Name It to Tame It: Identifying & Owning Negative Self-Talk

 

You can’t heal what you won’t acknowledge—and that includes the inner critic living rent-free in your head.

Negative self-talk can sound like your voice, but it often echoes someone else’s expectations, judgments, or pain. And the longer it goes unchecked, the more it becomes your belief system.

Common Forms of Negative Self-Talk:

• “I’m not good enough.”

• “I always mess things up.”

• “No one cares what I have to say.”

• “Why even try? I’ll probably fail.”

• “They’ll think I’m too much.”

How to Identify It:

1. Notice patterns. Is there a theme in your inner dialogue?

2. Check your body. Negative thoughts often trigger tension or unease.

3. Ask: Would I say this to someone I love? If not, it doesn’t belong.

4. Track your triggers. Certain people, situations, or failures may reactivate old scripts.

How to Own It & Shift It:

• Replace “I’m not enough” with “I am learning and growing every day.”

• Speak to yourself like you would your inner child—with love, not punishment.

• Use affirmations that align with your truth, not just toxic positivity.

• Journal it out. Seeing the thought in writing helps you detach from it.

• Challenge the thought: Where did this come from? Is it even mine to carry?

You are not your thoughts. You are the observer, the rewriter, the liberator.
Give your inner critic a name if you must—but don’t let her run the show.

#InnerHealing #NegativeSelfTalk #EmotionalWellness #BlackWomenHealing #SelfAwarenessIsPower #ORJHealingTools