33％）或明显（33％）程度上，出于他们的境遇被影响。几乎相同比例的受访者表示，他们的病情使练习图帕学更具有吸引力，其中37％的人表示有明显的积极影响，37％的人表示有积极的影响，其余的则表示“没有或中性的影响”。

Similarly, most respondents reported that their tulpas had a significant (34%) or somewhat (44%) positive impact on their disorder(s) and/or ability to cope with them, with the remainder selecting “neutral or no impact.”

同样，大多数受访者报告说，他们的tulpa们对他们的疾病或应对疾病的能力有显著（34％）或某种程度（44％）的积极影响，其余人选择“中性或无影响”。

The majority of tulpas were noted to be independent and unaffected by their host’s condition to some degree. 37% report significant independence, 48% report some independence, and 15% report no independence.

据悉，大多数tulpa们是独立的，在一定程度上不受宿主条件的影响。 37％表示非常独立，48％表示一定独立，15％表示不独立。

Most respondents reported tulpamancy having a positive impact on their mental health (​Table 3) and over all life (​Table 4),with“Neutral or no impact” being the most frequent response regarding the impact of tulpas on social life (​Table 5).

大多数受访者报告说，图帕学对他们的心理健康（表3）和整个生活（表4）有积极影响，其中“中性无影响”是tulpa对社交生活影响的最常见结果（表5）。

译者补充：

三张表格依次为：

Tulpa对精神健康的影响，对整体生活的影响，对社交生活的影响。

选项从上到下分别为“非常负面”，“负面”，“中立”，“积极”和“非常积极”。

Relationship to the Community

与社区的关系

The distribution of involvement in the tulpa community amongst respondents loosely resembles a bell curve, the peak being on “7: I regularly view or post in forums, blogs, or chat rooms of the community”(​Table 6).

在受访者中，宿主在tulpa社区的参与分布大致呈钟形分布，高峰出现在“ 7：我经常在社区的论坛，博客或聊天室中查看或发布信息”（表6）。

Additionally, most respondents reported having a very positive (18%), positive (52%) or neutral (29%) opinion towards the parts of the community they regularly interacted with.

此外，大多数受访者表示，他们对于经常与他们所在的社区区域互动的印象为：很好（18％），好（52％）或中立（29％）。

表6. 在1-9的范围内，您如何描述您与Tulpa社区的关系？

参与Tulpa社区的情况？(n=56)

参与程度 频率 百分比

1: 我没有参与 5 9

2 4 7%

3: 我可能偶尔浏览一下博客、主题或论坛

偶尔会看一下 18 32%

4 10 18%

5: 我可能偶尔会查看或发表在

线程、论坛、聊天室或社区

相关的网站

10 18%

6 3 5%

7: 我经常查看或在论坛、博客。

或聊天室 4 7%

8 1 2%

9: 我大部分时间都在与社区进行互动

社区 1 2%

  • Analysis

G. 分析

We can better understand the relationship between tulpamancy and mental health by finding associations between the perceived impact of tulpas and other responses. See Appendix C for supplemental data and the tables that modeled the graphs present in this section.

我们可以通过tulpa对生活以及其他方面的影响，来更好地了解图帕学与心理健康之间的关系。有关补充数据和为本节中存在的图表建模的表格，请参见附录C。（我把图粘过来了-译者注）

Nowhere in the survey data and short answer responses were there evidences suggesting that tulpamancy is harmful. Additionally, almost all respondents diagnosed with a psychopathology stated that their diagnosis occurred before having tulpas. These facts should discourage hypotheses that suggest tulpas cause mental illness or are a disorder in and of itself.

在调查数据和简短问题的回应中，没有任何证据表明图帕学有害。 此外，几乎所有被诊断出患有精神疾病的受访者都说，他们的诊断发生在有tulpa之前。这些事实应反驳了那些认为tulpa会引起精神疾病或本身就是一种疾病的假说。

Rather, the survey results reinforce the association between practicing tulpamancy and improvements in perceived mental health, socialization, and overall life. The survey data was analyzed to find if the perceived impacts of tulpas on social life, mental health, or overall life had any association to responses to other questions on the survey.

相反，调查结果巩固了练习图帕学与改善心理健康状况，社交状态以及整体生活之间的结论。 分析调查数据可以发现，tulpa们对于社交生活，精神健康状况，和整体生活质量们的影响是否与问卷中的其他问题有关联。

Concerns of alternate causation as outlined in the Purpose and Methods sections were investigated– foremost, whether practicing meditation as a part of one’s tulpamancy practice affected the impact of tulpas on mental health. No association was found, with individuals who did not practice meditation reporting similar rates of improvements as ones who did (​Chart 1).

其他可能的原因（在目的和方法论部分提到的）也被研究了-首先，联系冥想，图帕学的一部分，是否会影响Tulpa对精神状态的改变？没有发现其中的关联，没有冥想练习过程的人报告的改善率与有的人相似（图1）。

图片1 与Tulpamancy一起练习的技术与Tulpas对心理健康的影响（N=56）

从深蓝到深灰色分别为：有巨大帮助，有些帮助，中性，有些负面，严重负面

从上到下依次为：催眠和冥想，催眠，冥想，都没有

There is also the possibility that a self-fulfilling prophecy principle is driving the reports of improvements. To address whether expecting tulpas to cause enhancements plays a role, the reason a respondent began practicing tulpamancy was compared to the impact of tulpamancy on their perceived mental health. No association was found, with individuals who created their tulpa for “self-​improvement or life/mental health benefits” reporting almost identical rates of improvements as ones who cited friendship, curiosity, or other reasons (​Chart 2).

自我实现也有可能是心理健康状况改善的原因。为了说明对tulpa的期盼是否会对心理健康产生正面影响，研究者将受访者开始实践图帕学的原因与图帕学对他们心理健康的影响进行了比较——没有发现任何关联，因为为了“自我改善或生活/心理健康益处”这个目的而创建tulpa的人报告的改善率与以友谊，好奇心或其他原因的人几乎相同（图2）。

译者注：因为论文本身对第二张图和第三张图顺序反了，所以图2对应的第三个结论，其应当也用图三的译文翻译，中文改后读起来无问题。

图2. 制作Tulpa们的原因与Tulpa们对心理健康的影响

从深蓝到深灰色分别为：有巨大帮助，有些帮助，中性，有些负面，严重负面

从上到下分别为：性交或者性关系，加入一个社区，浪漫或者一个浪漫的关系，自我提升或者其他健康方面的好处，好奇和实验，朋友或陪伴

It was also considered that the improvements could be derived from the tulpa community, which most respondents were found to be moderately involved with and hold a positive opinion of. The impact of tulpas was compared to the respondent’s involvement and opinion of the tulpa community, but no significant relationships were found (​Chart 3). Those who had a“ Very positive” opinion of the tulpa community were more likely to report improvements in their social life, mental health, and overall life. However, this association did not exist among those who had a “Positive” opinion, and having a “Neutral” or “Negative” opinion was not associated with more neutral or negative impacts of tulpas. The online community, while undoubtedly a plus, is likely not solely responsible for the improvements associated with tulpas.

人们还认为，心理健康状况的改善可能由于tulpa社区——大多数受访者与社区有一定程度的接触，并对此持正面积极的态度。 将tulpa的影响与受访者对tulpa社区的参与和看法进行了比较，未发现明显的关系（图3）。

图3. 对Tulpa社区的看法与Tulpa对社交生活的影响

从深蓝到深灰色分别为：有巨大帮助，有些帮助，中性，有些消极，严重消极

从上到下依次为：严重消极，消极，中心或者无想法，积极，很积极

对tulpa社区持“非常积极”看法的人更有可能报告其社交生活，心理健康和整体生活得到改善。 但是，在具有“积极”看法的人中不存在这种关联，并且具有“中性”或“负面”的对于社区的看法并不与tulpa产生更多中性或负面影响有关。 在线社区无疑是一个加分项，但它并不是tulpa能改善心理健康状况的所有原因。

Even when compared to a myriad of factors, the reported improvements in mental health, overall life, and social life seem unrelated to the most likely candidates of alternate causation. These associations appear to be phenomena specific to the practice of tulpamancy.

即使与众多因素进行比较，所报告的精神健康、整体生活和社交生活方面的改善似乎也与最有可能的因果替代无关。这些关联似乎是练习图帕学中的特有现象。

  • Conclusions

H.结论

Tulpas and Mental Health

Tulpas和心理健康

The survey results clarify the existence of the two associations identified by Veissiere. A majority (56%) of the sample reports being diagnosed with a mental or neurodevelopmental disorder, which is an exceptionally high frequency when compared to the United States’ rate of 18.2% (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2015).

调查结果明确了Veissiere确定的两个关系的存在。样本中的大多数（56％）报告被诊断出患有精神障碍或神经发育障碍，与美国的18.2％的比率相比，这一比例异常高（国家精神疾病联盟，2015年）。

However, there was no evidence of tulpas causing or furthering cases of mental illness. In fact, the association between tulpas and improvements in mental health was reinforced, with 78% of these respondents diagnosed with a psychopathology stating that tulpas had either a significantly or somewhat positive impact on their condition or ability to cope with it. 91% of the sample claimed that tulpas had a significant or somewhat positive impact on their overall life. 78% upheld the same for their mental health, and 47% reported this improvement for their social life.

但是，没有证据表明tulpa们引起或加剧了精神疾病。 实际上，tulpas与心理健康改善之间的关联性的结论得到了支持，其中78％的被调查者被诊断出患有精神障碍，他们认为tulpa们对他们的病情或应对疾病的能力产生了显著或某种积极的影响。91％的样本声称tulpa们对他们的整体生活有明显或一定的积极的影响。78％的人的心理健康状况也得到了明显或一些积极的影响，47％的人的社交生活有所改善。

It is likely that the high frequency of disorders among tulpamancers is not caused by tulpamancy being pathological in nature, but rather, the practice being especially appealing towards those already diagnosed. The survey data supports this hypothesis: 66% of respondents diagnosed with a psychopathology report that their disorder either somewhat or significantly furthered their decision to make a tulpa.

宿主群体中高频率的疾病很可能不是由于图帕学在生活中是致病的，而是因为这种做法对已经诊断出疾病的人特别有吸引力。调查数据支持这一假设：66％的被诊断患有精神障碍的受访者表示，他们的疾病在某种程度上或很大程度上促进了他们做出创造出一个tulpa的决定。

To make sense of this, consider two factors: first, that two of the most common diagnosis among tulpamancers are Social Anxiety Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder—conditions often associated with hindrances in interpersonal relationships. Second, that tulpas are advertised as being “the perfect kinds of companions”(Veissiere, 2015). Tulpa.info, the flagship website for tulpamancy resources, elaborates on this. “A bond with one’s tulpa is often extremely strong, because they can know you intimately, understand you, and generally like and trust you almost implicitly, and all this is due to them being in the brain with you. That allows them to understand you like no other person” (Tulpa.info, 2014). In fact, the data not only suggests that tulpas may be more appealing to those struggling with a psychopathology, but that it is especially beneficial towards such individuals. 74% of respondents state that their condition makes tulpamancy either a somewhat or significantly more desirable practice. Several individuals diagnosed with social anxiety disorder discussed how their tulpa not only provided a means to have pleasant, worry-free socialization, but that their tulpas also helped them have more positive interactions with other people.

要理解这一点需要考虑这两个因素：首先，在宿主群体中最常见的两个诊断是社交焦虑症和自闭症谱系障碍-通常与人际关系障碍相关。其次，tulpa们被宣传为“完美的伙伴”（Veissiere，2015）。有着图帕学资源的官方网站Tulpa.info对此进行了详细说明。 “人们与tulpa的联系通常非常紧密，因为他们可以亲密地接触和了解你，并毫无保留地喜欢并信任人们，而这一切都是由于他们与宿主在同一个大脑中。这让他们比任何人都了解你。”（Tulpa.info，2014年）。实际上，数据不仅表明，tulpa们可能对那些患有精神障碍的人更具吸引力，而且对这类人特别有益。 74％的受访者表示，他们的病情使得图帕学有着比较明显或者强烈的吸引力。几名被诊断出患有社交焦虑症的人讨论了他们的tulpa不仅如何提供令人愉快，无忧的社交活动的方式，而且他们的tulpa们还帮助他们与他人进行了更积极的互动。

This notion of tulpas being ideal companions who can form strong bonds with their hosts can also explain the association between tulpas and improvements in mental health. The overwhelming majority of tulpamancers develop strong and intimate bonds with their head-mates. Hosts consistently describe how their tulpas keep their best interests in mind and take steps to alleviate any ailments, mental or physical, that the host may have in their life. If a disorder is causing distress and one’s tulpa happens to be independent from it, then we would expect to see what we already observe: tulpas helping their host cope with mental illness.

tulpa是理想的伴侣，可以与宿主结成紧密的纽带。这个想法也可以解释tulpas与心理健康改善之间的联系。 压倒性多数的宿主与他们的tulpa（或脑友）之间建立了牢固而密切的联系。宿主们不断地描述他们的tulpas帮助他们保留最强的喜好，并采取措施减轻宿主生活中可能出现的任何心理或生理疾病。 如果疾病造成痛苦，一人的tulpa可以独立于疾病外不受其困扰，那么我们期望看到的是我们已经观察到的情况：tulpas帮助他们的宿主应对精神疾病。

At the end of each section of the survey, I gave the respondent the option to elaborate on their answers in short answer form. The responses were eye opening towards the diversity of impacts tulpas can have on mental illness. For instance, in cases of disorders that involve delusion and misperceptions, the tulpa often becomes the voice of reason during bouts of irrationality. One respondent diagnosed with Schizophrenia writes how his tulpa can not only identify between hallucination and actuality, but that they developed a technique that allows the delusions to be “zapped” away. There are reports of tulpas alleviating the desire to perform irrational routines in individuals diagnosed with OCD, and others claim that their tulpas innovated workarounds for their dyslexia.

在调查的每个部分的结尾，我都给受访者一个选项，以简短的答案形式来阐明他们的答案。 对于tulpa们可能对精神疾病造成的影响的多种多样令人大开眼界。例如，在涉及妄想和知觉障碍的疾病中，tulpa经常在非理性的疾病发作中成为理性的声音。一位被诊断为精神分裂症的受访者写道，他的tulpa不仅可以分辨出出幻觉和现实，而且他们开发了一种可以将幻觉“消除”的技巧。有报告说，tulpa们减轻了被诊断为强迫症的个体进行强迫行为的欲望，其他人则声称他们的tulpas找到了阅读障碍的解决方法。

Even in disorders where delusions are not a factor, tulpas still make their mark. Multiple respondents diagnosed with depression shared how their tulpas help them simply by providing their friendship and positive voices. Still others discuss how their tulpas prevented their suicide, be it through words or acting to remove the host’s control of the body.

即使在没有妄想症状的疾病中，tulpa们仍然起到了作用。 多个被诊断出患有抑郁症的受访者分享了他们的tulpa们如何通过提供友谊和积极的声音来帮助他们。 还有一些人讨论了他们的tulpa们是如何防止宿主自杀的，无论是通过言语还是采取行动消除了主人对身体的控制。

The experience of having a warm relationship with one’s tulpas is almost synonymous with tulpamancy practice, and when combined with the more outstanding factors of tulpamancy, namely the perceived independence of tulpas from one’s ailments, a relationship unlike any corporeal one forms. One respondent diagnosed with Schizophrenia phrases it like this: “I hear voices all the time. It’s good to hear a nice one from a tulpa for a change.”

人与tulpa们保持亲密关系的经历几乎就是图帕学的代名词，当与更突出的图帕学因素相结合时，即tulpa们不受疾病困扰，这种关系不同于任何有形的形式。 一位被诊断为精神分裂症的受访者这样说：“我一直都在听到声音。 很高兴听到tulpa的声音，他给我带来了改变。”（我觉得作者在这里稍微掺了点私货——译者注。）

Considerations

注意事项

It is important to acknowledge the limits of the results presented. Self-reported data gathered through online surveys, regardless of the care taken to ensure objectivity and accuracy, is bound to be influenced by biases and misconceptions. The intent of this paper is not to provide definitive assertions on the psychology of tulpamancy. Rather, the purpose is to accentuate outstanding associations and suggest further research into them. Garnering an understanding of tulpa phenomena may not only allow us to identify and further apply its therapeutic properties, but also add to the understanding of human cognition and its plasticity. The highest suggestion of this research is to further investigate tulpa and healthy plural phenomena.

认识到结果的局限性是很重要的。 无论采取何种措施确保客观性和准确性，通过在线调查收集的自我报告数据都将受到偏见和错觉的影响。 本文的目的不是提供关于图帕学对心理影响的明确断言。 相反，其目的是强调出这种关联并建议对其进行进一步研究。 对tulpa现象的了解不仅可以使我们进一步对其说明并以应用其治疗特性，而且还可以加深对人类认知及其可塑性的理解。 这项研究的最强烈建议进一步研究tulpa和健康的多意识体现象。

Implications for Clinical Perspectives

对临床观点的启示

The nuances of dissociative and traumagenic plurality should also be addressed. Dissociative disorders like DID are usually the consequence of childhood trauma or abuse. The problems arise from the many side effects of this, such as compartmentalized emotions, fragmented memories, derealization, and amnesia. These are the qualities that cause dysfunction and make DID a disorder, not the plurality (Kunzendorf, R. G., Crosson, M., Zalaket, A., White, J., & Enik, R., 1998​)​.

分离性疾病和创伤性多意识体的问题的细微差别也应加以解决。 分离性疾病（如DID）通常是儿童期创伤或虐待的结果。 而这个疾病的问题是由许多副作用引起的，例如：分隔的情绪，零散的记忆，现实解体和失忆。 这些是导致功能障碍并使DID失调的特质，而不是多意识体本身。（Kunzendorf，R.G.，Crosson，M.，Zalaket，A.，White，J.，＆Enik，R.，1998）。

As is evident from the experiences of tulpamancers, multiplicity is not inherently pathological. Plurality, as a side effect of the trauma and resulting symptoms, but not a negative symptom in and of itself, should not be labeled the problem. The prevalence of treating plurality as the start and end to dysfunction in DID indicates a fundamental misunderstanding in clinical psychology.

从宿主的体验中可以明显看出，多意识体并不是本身就是病态的。多意识体，作为创伤后形成的副作用，和创伤所导致的症状时，而不是一个本身具有负面性的症状时，不应当被认为是一个问题。一直把多意识体当作DID中功能障碍的缘由和尽头进行治疗做法很普遍，这表明许多人对临床心理学有一个根本的误解。

Being plural often becomes an inexorable identity that is not only difficult to change, but makes attempts to do so harmful. Because of this, psychiatrists have found that the most effective therapies for DID do not require merging different consciousnesses or enforcing oneness. Rather, it is more effective to simply teach the separate identities to communicate, share information, and work with each other in through a therapy dubbed “integrated functioning” (International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, 2011; Brand, B. L., Myrick, A. C., Loewenstein, R. J., Classen, C. C., Lanius, R., Mcnary, S. W., . . . Putnam, F. W., 2012​).

多意识体通常会成为一种不可改变的身份，不仅难以改变，而且试图改变多意识体是有害的。 因此，精神科医生发现，最有效的DID治疗方法不需要合并不同的意识或强制成为一个意识体。 相反，简单地讲授以单独的身份进行沟通、共享信息并通过被称为“统合功能”的治疗方法可以使彼此合作更有效（国际创伤与分离研究学会，2011； Brand，BL，Myrick ，AC，Loewenstein，RJ，Classen，CC，Lanius，R.，Mcnary，SW，… .Putnam，FW，2012）。

Rather than tulpamancy being an exception to the general rule of plurality being pathological, the reality is that only a fraction of plural systems have a dissociative disorder. Because healthy plural experiences rarely affect functioning, they have fallen very much under the radar of the mental health system (​Clayton, 2005​).

图帕学不是多意识体但非病态这种情况中的唯一一个例外。事实上，多意识个体中只有一小部分具有解离性障碍。 由于健康的多意识体很少影响日常生活的功能，因此精神卫生组织对它们的关注度大幅下降。（Clayton，2005）。

When the diversity of plural experience is considered, multiplicity may seem to be less of an extraordinary achievement and more of a fundamentally human experience. Many fiction writers, for example, report that the characters of their design seem to come to life in their heads, behaving autonomously and being perceived as full-fledged consciousnesses (Taylor, M., Hodges,S.D.,&Kohányi,A.,2002). Evangelically religious individuals, where the God, Gods, or spirits of their faith can interact with them to a degree, report similar phenomena, regardless of their specific religion or culture (Luhrmann, 2013). There is also an online community of headmate systems, wherein many report being plural as long as they can remember, but do not exhibit any of the negative symptoms of DID. And, of course, there is also tulpamancy. Tulpamancy is unique in the sense that new identities are will fully created. Essentially, tulpamancy is a means to achieve healthy plurality.

当考虑各种不同的多意识体经历时，多意识体似乎不是一项非凡的成就，而是更多的是一种基本的人类体验。例如，许多小说作家报告说，他们的设计人物似乎在脑海中栩栩如生，表现出自我独立性并被视为成熟的意识（Taylor，M.，Hodges，SD，＆Kohányi，A.，2002）。 福音派宗教人士，无论他们的特定宗教或文化如何，在神，众神或他们的信仰精神在某种程度上可以与他们进行一定程度的互动，他们都会报告类似的现象（Luhrmann，2013）。还有一个在线社区由拥有脑中伙伴（不仅指tulpa中的宿主）组成，里面的人表示他们记事起就是多意识体，但他们不会表现出DID中的任何负面症状。而且，当然也有图帕学。在完全创建新的意识体这件事上，图帕学独一无二。重要的是，图帕学是实现健康的多意识体的一种手段。

（虽然创造新的意识体不仅仅有图帕学，但是这可能是相对最多样、最自由的方法–译者注）

The notion of plurality being a healthy and functional state of being opposes the norm of the most common variants of human cognition being considered required for these things.

多意识体是一种健康和具有正常功能的生活状态，这一概念反驳了最常见的人类认知状态（单意识体—译者注）被认为是这些达到健康、功能性所需要的这一规则。

The concept that societies should embrace persons of alternate psychological variants rather than label them as disordered, inferior, and in need of becoming normal is dubbed “neurodiversity.” This idea is most frequently upheld by the ASD community, which purports that Autism is a condition that, rather than being inherently disordered, is more accurately an alternative state of human cognition with its own benefits and detriments.

社会应该接受具有不同心理状态的人，而不是将他们标记为病态，低等的，或者把需要变成正常人的人类叫做“神经多样性症候群”。ASD（自闭症谱系）社区最常支持这种想法，并声称自闭症是一种状态，而本身并不失调——更准确地说，这是人类认知的另一种状态，有着自身的优劣。

Plurality, being deviant from the norm but with the potential of being a healthy, functional, and even optimal state of being, should be destigmatized and added to the advent of neurodiversity. We ought to value diversity and acceptance over the enforcement of conformity by including, rather than excluding, the exceptional.

多意识体和正常人不一样，但具有成为一个健康的人的能力、具有功能的甚至最佳状态的存在。多意识体的存在应该被去除污名化，并增加到神经多样性的行列里。我们应该重视、接受和包容多意识个体的存在，而不是将它们排除在外。

Jade Isler is a psychology student at the University of Texas at Austin. His interest in tulpamancy began when he started practicing it himself over three years ago, experiencing its benefits firsthand. He operates a blog where he writes opinion, satire, and research essays on the subject, some of which have been referenced on podcasts and the social psychology journal PrimeMind. He believes that studying plurality and tulpamancy may not only inspire groundbreaking new therapies for mental illness, but also further the scientific understanding of human consciousness and cognition.

杰德·艾勒（Jade Isler）是德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的心理学学生。 当三年前他开始亲自实践图帕学时，就对它产生了兴趣，并且直接享受着图帕学带来的好处。 他经营着一个博客，在其中撰写有关该主题的观点，讽刺文学和研究论文，其中一些已在播客和社会心理学杂志PrimeMind中得到引用。 他认为，研究单意识体和图帕学不仅可以激发开创性的精神疾病新疗法，而且可以进一步科学地认识人类的意识和认知。

Acknowledgements

致谢

I would like to thank the tulpa community and the staff of tulpa.io and tulpa.info

for their openness and cooperation with my research. I would also like to thank Krittika

Krishnan from the Department of Psychology at UT Austin for her mentorship and

guidance throughout the final stages of this project. Finally, I would like to thank

everyone who participated in this study for their generous contributions and feedback-

none of this would have been possible without the high response rate and detailed short

answer responses.

我要感谢tulpa社区以及tulpa.io和tulpa.info的开明、并乐于与我的研究合作的管理员。 我还要感谢奥斯丁大学心理学系的Krittika Krishnan作为导师在整个项目的最后阶段提供指导。最后，我要感谢参与这项研究的每个人都做出了慷慨的贡献和反馈-没有那么高的响应率和精简但详细的信息，这篇论文的写作将是不可能做到的。

List of Abbreviations

ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder

DCD: Developmental Coordination Disorder

DSM: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

DID: Dissociative Identity Disorder

IRC: Internet Relay Chat

OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

缩略语列表

ADHD：注意力缺陷多动症

ASD：自闭症谱系障碍

DCD：发育协调障碍

DSM： 精神障碍诊断与统计手册

DID：分离性身份识别障碍

IRC：互联网中继聊天

OCD：强迫症

PTSD：创伤后应激障碍

Statement of Competing Interests

The author is a practicing tulpamancer and an active member of the tulpa community. He experienced tulpa creation firsthand in April 2013, and has been a contributing member of the online community since July 2014. Along with his tulpa, Aury, Isler is active under the usernames “Ford and Aury” and “fordaplot”, through which they have shared their experiences, theories, and preliminary results with the community. They run a Tumblr blog documenting their tulpa-related work and experiences, and they operate a YouTube channel for plural-related educational videos, interview-based podcasts, and visual tulpamancy guides.

The author has no other competing interests.

竞争性利益声明

作者是一名练习中的宿主，也是tulpa社区的活跃成员。他在2013年4月亲身体验了tulpa创作，并从2014年7月起成为在线社区的贡献成员。与他的tulpa，Aury一起，Isler以 “Ford and Aury “和 “fordaplot “的用户名活跃，他们通过这些用户名与社区分享他们的经验、理论和初步结果。他们经营着一个Tumblr博客，记录他们与tulpa有关的工作和经验，他们还经营着一个YouTube频道，播放与多意识体有关的教育视频、基于访谈的播客和可视化的图帕学指南。

作者没有其他竞争性利益。

References

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译者后记：

其他术语表：

多意识体 Plurality/Multiplicity

这两个词汇被定义为，一个身体内有多个人共存的现象。其中，Plurality一词更在健康的多意识体社群中说，Multiplicity一般在创伤性多意识体中说。就像“多意识体”在中文中用的更多的也是健康的多意识体社区，而“多重人格”正好相反。

意识体 Headmate/Self Agent

定义为单独的一个意识的称呼——通常情况下，这一意识可以作为完整的、独立的人运转。在中文Tulpa社区中，Host（宿主）和Tulpa都是意识体的别名，Tulpa的意思基本可以与“意识体”相互替代。

总结一下本文的观点：

1. 带有精神疾病的患者会认为图帕学更有吸引力，这是为什么Tulpa社区有如此多的精神疾病，Tulpa本身不是精神疾病，也不导致精神疾病。
2. Tulpa在一定程度上不会收到宿主的精神疾病的影响，甚至能帮助直接、间接的克服。
3. Tulpa对社交、心理健康、生活均有一定的正面影响，这种影响与创造动机、社区支持、创造Tulpa的方法、对Tulpa的期待无关（因此决不是安慰剂效应）。
4. Tulpa可以说明，多意识体并非本身就是有害的，因此更好的方式是统合功能
5. 其他类似的健康多意识体有系魂、和宗教产生的。
6. 多意识体是人类神经多样性的表现。