10/22/2025
Our friends at Campbell County Su***de Awareness and Prevention - CCSAP put together this AWESOME graphic! We love it!
🧠 **Let’s Talk Mental Health & “Parts Work”** 🌿
Over the past year or so, I’ve been learning more about *Parts Work* — a therapeutic approach that invites us to explore the different “parts” within ourselves, especially the ones that often seem at odds with our peace of mind.
There’s a part of me that *craves perfection*. It wants everything just right. It pushes me to achieve, to prove, to polish every detail. And for a long time, I thought this part was just “me.” But what I’ve come to realize is that this perfectionist part is actually a *protector*. It’s trying to keep me safe — safe from failure, judgment, shame. It believes that if I just get everything “perfect,” I’ll be okay. I’ll be loved. I’ll be enough.
There’s also a part of me that *needs control* — over outcomes, people, even my own emotions. This part grips tightly because it fears what might happen if I let go. Underneath, it’s usually a scared child, trying to create stability in an unpredictable world.
These parts mean well. They’re trying to protect me the best way they know how. But the irony is… these protectors can *become* the source of my suffering. 😔
They contribute to my anxiety — constantly scanning for what could go wrong, what needs fixing, what’s not good enough.
They contribute to my depression — whispering that I’ve failed, that I’ll never measure up, that I’ve lost control.
So what do we do?
🧘♀️ The work begins by *noticing* these parts — not fighting them, not judging them. Just noticing.
💬 Ask them questions:
“What are you afraid would happen if you didn’t do your job?”
Often, you’ll hear something like: “You’ll get hurt. You’ll be rejected. You’ll be abandoned.”
❤️ Then comes compassion. These parts aren’t bad *there are no bad parts*. They’re just scared. And they need *you* — your calm, your care, your presence.
🌬️ Practices that help:
* Breathwork to bring you back into your body
* Grounding techniques (touching something cold, naming 5 things you see)
* Movement: even gentle stretching or walking
* Journaling a conversation with your “perfectionist” or “controller” part
* Therapy or IFS (Internal Family Systems) work, if it’s available to you
You are *not broken*. You are beautifully complex. And every part of you is just trying to survive — until you show it that it’s safe to *thrive*.
If this resonates, you’re not alone. I’m walking this path, too. ❤️
Great YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/YP_v8kR-F20?si=evfUsTUQ_IWURNr6
