Comedy for Your Inner Voices
Comedy for Your Inner Committee: How Humour Disarms the Parts That Other Therapy Can Not Reach.
If you’ve ever argued with yourself, or said, “Part of me wants to... but another part of me…” congrats, you’ve met your internal cast of characters. Or as psychologists might call them: archetypes, subpersonalities, or, in the world of IFS (Internal Family Systems) simply, parts.
Now, don’t panic. You’re not losing your mind. You’ve just got a full-time group chat going in your head. And some of them have very strong opinions.
Meet Your Inner Mob
We all have parts. Think of them as aspects of your personality that developed over time to help you survive, stay safe, or look good at work parties. They usually fall into a few broad categories:
Managers – Control freaks. They keep you “together,” productive, and safe from embarrassment. They often hate vulnerability.
Firefighters – The chaos crew. When pain flares up, they rush in with distractions. Wine. Netflix. Doomscrolling. Sudden, intense cleaning, or biting your partner’s head off.
Exiles – Tender, wounded parts. The quiet ones carry shame, fear, or old heartbreak. They don’t speak up much… but they run deep.
And then you, the Self, you are the compassionate, calm one in the middle… when you’re not being hijacked by one of the above.
So Where Does Comedy Fit In?
Let me tell you something manager parts hate…
Being laughed at.
Which is exactly why it works.
You see, these parts are deeply committed to keeping you safe. But they’re also kind of uptight. They don’t like being told what to do, and they certainly don’t want to be “healed.” (Because what if healing is risky? What if it's embarrassing? What if we cry in public? What if we become too vulnerable and fall down a dark hole of meh!)
But you know what they can handle?
A little light-hearted fun.
Laughter as a Back Door to Healing
When you laugh at a part, not with cruelty, but with affection, you take the sting out of the story. You pop the bubble. Suddenly, that inner critic who sounds like your Year 9 English teacher becomes a slightly ridiculous caricature. That anxious planner becomes a clipboard-wielding intern who just wants a biscuit and a break.
Humour loosens the grip.
It doesn’t deny the pain. It just lets the parts breathe. It tells them, “You’re seen. You’re a bit much. And it’s OK.”
Why It Works (Neuroscience Lite)
Laughter activates your parasympathetic nervous system, your rest-and-digest state. It signals to your body: We’re safe. Which is exactly what these parts need to stop panicking.
In IFS, the goal is to meet each part with curiosity and compassion. Comedy just adds a wink and a nudge:
In Therapy, In Life, On Stage
In my work, whether in a theatre or a therapy room (www.beckywalsh.com), I use humour to bypass resistance. I’ve found that when people can laugh at the absurdity of their inner worlds, they access change faster. Because the parts aren’t being fixed. They’re being seen, gently, with a giggle and in that moment, they can often see the ridiculousness of holding on to the logic of an 8-year-old.
I’ve seen people have emotional breakthroughs not after an hour of heavy talk, but after one moment of laughing at themselves and going, “Oh god. That’s me, isn’t it?”
Yes. It is. And it and all of your parts are beautiful (Stop it, smutty!).
Your parts aren’t broken. They’re just trying very hard. And sometimes, what they need isn’t a fight, or a deep dive, or a breakthrough.
Sometimes they just need a laugh.