I often tell clients that all of us hear voices – not just one, but a veritable committee meeting going on inside our heads. A prominent voice at the conference table is often given to our inner critic — that annoying, troubling, undermining voice that expresses our inner doubts and fears and tends to make us miserable and undermine our self-esteem.
My friend Rik Isensee, a psychotherapist in San Francisco, has written a short, helpful guide to dealing with this voice. Shut Yourself Up! Stop Your Inner Critic from Sabotaging Your Success is a very quick read and a fine guide to interrupting one of the major challenges to mental health. Rik puts cognitive therapy principles into easily understood, accessible terms.
Rik’s advice is sound and a good help in developing self-compassion – something I encourage my clients to nurture in themselves. If you find yourself troubled by your own internal faultfinder, I recommend you read this book.