# 386. Why You Do What You Do: An Introduction to Internal Family Systems Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/relationships-made-easy-1024411/386-why-you-do-what-you-do-an-introduction-to-internal-family-systems Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/relationships-made-easy-1024411/386-why-you-do-what-you-do-an-introduction-to-internal-family-systems.md Podcast: [Relationships Made Easy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/relationships-made-easy-1024411) Published: 2026-06-08T23:00:21+00:00 Episode link: https://abbymedcalf.com/what-is-internal-family-systems-ifs-therapy Audio file: https://audio4.redcircle.com/episodes/67bfa923-5b2d-4c54-bc26-f38114c50754/stream.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/relationships-made-easy-1024411/episodes/386-why-you-do-what-you-do-an-introduction-to-internal-family-systems Duration seconds: 2634 ## Resource You've tried to change. You've done the work. And you still find yourself asking: why do I keep doing this? Today, I want to give you a framework that might finally answer that question. It's called Internal Family Systems, or IFS, and it explains why you react so differently depending on who you're with, why self-compassion feels impossible no matter how many times someone tells you to practice it, and why you keep choosing the same kind of person even when you know better. Nothing is wrong with you. You might just be missing a map. ____________________________ Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/what-is-internal-family-systems-ifs-therapy Download The 8 C's Self-Energy Check: How much Self-energy are you accessing right now? https://abbymedcalf.com/self-energy-check Join my online community, One Love Collective, on Substack: https://abbymedcalf.com/substack . You'll get... ✨ Early drops + ad-free podcast episodes ✨ Worksheets, journal prompts, downloads, and guided visualizations ✨ Community chats and live Q&A calls with Abby _________ Subscribe to the Love Letter and get my little messages each week! https://abbymedcalf.com/loveletter-opt-in/ 👉 Pick up a copy of my new book, Boundaries Made Easy: Your Roadmap to Connection, Ease and Joy: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries 👉 Pick up The Workbook: Boundaries Made Easier to use as a companion to the book or as a standalone masterclass: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries-workbook 👉 Buy my #1 bestselling book on Amazon, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing: https://abbymedcalf.com/book ____________________________ Looking for past episodes of the Relationships Made Easy Podcast? Head over to https://abbymedcalf.com/podcast-the-archives where you’ll find past episodes. Ready to dig d… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/relationships-made-easy-1024411/episodes/386-why-you-do-what-you-do-an-introduction-to-internal-family-systems/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/relationships-made-easy-1024411/386-why-you-do-what-you-do-an-introduction-to-internal-family-systems.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.