
How do you speak to yourself?
Recently I was running around in the morning, trying to do paperwork before leaving for work, unable to find my keys and my mood deteriorated. I noticed that I was berating myself.. "oh for gods sake", "you are stupid", "you are useless". These angry and frustrated words were going round my head. When I opened the washing machine to find a dark wash covered in tiny bits of tissue, once again I caught myself “oh you idiot, why didn’t you check the pockets?”. Why was I talking to myself like this? As soon as I noticed what I was doing, it reminded me of many sessions with clients where it is clear that they have an unkind voice in their heads. I often notice with clients how they speak to themselves. They are often unaware that they are even doing it. Clients sometimes say things like “it’s pathetic but....” or “I know it’s stupid but...”.
We talk to ourselves (in our heads...