Internal Personas

Understanding internal parts is necessary for psychological functioning. The article treats binge eating work as negotiation with an identifiable part of the self rather than a fight against a diffuse problem. Noticing a feeling does not obligate a behavioral response. The default assumption is that internal states are authoritative and that feeling compelled to do something means one must act on it. The article asserts that people contain multiple versions of themselves with competing motivations and strategies. A person can consciously disengage from a feeling without suppressing it or being dishonest about it. A problematic persona should be named and linked to when it appears. Understanding an internal part should not mean letting it control a person's identity narrative. Internal states encompass emotions, urges, and habitual feelings.