Tulpamancy: Transcending the Assumption of Singularity in the Human Mind

圖帕學：超越人類思維中只允許一個意識體存在的假設

檬虎、芭芭拉、小門 譯

譯者註：此論文可信度較高，但由於研究者本人是一位宿主，一些地方得出的結論在學術層面仍有一定的商榷空間。

另外，因為作者在歐美Tulpa社區內的不良行為，儘管論文給出了他的聯繫方式，但目前很可能已經無法取得聯繫。不過，考慮到作者無償為歐美社區提供了包括論文及視頻在內的很多幫助，這些內容仍然是值得一讀的。

這份譯本尚處於最後一輪修訂中（最後一次更新於23.6.13），因此部分內容可能翻譯質量不佳（如格式錯誤、語句不通順、圖片缺失等）。如果覺得本文太長，可以直接閱讀文末的結論部分。

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

*Corresponding author: isler@utexas.edu

通信學院，德克薩斯大學奧斯汀分校，奧斯汀，德克薩斯，美國

*作者聯繫方式：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

心理學和行為科學研究2017, Vol. 5, No. 2, 36-44 在網上可以獲取到：

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.

現在的關於意識、人類經驗和心理健康的模型在很大程度上依賴於這個假設：每個大腦中都只有一個意識體（自我）。在此情況下，一旦與這種假設（即腦海中僅有單一的意識體）有所不同，就會遭到嚴重的污衊和歧視，並經常被認為是病理性的。本論文將通過分析多意識體的一種形式來反對這種偏見：圖帕學。

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.

圖帕學是一種冥想技術（譯者註：論文於2015年發布前，Tulpa社區內仍然以冥想為主導技術，但現在以互動和對話為主流），用於創造tulpa並與ta們互動。Tulpa被認為是大腦中的另一個完全自主的、有意識的實體。本文基於對一系列調查結果進行分析，來研究並闡明圖帕學與心理健康之間的關係。對兩個社群的調查顯示，圖帕學實踐者（宿主）中存在這樣的現象：第一，精神疾病患者較多，佔到了總人數的50％以上；第二，有許多人報告說他們的心理健康和認知能力有所改善，尤其是那些被診斷為心理或神經發育障礙的人。

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

關鍵詞：Tulpas、偷帕學、幻想夥伴、身份、多重意識身份、多意識體、多樣性、分離性身份障礙（DID）、多重人格障礙（MPD）、冥想。

Cite This Article:

引用本文獻

 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.

（譯者註：這一部分根據學術格式要求需要使用英文，故不作翻譯。此外，由於作者為跨性別者且已經進行過性別重置手術，所以他親自對我說，現在名字應該替換為Jade Isler，特此註明。）

  • 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. 導言

在醫學，社會和我們的個人偏見中，存在著關於健康、具備日常功能和幸福的最佳選擇的某些假設。其中的一種假設是要求對於單個大腦和單個身體而言，都應該只有一個意識。 這篇論文會使用「意識」來指代通過自我反思而形成身份的認知過程。「多意識體」和「多重人格」（譯者註：統一在後文譯作多意識體，用於指代現象）這兩個詞用來表示一個大腦中同時存在多個意識的現象。

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.

對單意識體模式一元論的可欲性（譯者註：desirable以及desirability是在當代政治哲學文獻中經常出現的詞，一般學界大多數學者都將desirable譯為「可欲的」，將desirability譯為「可欲性」，意指某種社會制度或社會原則是否令人嚮往、是否值得追求）的假設在關於DID的科學文獻中比在其他任何地方都要明顯，而DID其實只是多意識體的一種特殊代表。分離性身份障礙（DID）的典型特徵是：現實解體、失憶，而創傷性事件常常導致這種情況（譯者註：通常為6歲及以下時發生的心理或生理上的創傷，這些創傷可能是反覆出現和疊加的）。然而，心理學家從不提及這些功能障礙，而是經常認為多意識體本身就是DID。最新出版的《今日心理學》介紹了該疾病，並在其中暗示所有多意識體都是病態的。「分離性身份識別障礙（DID）是一種嚴重的疾病：存在兩個或多個不同的身份或人格狀態，他們交替控制一個人。」（《今日心理學》，2014年）。其中，DID並沒有像大多數疾病那樣因為「帶有負面癥狀」而被打上疾病的標籤；恰恰相反，該定義暗示多意識體本身就是問題。

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).」

在臨床心理學中，只有當一種行為抑制功能或健康時，才可以認為該行為是紊亂的（譯者註：一般認為，如果一種「癥狀」、現象本身引起了臨床意義上的痛苦，或者社交、職業等重要功能方面的損害，可以被認為是紊亂的）。此外，與尋常的人不同不應作為診斷疾病的標準。在醫學文獻中，DID似乎是該規則的例外。在DSM-V之前，診斷DID不需要痛苦或功能受損的條件。 「與其他疾病不同，分離性的身份被認為是一種疾病以及功能障礙的原因，這完全是基於那些經歷過這種疾病的人都是多意識體的情況而認定的。（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.

儘管存在這種污名，但仍有一些群體圍繞著多個意識形成，並將其視為人類認知過程中非疾病的特殊形式而接受。2010年，一個在線社區萌生了一種稱為「圖帕學」的技術。圖帕學的靈感來自傳統的西藏冥想技巧（借用「tulpa」一詞）（不準確，應該藉助的是scrupla一詞—譯者注），將其定義為創造tulpa們並與tulpas交往的做法。Tulpa在大腦中是完全獨立自主的、有意識的實體。在本文中，「宿主」一詞可與「 tulpamancer」互換（中文僅用宿主一詞—譯者注）並定義為創造tulpa並與之交往的人。本文以圖帕學和健康的多意識體的經歷作為反對在腦海中只能單個意識的原因。

註：

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並沒有將痛苦或功能障礙列為分離性身份識別障礙的診斷標準。

“分離性身份識別障礙的診斷標準。

A.存在兩個或更多不同的身份或人格狀態（每個身份或人格狀態都有自己相對持久的感知模式，思考並與環境和自我相關）。

B.這些身份或人格狀態中至少有兩個經常性地控制著該人的行為。

C. 無法回憶起重要的個人信息，而這些信息的範圍太廣，無法用普通的遺忘來解釋。

D. 這種干擾不是由於藥物的直接生理作用（例如，酒精中毒期間的停電或混亂行為）或一般的醫療狀況造成的。

  • 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，報導圖帕學的媒體和有關健康的多意識體現象還僅限於很少的在線文章，其科學依據幾乎不存在。麥吉爾大學的塞繆爾·維西耶爾教授的全新研究改變了這種情況。 Veissiere（2015）在他的論文中概述了對tulpa社區長達一年的觀察研究的結果。通過一系列的選擇調查和訪談，他收集了宿主們的人口統計數據，tulpa社區的社會文化方面信息，以及宿主相關經歷的資料。

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發現，tulpas被認為是與自己的思想截然不同的實體，超過三分之一的宿主報告說他們的tulpa們像任何自然人一樣真實。之所以會這樣，是因為tulpa看上去在情感，認知和想法上都是獨立的。宿主體驗著來自於聽覺，視覺、身體描繪和幻覺的混合感覺。附體是一種可以使tulpa暫時控制身體的技術。而交換則是當tulpa掌控身體時，宿主解離，並經歷體外感知的技術。這兩者都是社區中的常見技術，並且有關於如何掌握它們的大量指南。然而，儘管圖帕學的進階技巧，與DID的診斷標準相類似，但tulpamancy完全沒有失憶癥狀，人格解體等其他癥狀，這讓圖帕學被多次報告為積極而又令人愉快的體驗。

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.」

從人口統計學的角度來看，Veissiere將大多數宿主歸為中產階級、白人和受過教育的人。 在性格測試中，大多數的測試結果為內向害羞並且幾乎沒有社交途徑。這與他所另外發現創造tulpa的一個原因相吻合：創造tulpa的原因大多是因為孤獨。

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，所有這些與他其他的觀察形成了鮮明的對比。Veissiere發現這些人具有很高的想像力、智力和表達能力，甚至在心智理論和共情測驗上得分都高於平均水平。對於自閉症譜系中的宿主而言，甚至也一樣——即便他們有這些疾病，也沒有顯示出這些困擾。 面對這些情況，Veissiere甚至假定，tulpa可以增強思考能力和同理心。

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進一步調查了心理健康與圖帕學之間的關係，並揭示了兩者之間有著出人意料的聯繫。首先，有臨床疾病的頻率非常高：在他的樣本中，有25％的人被診斷出阿斯伯格綜合症（自閉症），有21％的人患有注意力不足症，有18％的人患有廣泛性焦慮症。相比之下，美國普通人群中這三個病症的概率分別為<1％、11％和3.1％（利斯特希爾國家生物醫學通訊中心，2016年;疾病控制與預防中心，2016年，美國國立衛生研究院（《心理健康》，2016年）。其次，Veissiere發現，報告顯示tulpa可以顯著改善宿主的心理健康和社交生活。有93.7％的受訪者表示，圖帕學可以「使他們的狀況更好」。 Veissiere詳細闡述了一個例子，在他的樣本里，有超過一半的自閉症譜系宿主說，tulpa們增強了他們的閱讀能力和理解他人的能力。這些語言支持了前面提到的測試，這些測試顯示了在自閉症譜內的宿主沒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

這項研究的是為了進一步研究這兩個關係：宿主們心理疾病頻繁發生，以及與tulpa相關的、改善心理的報道。該研究旨在弄清這些存在的關聯，並收集數據，以推測其原因。Veissiere指出，圖帕學和心理健康之間似乎存在某種聯繫，但其原因仍然是個謎。這些的關係有的解釋可能有非常多。

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.

比如說，雖然不太可能，但是宿主中精神疾病的發生頻率可能是由tulpa與精神病之間的因果關係引起的。另一種可能是，對已經被診斷出患有精神疾病的人而言，圖帕學可能更加有吸引力或者影響力。

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.

同樣的，根據已有證據，現在認為因為成為多意識體本身是治療方法，所以圖帕學改善了心理健康這一結論，是輕率的。頻繁的冥想練習本身就有很多好處（格羅斯曼，P。，尼曼，L。，施密特，S。，＆Walach，H.，2010）。宿主頻繁進行這些治療行為可能就是改善心理健康的原因，而不是tulpa特有的。同樣，通過tulpa社區建立積極的關係也可以解釋tulpa與心理健康之間的聯繫。另外，圖帕學也可能具有治療性。

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

該研究希望儘可能多地發現並確認這些可能性，以確定與圖帕學有關的這一現象的原因。

  • 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

這是一份通過觀察而非實驗的研究。一系列的隨機抽樣調查會對幾個最受歡迎的圖帕學論壇和聊天網站上的用戶調查並且收集數據。tulpa社區大多基於四個網站：http://reddit.com/r/tulpas（Reddit的分站點），http：//tulpa.info（論壇和Internet中繼聊天（IRC）），http：/ /tulpa.io（論壇）和http://tulpa.im（聊天室）。由於無法查看用戶列表，因此將tulpa subreddit排除在研究之外。 http://tulpa.info IRC，http：//tulpa.io論壇和http://tulpa.im IRC上的用戶是此次研究的被試範圍。 在調查發出當天（2016年1月13日），這些站點上總共存在365個帳戶。我們向這些帳戶發送了一條消息，希望他們對調查做出貢獻，並且參與者是僅限於收到此消息的個人。

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. 

在完成調查之前，參與者有知情同意權，需要同意公開發布其回答。在同意書內，概述了研究的目的。該調查由58個問題組成，共分為四個部分：與tulpa社區的關係，圖帕學體驗，心理健康和人口統計學信息。問題主要是有利克特量表（Likert scales），兩極選擇或簡短答案。本節的其餘部分是對結論中重要問題的概述。有關調查的全文，請參閱附錄A。

Experiences in Tulpamancy

圖帕學的體驗

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.

通過回答「您是否有系統的練習圖帕學/或tulpa嗎？」，可以確認參加調查的人是圖帕學的實踐者。 選擇是和否。回答「否」的受訪者跳過了隨後的問題，調查結束。回答「是」的受訪者會被問到更多的問題，以詢問他們創造tulpa的方法以及和tulpa之間的體驗。

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.

為了調查冥想對於圖帕學的影響——一項常和圖帕學結合在一起的技術——調查詢問：「請選擇所有你使用的練習圖帕學的相關技術」，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.」

為了探究宿主創造Tulpa的目標與他們和tulpa之間的關係如何影響他們的整體體驗，調查詢問：「 [您和您的]tulpa之間存在什麼關係？」 和「如果您的tulpa是通過明確的努力和/或塑造而來的，那麼您是出於什麼目的而創造他們的？」這兩個問題都有類似的回答選項，包括「朋友或同伴」，「戀愛關係或重要人物」，「好奇心或作為實驗」，「加入社區」和「自我改善或對生活/心理健康有好處」。」

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.

註：

2 筆者並不主張將 “低同理心 “作為自閉症的原因，或作為光譜上所有的人所擁有的東西。即便如此，研究仍然表明，平均而言自閉症，譜系患者在心智理論評估中表現較差，包括與Veissiere的樣本幾乎相同的人口統計學的成年人[8]。

3 所有的百分比都四捨五入到最近的整數。

註：

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

5：在Tulpa社區內，塑造指的是通過冥想相關的技能用於創造以及和Tulpa互動

Relationship to the Community

與社區的關係

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.」

為了探究自己的經歷和tulpa社區的作用——這二者的關係如何影響人們感知tulpa？參與者被詢問了各種問題來了解他們對線上社區的看法和參與度。 該調查問：“在1到9的評分內，您如何形容自己在Tulpa社區的參與程度？” ，調查中有類似的選項，例如“7：我經常查看或發布在社區的論壇，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.」

問卷後面問到：「您會如何描述您經常參與的tulpa社區或多意識體社區的看法？」然後是帶有以下文字的副標題：「想到時會想到什麼樣的感覺？」以及可能的回答有：「非常負面」，「負面」，「中立」，「積極」和「非常積極」。

Associations with Mental Illness

與心理疾病的關係

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.

通過調查中的幾個問題，可以探究圖帕學與疾病之間的關聯。 調查要求參與者對以下問題選擇是或否：「您是否被診斷出患有精神或神經發育障礙？」 如果選擇「是」，則將引導參與者回答更多問題，以調查與他們的病情和他們的tulpa之間的關係。 如果選擇「否」，他們將跳過這些問題，並轉到調查的下一部分。

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.」

為了探明圖帕學與精神疾病之間是否有可能存在因果關係，這些受訪者被問到「在開始練習圖帕學之前或之後，這些病是否有診斷？」 為了跟進這個問題，下一個問：「如果您在開始圖帕學後診斷出某些疾病，您認為圖帕學有助於診斷嗎？」 答覆分別為「是，明顯」，「是，有些」，「不清楚」，「否」和「不適用」。

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.」

宿主中精神病病高發也可能是由於這種做法對那些被診斷出患有疾病的人較有吸引力。為了確定，調查詢問：「您的病情是否影響了您踐行圖帕學的決定？」帶有副標題「您的疾病是否使您想創造tulpa？」 受訪者可以選擇：「是，強烈」，「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」).

繼續這一系列問題，下一個問題是：「您認為自己的疾病癥狀會影響對圖帕學的渴望嗎？」 和副標題「您的病情會讓你感覺圖帕學是一種更有吸引力或更令人享受的做法嗎？」要求受訪者選擇最能描述他們感受的選項（例如，「疾病使圖帕學成為明顯更有吸引力的做法」）。

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.」

後來的問題探討了這些被診斷為精神病的受訪者中的tulpa和察覺到的心理健康之間的關係。問題「您覺得圖帕學怎樣影響了您的病情或者你對病情的應對能力？」 這要求受訪者選擇最能描述他們經歷的選項，例如「它極大地改善了我的病情或應對能力。」

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.」

該調查還詢問了一種特定現象，該現象可能有助於解釋tulpa與宿主能察覺到的改善之間的聯繫：「您的tulpa似乎獨立於您的疾病嗎？」 問題的副標題是：「例如，如果宿主患有多動症，那麼獨立於宿主疾病的tulpa可能就不會被過度活躍和注意力不集中所困擾。 更重要地，您的tulpa似乎不受疾病的影響嗎？」 受訪者可以選擇：「是，明顯」，「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.」

其次是這次調查中最重要的問題：「您感覺多意識體對您的社交生活有何影響？」，「您感覺多意識體對您的心理健康有何影響？」和「您覺得多意識體對您的整體生活有影響嗎？」。 這三個問題的回答選項是「它產生了顯著的積極影響」，「它產生了一些積極的影響」，「它產生了中性的影響」，「它產生了一些消極的影響」，「它產生了顯著消極的影響」和「它還沒有產生影響」。

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

調查中，大多數其他問題的答案也被分析，用來查找這四個問答之間的關聯。

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

調查結束時還詢問了被訪者的年齡，性別，居住國家和種族的問題。

  • Results

F.結果

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.

在發送的365個調查請求中，總共收集到了63份調查。 由於有一位被訪者沒有練習過圖帕學並且沒有tulpa，因此刪除了1份答卷。本節概述了對這個社區所進行的研究中最重要的結果。 有關其他調查結果，請參見附錄B。

Demographics

人群統計

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％的樣本聲稱自己是白種人，其他最常見的身份是混血人（11％），亞洲人（5％）和黑人（3％）。 在性別方面，59％的受訪者為男性，

29％為女性，12％為「其他」。 樣本中共有16個國籍，其中美國佔58％（表1）。

表1. Tulpamancers的國籍（n=55）

國家 頻率

美國 32

聯合王國 5

澳大利亞 3

加拿大 2

墨西哥 2

紐西蘭 1

白俄羅斯 1

波蘭 1

比利時 1

德國 1

義大利 1

丹麥 1

新加坡 1

奧地利 1

波斯尼亞和黑塞哥維納 1

愛爾蘭 1

Experiences in Tulpamancy

圖帕學的經歷

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. 

大多數受訪者報告稱，他們在練習圖帕學的過程中進行了冥想（54％），催眠（25％）或同時做這兩種行為（21％），而31％的樣本中兩者都沒有做過。

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).

對以下問題的回答：「 [您和您的]tulpa(s)之間存在什麼關係？」 顯示了大多是tulpa是為了追尋陪伴而被創造的。「您是出於什麼目的而創建你的tulpa們？」這個問題的結果表明，這個目的在大多數案例里可以被實現，其中最多受訪者表示與自己的tulpa的關係是友誼（n = 46），浪漫（n = 18）。

Associations with Mental Illness

與精神疾病的關係

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).

據報告，有56％的樣本（n = 32）被診斷出患有精神或神經發育障礙，最常見的診斷是抑鬱症（n = 14），焦慮症（n = 10）和自閉症譜系障礙（n = 9） ）（表2）。

表2. 精神障礙的頻率（n=32）

診斷頻率

抑鬱症 14

焦慮症 10

自閉症譜系障礙 9

雙相情感障礙 5

多動症 4

強迫症 3

創傷後應激障礙 2

分離性障礙 2

應激反應綜合征 1

發育協調障礙 1

閱讀障礙症 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.

還發現這些診斷中有79％發生在練習圖帕學之前，即使在診斷之後（n = 7），只有一名受訪者表示tulpa們沒有幫助他們的診斷。

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.」

三分之二的受訪者表示，他們開始練習的決定在有些（33％）或明顯（33％）程度上，出於他們的境遇被影響。幾乎相同比例的受訪者表示，他們的病情使練習圖帕學更具有吸引力，其中37％的人表示有明顯的積極影響，37％的人表示有積極的影響，其餘的則表示「沒有或中性的影響」。

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.」

同樣，大多數受訪者報告說，他們的tulpa們對他們的疾病或應對疾病的能力有顯著（34％）或某種程度（44％）的積極影響，其餘人選擇「中性或無影響」。

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.

據悉，大多數tulpa們是獨立的，在一定程度上不受宿主條件的影響。 37％表示非常獨立，48％表示一定獨立，15％表示不獨立。

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).

大多數受訪者報告說，圖帕學對他們的心理健康（表3）和整個生活（表4）有積極影響，其中“中性無影響”是tulpa對社交生活影響的最常見結果（表5）。

譯者補充：

三張表格依次為：

Tulpa對精神健康的影響，對整體生活的影響，對社交生活的影響。

選項從上到下分別為「非常負面」，「負面」，「中立」，「積極」和「非常積極」。

Relationship to the Community

與社區的關係

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).

在受訪者中，宿主在tulpa社區的參與分布大致呈鐘形分布，高峰出現在「 7：我經常在社區的論壇，博客或聊天室中查看或發布信息」（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，大多數受訪者表示，他們對於經常與他們所在的社區區域互動的印象為：很好（18％），好（52％）或中立（29％）。

表6. 在1-9的範圍內，您如何描述您與Tulpa社區的關係？

參與Tulpa社區的情況？(n=56)

參與程度 頻率 百分比

1: 我沒有參與 5 9

2 4 7%

3: 我可能偶爾瀏覽一下博客、主題或論壇

偶爾會看一下 18 32%

4 10 18%

5: 我可能偶爾會查看或發表在

線程、論壇、聊天室或社區

相關的網站

10 18%

6 3 5%

7: 我經常查看或在論壇、博客。

或聊天室 4 7%

8 1 2%

9: 我大部分時間都在與社區進行互動

社區 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.

我們可以通過tulpa對生活以及其他方面的影響，來更好地了解圖帕學與心理健康之間的關係。有關補充數據和為本節中存在的圖表建模的表格，請參見附錄C。（我把圖粘過來了-譯者注）

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.

在調查數據和簡短問題的回應中，沒有任何證據表明圖帕學有害。 此外，幾乎所有被診斷出患有精神疾病的受訪者都說，他們的診斷髮生在有tulpa之前。這些事實應反駁了那些認為tulpa會引起精神疾病或本身就是一種疾病的假說。

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，調查結果鞏固了練習圖帕學與改善心理健康狀況，社交狀態以及整體生活之間的結論。 分析調查數據可以發現，tulpa們對於社交生活，精神健康狀況，和整體生活質量們的影響是否與問卷中的其他問題有關聯。

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（在目的和方法論部分提到的）也被研究了-首先，聯繫冥想，圖帕學的一部分，是否會影響Tulpa對精神狀態的改變？沒有發現其中的關聯，沒有冥想練習過程的人報告的改善率與有的人相似（圖1）。

圖片1 與Tulpamancy一起練習的技術與Tulpas對心理健康的影響（N=56）

從深藍到深灰色分別為：有巨大幫助，有些幫助，中性，有些負面，嚴重負面

從上到下依次為：催眠和冥想，催眠，冥想，都沒有

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).

自我實現也有可能是心理健康狀況改善的原因。為了說明對tulpa的期盼是否會對心理健康產生正面影響，研究者將受訪者開始實踐圖帕學的原因與圖帕學對他們心理健康的影響進行了比較——沒有發現任何關聯，因為為了「自我改善或生活/心理健康益處」這個目的而創建tulpa的人報告的改善率與以友誼，好奇心或其他原因的人幾乎相同（圖2）。

譯者註：因為論文本身對第二張圖和第三張圖順序反了，所以圖2對應的第三個結論，其應當也用圖三的譯文翻譯，中文改後讀起來無問題。

圖2. 製作Tulpa們的原因與Tulpa們對心理健康的影響

從深藍到深灰色分別為：有巨大幫助，有些幫助，中性，有些負面，嚴重負面

從上到下分別為：性交或者性關係，加入一個社區，浪漫或者一個浪漫的關係，自我提升或者其他健康方面的好處，好奇和實驗，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.

人們還認為，心理健康狀況的改善可能由於tulpa社區——大多數受訪者與社區有一定程度的接觸，並對此持正面積極的態度。 將tulpa的影響與受訪者對tulpa社區的參與和看法進行了比較，未發現明顯的關係（圖3）。

圖3. 對Tulpa社區的看法與Tulpa對社交生活的影響

從深藍到深灰色分別為：有巨大幫助，有些幫助，中性，有些消極，嚴重消極

從上到下依次為：嚴重消極，消極，中心或者無想法，積極，很積極

對tulpa社區持「非常積極」看法的人更有可能報告其社交生活，心理健康和整體生活得到改善。 但是，在具有「積極」看法的人中不存在這種關聯，並且具有「中性」或「負面」的對於社區的看法並不與tulpa產生更多中性或負面影響有關。 在線社區無疑是一個加分項，但它並不是tulpa能改善心理健康狀況的所有原因。

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.

即使與眾多因素進行比較，所報告的精神健康、整體生活和社交生活方面的改善似乎也與最有可能的因果替代無關。這些關聯似乎是練習圖帕學中的特有現象。

  • Conclusions

H.結論

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).

調查結果明確了Veissiere確定的兩個關係的存在。樣本中的大多數（56％）報告被診斷出患有精神障礙或神經發育障礙，與美國的18.2％的比率相比，這一比例異常高（國家精神疾病聯盟，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，沒有證據表明tulpa們引起或加劇了精神疾病。 實際上，tulpas與心理健康改善之間的關聯性的結論得到了支持，其中78％的被調查者被診斷出患有精神障礙，他們認為tulpa們對他們的病情或應對疾病的能力產生了顯著或某種積極的影響。91％的樣本聲稱tulpa們對他們的整體生活有明顯或一定的積極的影響。78％的人的心理健康狀況也得到了明顯或一些積極的影響，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.

宿主群體中高頻率的疾病很可能不是由於圖帕學在生活中是致病的，而是因為這種做法對已經診斷出疾病的人特別有吸引力。調查數據支持這一假設：66％的被診斷患有精神障礙的受訪者表示，他們的疾病在某種程度上或很大程度上促進了他們做出創造出一個tulpa的決定。

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.

要理解這一點需要考慮這兩個因素：首先，在宿主群體中最常見的兩個診斷是社交焦慮症和自閉症譜系障礙-通常與人際關係障礙相關。其次，tulpa們被宣傳為「完美的夥伴」（Veissiere，2015）。有著圖帕學資源的官方網站Tulpa.info對此進行了詳細說明。 「人們與tulpa的聯繫通常非常緊密，因為他們可以親密地接觸和了解你，並毫無保留地喜歡並信任人們，而這一切都是由於他們與宿主在同一個大腦中。這讓他們比任何人都了解你。」（Tulpa.info，2014年）。實際上，數據不僅表明，tulpa們可能對那些患有精神障礙的人更具吸引力，而且對這類人特別有益。 74％的受訪者表示，他們的病情使得圖帕學有著比較明顯或者強烈的吸引力。幾名被診斷出患有社交焦慮症的人討論了他們的tulpa不僅如何提供令人愉快，無憂的社交活動的方式，而且他們的tulpa們還幫助他們與他人進行了更積極的互動。

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是理想的伴侶，可以與宿主結成緊密的紐帶。這個想法也可以解釋tulpas與心理健康改善之間的聯繫。 壓倒性多數的宿主與他們的tulpa（或腦友）之間建立了牢固而密切的聯繫。宿主們不斷地描述他們的tulpas幫助他們保留最強的喜好，並採取措施減輕宿主生活中可能出現的任何心理或生理疾病。 如果疾病造成痛苦，一人的tulpa可以獨立於疾病外不受其困擾，那麼我們期望看到的是我們已經觀察到的情況：tulpas幫助他們的宿主應對精神疾病。

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.

在調查的每個部分的結尾，我都給受訪者一個選項，以簡短的答案形式來闡明他們的答案。 對於tulpa們可能對精神疾病造成的影響的多種多樣令人大開眼界。例如，在涉及妄想和知覺障礙的疾病中，tulpa經常在非理性的疾病發作中成為理性的聲音。一位被診斷為精神分裂症的受訪者寫道，他的tulpa不僅可以分辨出出幻覺和現實，而且他們開發了一種可以將幻覺「消除」的技巧。有報告說，tulpa們減輕了被診斷為強迫症的個體進行強迫行為的慾望，其他人則聲稱他們的tulpas找到了閱讀障礙的解決方法。

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.

即使在沒有妄想癥狀的疾病中，tulpa們仍然起到了作用。 多個被診斷出患有抑鬱症的受訪者分享了他們的tulpa們如何通過提供友誼和積極的聲音來幫助他們。 還有一些人討論了他們的tulpa們是如何防止宿主自殺的，無論是通過言語還是採取行動消除了主人對身體的控制。

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.」

人與tulpa們保持親密關係的經歷幾乎就是圖帕學的代名詞，當與更突出的圖帕學因素相結合時，即tulpa們不受疾病困擾，這種關係不同於任何有形的形式。 一位被診斷為精神分裂症的受訪者這樣說：「我一直都在聽到聲音。 很高興聽到tulpa的聲音，他給我帶來了改變。」（我覺得作者在這裡稍微摻了點私貨——譯者注。）

Considerations

注意事項

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.

認識到結果的局限性是很重要的。 無論採取何種措施確保客觀性和準確性，通過在線調查收集的自我報告數據都將受到偏見和錯覺的影響。 本文的目的不是提供關於圖帕學對心理影響的明確斷言。 相反，其目的是強調出這種關聯並建議對其進行進一步研究。 對tulpa現象的了解不僅可以使我們進一步對其說明並以應用其治療特性，而且還可以加深對人類認知及其可塑性的理解。 這項研究的最強烈建議進一步研究tulpa和健康的多意識體現象。

Implications for Clinical Perspectives

對臨床觀點的啟示

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​)​.

分離性疾病和創傷性多意識體的問題的細微差別也應加以解決。 分離性疾病（如DID）通常是兒童期創傷或虐待的結果。 而這個疾病的問題是由許多副作用引起的，例如：分隔的情緒，零散的記憶，現實解體和失憶。 這些是導致功能障礙並使DID失調的特質，而不是多意識體本身。（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.

從宿主的體驗中可以明顯看出，多意識體並不是本身就是病態的。多意識體，作為創傷後形成的副作用，和創傷所導致的癥狀時，而不是一個本身具有負面性的癥狀時，不應當被認為是一個問題。一直把多意識體當作DID中功能障礙的緣由和盡頭進行治療做法很普遍，這表明許多人對臨床心理學有一個根本的誤解。

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​).

多意識體通常會成為一種不可改變的身份，不僅難以改變，而且試圖改變多意識體是有害的。 因此，精神科醫生髮現，最有效的DID治療方法不需要合併不同的意識或強製成為一個意識體。 相反，簡單地講授以單獨的身份進行溝通、共享信息並通過被稱為「統合功能」的治療方法可以使彼此合作更有效（國際創傷與分離研究學會，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​).

圖帕學不是多意識體但非病態這種情況中的唯一一個例外。事實上，多意識個體中只有一小部分具有解離性障礙。 由於健康的多意識體很少影響日常生活的功能，因此精神衛生組織對它們的關注度大幅下降。（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.

當考慮各種不同的多意識體經歷時，多意識體似乎不是一項非凡的成就，而是更多的是一種基本的人類體驗。例如，許多小說作家報告說，他們的設計人物似乎在腦海中栩栩如生，表現出自我獨立性並被視為成熟的意識（Taylor，M.，Hodges，SD，＆Kohányi，A.，2002）。 福音派宗教人士，無論他們的特定宗教或文化如何，在神，眾神或他們的信仰精神在某種程度上可以與他們進行一定程度的互動，他們都會報告類似的現象（Luhrmann，2013）。還有一個在線社區由擁有腦中夥伴（不僅指tulpa中的宿主）組成，裡面的人表示他們記事起就是多意識體，但他們不會表現出DID中的任何負面癥狀。而且，當然也有圖帕學。在完全創建新的意識體這件事上，圖帕學獨一無二。重要的是，圖帕學是實現健康的多意識體的一種手段。

（雖然創造新的意識體不僅僅有圖帕學，但是這可能是相對最多樣、最自由的方法–譯者注）

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.

多意識體是一種健康和具有正常功能的生活狀態，這一概念反駁了最常見的人類認知狀態（單意識體—譯者注）被認為是這些達到健康、功能性所需要的這一規則。

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.

社會應該接受具有不同心理狀態的人，而不是將他們標記為病態，低等的，或者把需要變成正常人的人類叫做「神經多樣性症候群」。ASD（自閉症譜系）社區最常支持這種想法，並聲稱自閉症是一種狀態，而本身並不失調——更準確地說，這是人類認知的另一種狀態，有著自身的優劣。

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.

多意識體和正常人不一樣，但具有成為一個健康的人的能力、具有功能的甚至最佳狀態的存在。多意識體的存在應該被去除污名化，並增加到神經多樣性的行列里。我們應該重視、接受和包容多意識個體的存在，而不是將它們排除在外。

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.

傑德·艾勒（Jade Isler）是德克薩斯大學奧斯汀分校的心理學學生。 當三年前他開始親自實踐圖帕學時，就對它產生了興趣，並且直接享受著圖帕學帶來的好處。 他經營著一個博客，在其中撰寫有關該主題的觀點，諷刺文學和研究論文，其中一些已在播客和社會心理學雜誌PrimeMind中得到引用。 他認為，研究單意識體和圖帕學不僅可以激發開創性的精神疾病新療法，而且可以進一步科學地認識人類的意識和認知。

Acknowledgements

致謝

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.

我要感謝tulpa社區以及tulpa.io和tulpa.info的開明、並樂於與我的研究合作的管理員。 我還要感謝奧斯丁大學心理學系的Krittika Krishnan作為導師在整個項目的最後階段提供指導。最後，我要感謝參與這項研究的每個人都做出了慷慨的貢獻和反饋-沒有那麼高的響應率和精簡但詳細的信息，這篇論文的寫作將是不可能做到的。

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

縮略語列表

ADHD：注意力缺陷多動症

ASD：自閉症譜系障礙

DCD：發育協調障礙

DSM： 精神障礙診斷與統計手冊

DID：分離性身份識別障礙

IRC：互聯網中繼聊天

OCD：強迫症

PTSD：創傷後應激障礙

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.

競爭性利益聲明

作者是一名練習中的宿主，也是tulpa社區的活躍成員。他在2013年4月親身體驗了tulpa創作，並從2014年7月起成為在線社區的貢獻成員。與他的tulpa，Aury一起，Isler以 “Ford and Aury “和 “fordaplot “的用戶名活躍，他們通過這些用戶名與社區分享他們的經驗、理論和初步結果。他們經營著一個Tumblr博客，記錄他們與tulpa有關的工作和經驗，他們還經營著一個YouTube頻道，播放與多意識體有關的教育視頻、基於訪談的播客和可視化的圖帕學指南。

作者沒有其他競爭性利益。

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譯者後記：

其他術語表：

多意識體 Plurality/Multiplicity

這兩個辭彙被定義為，一個身體內有多個人共存的現象。其中，Plurality一詞更在健康的多意識體社群中說，Multiplicity一般在創傷性多意識體中說。就像「多意識體」在中文中用的更多的也是健康的多意識體社區，而「多重人格」正好相反。

意識體 Headmate/Self Agent

定義為單獨的一個意識的稱呼——通常情況下，這一意識可以作為完整的、獨立的人運轉。在中文Tulpa社區中，Host（宿主）和Tulpa都是意識體的別名，Tulpa的意思基本可以與「意識體」相互替代。

總結一下本文的觀點：

1. 帶有精神疾病的患者會認為圖帕學更有吸引力，這是為什麼Tulpa社區有如此多的精神疾病，Tulpa本身不是精神疾病，也不導致精神疾病。
2. Tulpa在一定程度上不會收到宿主的精神疾病的影響，甚至能幫助直接、間接的克服。
3. Tulpa對社交、心理健康、生活均有一定的正面影響，這種影響與創造動機、社區支持、創造Tulpa的方法、對Tulpa的期待無關（因此決不是安慰劑效應）。
4. Tulpa可以說明，多意識體並非本身就是有害的，因此更好的方式是統合功能
5. 其他類似的健康多意識體有系魂、和宗教產生的。
6. 多意識體是人類神經多樣性的表現。