IFS and Our Eating Parts: Who's at the Table with Tammy Sollenberger

<p dir="ltr" data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: center;">Has something like this every happened to you?  </p> <p dir="ltr">You find yourself standing at your pantry, having just eaten a half-bag of Oreos--and you can't really remember eating them.  And then the guilt comes in, because of course you "shouldn't" have eaten those.  And that critical voice starts in with "How could you do that?  You're going to gain weight.  Why can't you control yourself?  What's wrong with you?  You should know better!"</p> <p dir="ltr">And then you toss the Oreos in the trash--because they're just plain evil--and vow to never bring them into the house again.</p> <p dir="ltr">This is a cycle that happens <em>sooooo</em> often.  We eat something we "shouldn't," and then we beat ourselves up for it.  And we punish ourselves by taking the enjoyable food away.  </p> <p dir="ltr">But instead of berating ourselves....</p> <p dir="ltr" data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: center;"> <strong><span data-redactor-span="true" data-redactor-style-cache= "color: rgb(88, 70, 102);">What if we just got curious about what was happening?</span></strong></p> <p>What if we were genuinely interested in why we ate what we ate?  What if we really wondered about what led us to those Oreos?  And what if we had some compassion for the parts of us that felt the need to eat them?  </p> <p>Being curious about why we do what we do is one of the hallmarks of Internal Family Systems, or IFS.  Instead of berating ourselves about what we've thought, felt, or done, <em>we get curious about it</em>.  Why did I say that?  Why do I feel this way?  Why did I do that?  </p> <p><strong>Try this little exercise and see if you notice the difference</strong>.  Think back to a time where you ate something you "shouldn't have."  Think about how you responded to that.  Were you angry at yourself?  Did you come down really hard on yourself?  Did you vow to change your behavior?  If you did, notice how that makes you feel.  Really focus on the bodily sensations that come up