Dethroning Your Inner Critic in Eating Disorder Recovery: Part I

There's an inner critic in all of us! Some are just louder and meaner. You can talk back to your critic. Once you understand that your "inner critic" is scared for you; you can learn to soothe the inner critic's fears and send it packing! Practice saying kind things to yourself...

Ilissa

You know how sometimes you mean to do something but somehow it never happens? Or you have a goal, but seem to keep doing the opposite? In February I suggested thinking of an “objecting part” of you that feels differently about your conscious goal, worrying that doing that thing, reaching that goal might make things worse for you in ways your conscious mind isn’t considering. The “objecting part” speaks through sabotage rather than words. (Check out “Getting Unstuck in Eating Disorder Recovery by Befriending Objecting Parts” to learn more.)

Objecting parts are examples of parts of your mind that have a purpose, that is, they are trying to do something important for you. The objecting part’s purpose is to put on the brakes when it has doubts or fears, sometimes unconscious ones, about the direction you’re heading. Your eating disorder probably includes a number of parts with a purpose. For instance, you’ve probably got a part that has cued you to go straight into eating disorder behavior when difficult emotions pop up. Read More>>>