Concentric Circles

by Charity, Mary, and Allegra

[Posted to a singleton friend on a list for multiples.]

We understand feeling isolated.  We live alone, which is the best choice for us given all of our personal issues.  But we do isolate because we don't trust others, and most of the outside world has no concept about what multiples deal with.

But because of various current circumstances in our life, we've had to learn to push ourselves to interact with outsiders/singletons a lot more, because we need to develop what a friend of us once called "circle D relationships."  Think of your personal world as a set of concentric circles.  Your D circle is people that you see every day but only deal with on a superficial level.  For example, the man who makes your tuna sandwich at Subway.  Then there's your C circle, which is people that you deal with regularly and know somewhat, but still aren't close to them.  These would be your co-workers, members of your extended family, your doctors, and so forth.  Your B circle would be people you're closer to, but wouldn't necessarily share the most vulnerable aspects of your life.  That would be reserved for people in your A circle.

Our A circle is our system, our T, our first brother, and people on here and on PsychForums.  That's about it.