How are you talking to yourself?
We get so used to our negative patterns of thought and self-talk, that we are often unaware of how much internal stress we are piling on ourselves.
Certain personality traits can make us more vulnerable to internal stress
If you have a strong inner critic, or are prone to beating yourself up, judging yourself, comparing yourself negatively to others etc… then all of these traits will be causing internal stress.
Mindfulness can help us to notice our thoughts and the way we talk to ourselves. When we become aware of how hard we’re being on ourselves, we can begin to change it.
Take some time to give yourself a mental hug or high five today, and recognise that you’re doing your best.
Get to know your inner critic
Another way of exploring this can be to give those negative thought patterns a voice through journalling. Try letting your inner critic take the wheel and see what it says. Ask it what it’s afraid of, and why it’s working so hard. These challenging parts of our personality are always trying to keep us safe, but they are doing it in an unhelpful way. When you befriend these ‘protector’ parts of yourself, they tend to soften with time.
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The quote in the graphic is from When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté