Firefighters

Let’s talk about our inner firefighters. According to Dr. Richard Schwartz and his Internal Family Systems Model, these are parts of us that come out swinging, ready to put the fire out and do not care what damage they inflict along the way. 

Our inner firefighters are typically responses that are extreme. These responses intend to protect us, and have typically been reinforced from surviving past painful or distressing experiences. The problem is, often we perceive a raging fire, when we are just dealing with a little bit of smoke, or maybe there’s no fire or threat at all. We do not want to take the house down and cause unnecessary damage. 

Practice noticing next time or reflect back to a time when you FELT like you had a fire to put out. Was it a truly needed response or did it just feel that way? Because, if there is a fire, we might need the firefighters. But if there is not, take a step back and see what other responses are available. The house will be glad it was left standing once the dust settles.  

Written by Dr. Lacey Wright, PsyD