The Burden of Putting Others' Needs First: An IFS Perspective

Have you ever found yourself avoiding people, holding back from connection, or staying quiet even when part of you longs to feel close to others?

From an Internal Family Systems (IFS) perspective, responses like these can be understood as the work of protective parts.

Protective parts aren’t necessarily trying to make life difficult. Often, they learned ways of responding that once helped keep us safe. A strategy that made sense when we were young can continue long after the original circumstances have changed.