Christo

Yes, sure. It's in the first part of meditation when he usually brings the attention to motivation. He says something like "It's really important to reflect on what your motivation for today is. What is it you're looking to learn today. Perhabs just bring into mind that this exercise can have a really big impact on the people you come into contact with." And I agree, it does help to bring attention to how much value you add to the lives of other people and vice versa. I just feel annoyed when contenplating on my own selfish motivations, he quickly comes in with the "impact on other people". It's teasing really.

Hello Nathan! I found that a tea mug suits well for a totem. And yes, many times it felt like my parts "saw through" that superficial mask. Reflecting on it has helped me gain better awareness of my habits of dealing with unpleasent situations in a pretentious way. Thanks for the encouraging example. Have a great day! I was surprised when I saw you mention Headspace. It's a great tool and has been a huge help in my life and probably the main reason why I'm starting IFS again. Only thing that bothers me is their altruistic approach to self-knowlege and I sometimes feel quite resentful towards him. How do you feel about it?

Thank you, it's definitely helpful. I've done sentance completion excercises before and I think I see how it can work in combination with what you call "symptom deprivation". It's a fascinating idea and I can't wait to try it out. I'm not sure though I understand what exactly you meant by a "symptom". In IFS terms, what came to mind was a quality of a part- an emotion or a behavioral pattern for example, but im not sure. Could you clarify?

I recently rediscovered Jay Early's Self-Therapy audiobook and I'm wondering if anybody has experience with the IFS approach, and I'd like to know how you guys have made it work in your life. I have a little experience with this method starting about 8 months back. At first I did the guided meditations and got some success. I tried meditating on my own which didn't work as well and finally did some IFS style journaling. Journaling was the most difficult and painful, but it helped me get to know some very neglected parts of my psyche. I gave up about 2 months in and I'd like to find out how to deal with some issues when I run into them again. I ran into real difficulties when the angry and aggressive parts started to come up. I never got into self when those parts were near. I remember being very scared and helpless, and the way I tried to deal with these raging parts was superficially polite and apologetic. There's a strong sence of polarised fear and rage when I read my old journal. If anyone has advice to offer, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, I will

Hello everybody, Autumn in Estonia is so dark and clowdy it sometimes feels like nightime for a week. Last year's was especially gloomy for me. I had quit university and went back to live with my mother. I felt less than human - drowning in shame and constantly self-attacking. Like a ghost, disconnected and foggy, unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. Then I found FDR. It was like food after starvation and there was so much. Half a year in and I no longer had a sence of identity nor any control over where I was heading. I was so afraid of going crazy, I wasn't able, nor wanted to interact with people anymore. I'm really grateful to everybody who called in the show. It helped me more than I know. I have also been reading on the boards for a while now and thought it's about time I'd say hey. It's been a year since I came across FDR and what a year it's been. I got out from the human-meat-grinder of the past and away from my parents. This fall is the brightest yet.