Day 6: When Shame Speaks Loudest

Your inner critic isn’t the truth-teller she pretends to be.

Welcome back to Day 6 of Coming Home to Your Body.

So far, we’ve named the ways we disappear, traced where shame began, noticed the armor we carry, borrowed our child’s loving gaze, and reclaimed the mirror.

Today, we turn toward the voice that often drowns everything else out: the inner critic.

That relentless narrator.

That perfectionist taskmaster.

That part of you that insists you’ll only be enough when you’ve fixed yourself.

Photo by zero take on Unsplash

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🔊 The Voice in My Head

I can still hear her.

“You’re slipping.”

“Everyone can see you’ve gained weight.”

“Why can’t you just get it together?”

For years, I mistook that voice for discipline, for motivation, for truth.

But really? She was shame in disguise.

A part of me believed if I could keep her happy, maybe I’d stay safe. Maybe I’d finally be acceptable.

But no matter how much I obeyed, the voice only grew louder.

It took years to realize: my inner critic was trying her best to protect me. In the process, she was also exhausting me.

And underneath her harshness was a frightened part of me, desperate to avoid rejection.