Keywords:: PermanentNote makePublic
Reference:: Self-Therapy by Jay Earley
This is a neat analogy for IFS parts for younger generations.
Parts are like programs or apps that were installed in the past. The program was installed because sometime in the past appeared a need to handle external stimuli in order to survive or thrive. Parts manifest themselves in different ways; you can experience them in a form of bodily sensations, emotions, inner images, thoughts, movements, and behaviors.
The parts that cause or appear as negative emotions like anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, disgust, and so on were likely the result of external stimuli that was dangerous (at that time)—e.g., your father beating you out of anger.
However, although these programs were useful in the past, they aren't anymore because the circumstances have almost certainly changed. Parts form mostly in childhood and things that were dangerous back then are likely to be harmless today. Nevertheless, the apps that handled these dangers in the past still exist. What's more, they not only exist but are acting as if time stopped for them.
These programs become active when triggered with similar stimuli to the one that created them. E.g., a part that appeared when your father was beating you, gets activated when your boss, who looks similar to your father, gets angry and screams. Others might think that he's just being a dick who can't handle his emotions, but for you, however, because of having the app, it's something that makes you irrationally anxious and scared.
What IFS does is update those old applications. This process is called healing or unburdening and it's about connecting to the old hurt parts, empathizing with them, burning the old emotions and memories that gave birth to them, replacing them with positive emotions, and taking these part into a new safe place.
Relevant notes (PN: )/questions (Q:):
PN: Control over emotions is a superpower: IFS gives you the tools to better handle your emotions.