How does a person connect to their true self?
Celeste Rains-Turk
Licensed Associate Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Personal Development Mentor, Podcast Host, Best-Selling Author
How does a person connect to their true self?
By learning to communicate with every part, aspect, & contributing factor of their being
When you sort through the roles, identities, & defense mechanisms constantly influencing automatic thoughts & behaviors, you get closer to your core
But it’s very difficult because we are complex & our brain is so amazing it does anything it can to protect us so we can be functioning members of society, especially within communities we want to be highly regarded in
It is not comfortable to sit with ourselves & confront these varying parts of our identity or makeup & say, “hi, why are you here?” Or “hi, can we try something different today?” Or “hi, I think you’ve done a great job protecting me from xyz but is there another job I could give you that would allow me to abc moving forward?”
You might think this sounds crazy
But there is a psychotherapy model called Internal Family Systems that I appreciate a lot as it unpacks the many puzzle pieces that craft our entire self
It emphasizes a compassionate, curious, & creative approach to addressing all parts of ourselves so we can free parts of ourselves that have been locked up by other parts of our relational being and self
Its really not as complicated as it sounds. Exploring resources on IFS & the 3 parts (managers, firefighters, and exiles) is super interesting. If you’d like more resources on it feel free to message me and I can send some or you can do some google searching. Lots of self-guided options out there but working with a professional can be very beneficial in making sense of these parts too
It’s actually been highly regarded in treatment of bulimia nervosa given its cyclical nature which I’ve described in past posts acting like a justification for repeat offenses against ourselves (binge, guilt, restrict, trigger, binge…)
I’m also happy to expand on this topic in future posts if it’s of interest to you all?
Do you feel like you have different parts within your brain or identity combatting for your attention or battling each other sometimes?
To do this or not to do this or I did this and oh shoot now I need to do this because of that…well, you’re not crazy!