Give a Name to Your Inner Negative Voice
Our internal critics can be downright disgusting to us. They tell us that we are not smart enough, talented enough, or attractive enough. And even if deep down we don’t believe that it’s true, the inner critic is hard to ignore. After all, it is our own voice, and our voice should be trusted.
Reddit user u / RagingWaffles has a suggestion in this post: To distance yourself from your inner negative voice, give it a name:
Give the negative voice a name in your head and every time you think of something negative, say that name to stop it.
When you associate a name with this, it is no longer you who are talking, it is them. We usually don’t have a defense mechanism against ourselves, but we do have a defense mechanism against outside comments.
“But what if the external comments are correct?” This is a negative voice. You do the best you can with what you are dealing with.
This method is supported by mental health professionals, including psychologist Christa Smith, who writes for Psychology Today that naming your inner critic allows you to see him for who he is.
When you call your critic, he loses some of his power because you admit that you are not the problem. You don’t need to be corrected. The real problem is that you believe everything the critic tells you.
Once you have decided to name your inner negative voice, you must choose what suits it. Commenters on another Reddit post on this topic made several suggestions, including Bartholomew, Kevin, Jane, or Chad (because “nobody likes Chad” – sorry Chads).
But the best suggestion comes from u / DixonReuel:
I call my Wesley. Like Wesley Crusher.
“Oh shut up, Wesley!”
Works every time.
Your negative inner voice has no chance against Captain Picard.
Updated at 5:15 pm, April 9, 2019: Attribution changed to confirm that the original idea was first posted on Reddit by u / RagingWaffles.