Friday, July 3, 2015

How To Silence Your Inner Critic


Are you eating as a way of escaping a loud inner voice?  Do you tell yourself things like:

You're not good enough
You don't deserve to be happy
You're such a loser

Or worse?

Food can momentarily take you away from that internal critic, the part that attacks your spirit and stop you from living your best life.

(Hint:  a quick way of identifying your inner critic is to catch when you talk to yourself in second person "You're a loser" rather than, "I'm a loser")
 
 
Here's how to silence that mean voice: 

Imagine a mental courtroom.   You're well-acquainted with your internal prosecutor/ critic.  Now, cultivate an internal defense attorney.   

When the prosecutor says you're not good enough, OBJECT.  Then, take the floor and demand evidence for these accusations.   Remember, a judge will tell you:

Feelings are not facts.

Feelings are not admissible as evidence.  If you "feel" like there's something wrong with you, challenge that notion.  If you "feel" like you should be in a different place in your life, challenge that, too.  Give your defense attorney an equal opportunity to be heard.

When the internal prosecutor accuses you of not being good enough, don't accept it as the truth.

Demand that the prosecutor define "good enough" (by the way, that is subjective and NOT a number on the scale).

What criteria form the basis of this accusation?  Is it your weight?  What else?

Present alternative evidence to the court

Think about how you actually live your life.  If you're reading this, there is likely a part of you that is proactive, hopeful and willing to consider new perspectives.  If you have tried and failed many diets, you're not a failure - you're really tenacious.

When you weigh the evidence and judge for yourself, chances are you'll come to a different conclusion than if you only look at yourself from the eyes of a prosecutor.

Stop punishing yourself for crimes you haven't committed.  

Liberate yourself from that inner prosecutor and feel better about yourself, so you won't use food for comfort or distraction or restrict food to give yourself a sense of wellbeing.


Dr. Nina

No comments: