IFS · IFS
IFS with Addiction — The Firefighter Part
The using part is a firefighter — get curious about its job
In IFS, the part using is a firefighter — activated in emergencies to douse an exile's pain. Fighting the firefighter fails; getting curious about its job is what starts to change things.
The using part — describe it (age it feels, what it looks like)
When it takes over (triggers, exile pain being touched)
What is it protecting me from feeling?
What does it think would happen if it didn't do this job?
What Self wants to say to it: gratitude, apology, invitation
The firefighter is not the enemy
It saved you when nothing else was available. Recovery is not about defeating it — it's about giving it a new job, once the exile is heard and healed.