🔼: [[Turn Toward]], [[Turn Away]] ##### 🕯️ Titration >"The great thing, then, in all of education, is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy." >— William James, 1857 >”*Less is more.*” Titration is a term borrowed from Chemistry. If we take two chemicals and pour all of both into a new vessel, they’ll combust and make a big mess. If instead we add them bit-by-bit, drop-by-drop, there’s a fizzle and a settling and eventually the new vessel is full and the chemicals are mixed. Outside of Chemistry, it refers to the practice of staying within and expanding our [[💡 Window of Tolerance|Window of Tolerance]] by deliberately leaving our [[💡 Window of Tolerance#Comfort Zone|Comfort Zone]], entering our [[💡 Window of Tolerance#Challenge Zone|Challenge Zone]], and then falling back to our [[💡 Comfort Zone|Comfort Zone]] for [[⭐️ Rest and Restoration]] and [[🕯️ Resourcing]] while our bodymind integrates our experiences all by itself. We can't grow in our [[💡 Comfort Zone|Comfort Zone]], but we don't want to be [[💡 Overwhelm|overwhelmed]] all the time — so we titrate to stay whelmed and couple it with [[🕯️ Pendulation]] as an essential skill. - Keep it simple. There's no use in overwhelming yourself with fifty books and YouTube channels and doom-scrolling through mental health posts on social media — one thing at a time, at your parts' pace. - What's the [[🔑 Do the next right thing|🔑 next right thing]]? - [[A therapist can help us learn to titrate]] - [[🔑 Recovery is non-linear and cyclical]] - [[🔑 Progress accumulates]] - [[🔑 Go at your pace]] ![[Combining Pendulation and Titration]] ###### Slow is Smooth, and Smooth is Fast If we're [[🦮 How to Recover from Trauma|recovering from trauma]], it’s even more important to go slowly and softly. It's common for [[💡 Exiles|exiles]] to show up spontaneously after [[F5 — BeFriend the Part|we get to know and befriend]] our [[💡 Protector Parts|Protectors]].[^3] Some protectors step aside very easily. If that does happen, immediately [[🔑 Most parts can choose to not overwhelm us if asked|🔑 ask the exiles to not overwhelm]].[^4] ###### Related - [[🕯️ Pendulation]] - [[🛠 Containment]] - [[🛠 Exposure Therapy]] [^1]: [[📖 ✅ IFS Online Circle]] Month 2: The Protective System & Fears of the Protectors [^2]: [[📖 🟢 Self-Therapy - A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS, A New, Cutting-Edge Psychotherapy, 2nd Edition]] Ch. 16 Tips on Working with a Therapist [^3]: [[📖 ✅ IFS Online Circle]] Month 2: The Protective System & Fears of the Protectors - Month 2 with Richard Schwartz [^4]: [[📖 ✅ IFS Online Circle]] Month 3: Working with Exiles & The Trauma Behind the Rage - Month 3 with Toni Herbine-Blank