Well this post is thanks to my wonderful therapist.  She has spent the last 2 1/2 years with me on this roller coaster of life.  She has seen me at my absolute lowest of lows and has been riding the waves every week on my journey of healing.

Today we spent a lot of time challenging my inner voice. I’m not talking about the one that guides you well. You know – the OTHER one – that negates everything good, by pointing out the bad.    Some call it the dog or man on their shoulder.  Michelle from the Cedric Centre  calls it “the drill sergeant,” in her book Food is Not the Problem.  http://www.cedriccentre.com/books/

Honestly, no matter what you call that voice – its annoying to hear. That incessant chirping in my head never shuts up. I referred to that voice today as “psycho bitch”.  I can’t give myself accurate credit for ANYTHING without my psycho bitch telling me how it isn’t good enough, or I didn’t do x,y or z, I “should” have done better. When the voice was called The Drill Sergeant, I could accept it, but I didn’t really feel a direct association to her. But Wow, when I called her a “psycho bitch”, that upset me. I DO associate myself with that voice.  So suddenly I was calling myself a psycho bitch, and I was hurting yet again.

I don’t want to be a psycho bitch.  I don’t want to BE that voice.  And yet I’m guided or rather “mis”guided constantly by her.  I don’t get how she’s “protecting me” or “helping me get thru anything”.  She’s pushing and shoving and knocking me down every time I try and make a single step.  She’s my storm wrecking my beach, and hiding my shells.  She’s breaking up the shells and leaving jagged edges for me to cut my feet on.  And I’m fed up.

I don’t want to be this negative, this jaded, this distrustful.  I don’t want to be lazy or useless.  I don’t want to be fat, or diabetic.  I don’t want to be mentally unstable and depressed.  And yet it feels like EVERY single time I make a step in the direction of something “better”, or “healthier” or more balanced, good ole psycho bitch is there to make sure I end up back on my ass on the ground. And THEN points, laughs and tells me how useless and crappy I am.  That I’ll never be better or successful and that I’m a FAILURE.

It has happened so often that that feels normal. So I’ve just come to accept that I’m a failure.  That I AM this psycho bitch who can’t do anything right.  And that makes me sad, so I cry on the inside, and often those tears leak out. So now I’m a blubbering psycho bitch.  GREAAAT.  Just what i wanted.  How attractive. NOT!!!!

My counselor says that the role of the drill sergeant has value and a purpose, but needs to let my other parts – the ones that see the good things – have more time and space.  Ok.  So we made a list of things I’m proud of doing.  Not monumental life changing things – everyday stuff.  And EVERY time I wrote something down, my psycho bitch was pestering me with the “yeah but you didn’t do….” or “Yeah but you SHOULD be doing…”.   SHUT UP!!! Just SHUT THE FUCK UP!!  I don ‘t want to hear it anymore.  I’ve HEARD you long enough.  JUST SHUT UP!!! PLEASE!

There isn’t enough room for that attitude.  She’s hogging all the space.  She’s controlling every move and every thought.  I want to be able to sit in my LR right at this moment and see the 4 piles of folded towels and linens and think “good job – you did the laundry”  But instead I’m hearing “lazy lazy lazy you STILL haven’t put those away.  Are you EVER gonna get off your ass and do it?”

Instead of looking at the pile of mail, bills and flyers beside me and thinking “Geez I’m a slob – those need to be put away and/or in the garbage” I WANT to be able to think “Yeah – you sorted all the mail, and paid the bills. Great job”   But I just CAN’T.

And even though the thoughts are bringing me down, and it would take all of 5 minutes to get the towels put away, or the mail into the recycle bin.  I can’t do that either! It’s like I WANT to be stuck – so the psycho bitch can be right and at least then I can have something to believe that’s true.  YUP I’m a lazy useless no good failure.  Psycho Bitch has known it all along and now I can see she is right.

I can’t seem to find that switch to change my thinking.  I feel so stuck and I’m so frustrated.  If you don’t live with an overbearing inner voice, I can’t explain it.  Just imagine your worst enemy following you around NON-STOP nitpicking at EVERY single thing you do. Relentlessly trying to push you into an abyss from which there is no return. Until finally you just fall into it and say “there” “you got me”.

I guess its the same thing as parents and teachers being told “don’t label kids with negative associations, or they may just achieve them ”  Is that what happened to me?  Was I told “you are so smart, you can do better”  “Nothing lower than a B is acceptable” too often, and now I can’t be happy with average?

Everyone has inner voices, just like everyone wear’s underwear.  (OR should!!).  But our voices seem to have different sizes.  Some drill sergeants are small and don’t occupy much space – like wearing a thong I guess!  My drill sergeant’s voice is like my panties – OVERSIZED and dominant.  But unlike my granny panties which are comfortable, my inner voice is NOT comforting.  So I’m going to keep working at hearing her comments and telling her to step aside and let others speak.  That I’m NOT INTERESTED in her feedback THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

And that’s me! GP