Switching

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Switching is when the current fronter(s) of the system changes. The term is used in the medical field.

This can vary between something that happens constantly, or by accident, to something that requires much effort or happens only once a day or once a week. The experience of what switching is like also varies between systems.

Switching can also take varying amounts of time, which can sometimes result in blend states in the in-between time.

History
The change of current fronter has been described as "switch over [to another member]" as early as 1972, referring to the observation of a front trigger as "evocation [of another member]". Switching as a specific term has been in use since at least 1982, and may have been further elaborated on and popularised by Putnam in 1988 with his classification of multiplicity as a "state-change disorder".

Related Terms
"Switchy" is used by some systems when they are switching a lot or if they feel like they are about to switch.

Fronting is the general term for the process of members taking over for interacting with the outside world.

Some systems experience headpressure while switching, or when a member is trying to cause a switch.