Have you ever listened closely to the way you talk to your self? It can be a little scary. Most of us grossly underestimate the extent to which a critical inner voice is doing most of the talking, and the barrier that this habitual opponent creates in our lives. Now, we all need a push now and again, to hold ourselves accountable, to be better, to do better, to care more, to live in line with our values and our potential. This can include some tough love, lest we fall into the snares of an unfulfilling life ruled by complacency and instant gratification.
That being said, we must understand that we have everything to gain by protecting ourselves from the spiritual pollution of negative self talk. As my spiritual teacher, Michael Berg says, speaking negatively, which includes about ourselves “puts a shell around our soul.” And this shows up physically as well. Brain research confirms that a self attacking inner voice sets us up for anxiety and depression.
ONENESS WITH ONESELF IS THE FOUNDATION
The idea is like this: Before we can create a oneness with our dreams and desires, and a oneness with others, we must create a oneness within ourselves. Yes, we want to grow into a more loving and compassionate person. So what’s the foundation? A relationship towards oneself filled with kindness, encouragement and self love. We don’t grasp how valuable we are, simply because we exist. Appreciating our value, believing in ourselves beyond logic, this is how we grow and change best.
QUESTIONNAIRE: AWARENESS IS KEY
So let’s get practical and talk about what negative self talk can really sound like. Awareness is the first essential step. Here’s a questionnaire to help you begin identifying where you and your inner critic stand. Please be honest with yourself. Your inner critic won’t like to be discovered but your soul will be thrilled. 0=never; 1= rarely; 2=sometimes; 3=often; 4=all the time (The higher your score the more care and priority I would recommend you place on healing your self talk.)
When I listen inside, I can hear myself…
— Judging myself harshly in a way that I would NEVER speak to a friend, colleague or anyone I truly care about. (e.g., I’m so stupid; Never good enough; I look awful today; Why can’t I be more …; I’m so disorganized; I’m so bad; It’s all my fault; I did well, what a relief.)
— Comparing myself to others. (e.g. They are so much farther along than I am; Why don’t I have what they have; Well I do that better than them.)
— Repeating a message I received growing up, from someone toxic or a dynamic. (e.g., You’re so annoying; You have to make them happy or they will leave; You are not worthy of love; When you’re thin, everything will be good; That’s a hobby, not a real job.)
— Saying extreme statements about my character when disappointed in myself or a circumstance (e.g., I’m a terrible mother; I suck; I have nothing to offer; I’m blowing it.)
— Panicking when I don’t live up to a fixed identity, like a Good-Person image. (e.g., I better do this for them or they’ll think I’m unkind; Oh no, they are not going to see that I have it all together.)
— Discounting my gifts, skills and credentials. (e.g., There’s no way I can do that, I’ve never done it before; My success doesn’t feel genuine, I feel like an imposter; I’m not really that smart; I’m sure there are others who could do it better; I’ll come off like a fool.)
—Anxiously needing to resolve conflict or move forward on a project or issue. (e.g., If I don’t email right away, they’ll think I’m irresponsible; I better fix this Now; Oh gosh they will think I’m terrible, I need to explain myself.)
— Preoccupied with how I look. (e.g., Ugg I hate how my stomach looks; With these thighs I’ll never find a date.)
— Second guessing myself and my decisions, day to day and long term. (e.g., You should have done it faster; You wasted so much time; You idiot, you could have handled that so much better; Maybe my way isn’t the right way.)
— Shaming messages when I’m not perfect, approved of or make a mistake, (e.g., I have to be the best at this; They have to accept me; I just can’t make a mistake or I’m a failure; shame on me for not being tougher; I better not even try because I might fail; I’m bad at the core)
ABOUT SHAME: HEALING ONE’S INNER CHILD
Before we go on, I feel we need to spend a minute on shame. Especially related to our internalized and shaming messages (#3 and #10 above), it’s important to appreciate and not judge your inner critic. Likely, to protect from feeling judged, shamed or rejected in some fundamental way by caregivers, many of us develop an attacking way of relating with oneself to protect from the shame awakened by anything that resembles failure. If we can manage to control our behavior, our bodies, our image — or judge ourself first— then we create a temporary (and illusionary) feeling of safety.
As a recent article in Psychology Today put so well, “There's one thing the inner critic doesn't offer: Room for growth. All too often it sends us back to a zone where we find ourselves safe, but also stuck.” Today we have beautiful healing approaches that gently and powerfully help us to emancipate the child within, reparent him/her to not need those coping mechanisms, and the accompanying belief systems, like the child once needed to survive. (See Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, and EMDR)
THIRD PERSON SELF TALK: A TECHNIQUE FOR SELF DISTANCING
The main technique for overcoming negative self talk I want to share is a cognitive approach called SELF DISTANCING and it’s based on ground breaking research by Ethan Kross, of the University of Michigan's Emotion & Self Control Lab. By replacing the first person pronoun, I , with non-first person pronoun, You, He/She, or Our Name, we can gain emotional and psychological distance which allows us to speak to ourselves more like we would to a friend or someone we care about. Haven’t you noticed how it’s more clear when it’s about someone else’s life. Kross goes on to show that getting out of our first person mindset reduces the activation of the right amygdala, the emotional part of the brain— but at no extra cognitive expense. So this simple technique has great implications for unhooking us from the vicious cycle of negative self talk. Here’s an example of Gabriella new at giving presentations:
First Person (negative) Talk:
I am worried about giving this presentation. I’m afraid I won’t be good and powerful and that participants won’t want to continue. I’m afraid I will be a disappointment. The other presenters I respect in my field do such a good job and what if I am just not that good at it.
Third Person (affirming) Talk:
Gabriella, you can do this. You know this material and everyone who begins something new feels uncomfortable. What you will be sharing is something you deeply believe in and the most important thing is doing your best and coming from your heart. Gabriella, people will feel your passion and that’s the energy that makes the most difference. More than concepts. You can do this and you don’t have to be perfect. That’s not possible and not the point.
Rather than trying to shut down the inner critic or analyze the emotions underneath, Kross and his colleagues suggest trying to make this simple grammatical manipulation of first person to non first person self talk. And since negative self talk is a habit often decades in the making, be prepared to practice, and practice! I have tried this myself and love it. Even writing this blog has taken this technique to a new level for me personally. I would love to hear how it works for you.
As I gather the items I need to write this blog—my glasses, computer, glass of water— I watch myself grab for my phone. There is nothing that I need on that device right now. Other than the experiential example of what so many of us find all day and all night— that our phones have become an appendage, what co-author Russell Clayton of the University of Missouri describes as “The Extended Self.”
Of course, I’m not here to say we shouldn’t have phones. That would be ridiculous, given the tremendous benefits they provide and the reality of the species-level transformation that a life “plugged in” has created. At the same time, we shouldn’t just throw our hands up (or our faces down). We have reached a dangerous level of tolerance for our phone dependence, our egos normalizing by way of joking, avoiding, resigning.
I always like to write about what is real and true for me, and I know that my relationship with my phone often serves as a barometer for my relationship with myself, and my love for life. The truth is that when we cross over the line and our phone use becomes a problem, there are dangerous implications for our brains and our bodies, for our mental health and relationships, for our capacity to create true happiness and to enjoy the blessings we are meant to receive as a soul.
I have learned from the wisdom of Kabbalah that where our attention goes is exactly where we go, this is who we become. So how can we tell if we are placing too much of our attention in our phones? How can we tell if our phone use is a problem in our lives? I suggest 3 important steps:
Educate Yourself on the criteria for and side effects of excessive phone use.
Observe Yourself on how your phone use affects your energy and makes you feel.
Unplug Yourself to create a daily and weekly sabbatical.
Let’s start with the first step, educating yourself. According to the National Institute of Health, the criteria used for drug addiction can also be used for our mobile devices. More specifically, take a look at this list below of indicators for a phone problem. Check off how many of these are true for you:
Conscious use of phones in dangerous situations or in prohibited contexts (e.g while driving)
Excessive phone use that causes social and family conflicts and confrontations, as well as loss of interest in other shared activities
Continuing the behavior despite the negative effects and/or personal malaise it causes
Excessive phone use causing noticeable physical, mental, social, work, or family disturbances (e.g eye strain, symptoms of withdrawal, stress, and anxiety)
Chronic impulsiveness to check your device
Frequent and constant checking of phone in very brief periods of time causing insomnia and sleep disturbances
Increase in use to achieve satisfaction or relaxation or to counteract a dysphoric mood
Excessive use, urgency, need to be connected
Need to respond immediately to messages, preferring the cell phone to personal contact
Abstinence, dependence, craving
Anxiety, irritability if cell phone is not accessible, feelings of unease when unable to use it
(Front Psychiatry. 2016; 7: 175.)
3 KEY SIDE EFFECTS: Let’s go a little deeper with our understanding of side effects from phone dependency.
Pleasure vs Happiness. The semantic difference between pleasure and happiness is subtle but the implications are huge, on the brain and the soul. I love this chart from a recent Business Insider article which helps us to see in the brain how pleasure seeking activities, like excessive phone us, create short term highs (dopamine) while fulfillment seeking activities generate farther reaching and more lasting contentment (serotonin). Phone use taps into our already vulnerable tendency to seek short term, pleasure-seeking gratification.
Mindfulness. If we are having trouble keeping our attention fully in the present, taking in the world and people around us, then one culprit could be the time spent in the online world. Harvard researcher Matt Killingsworth found that happiness and being present in the moment are directly linked. We know this right? But the research is mounting that being mindful and in the present leads to greater self esteem and lower perceived anxiety and stress. When it comes to our phones and mindfulness, recent research has shown that smartphone involvement decreases our capacity for mindfulness.
Anxiety/Depression. Late night phone use in particular has been linked to increases in depression and declines in self esteem and coping ability. Phones OUT OF THE BEDROOM are becoming the new “buckle up for safety.” Also leaning on the depression side, a recent survey showed that those considered frequent social media users experienced 2.7 times higher rates of depression that those of less frequent users.
And here are some of the other the side effects: Insomnia, Inability to Focus / Complete a Task, Stress and Restlessness, Relationship Stress, Eye Strain, Neck Pain, Social Anxiety, Escapist Behavior, Dependence on Digital Validation (Newport Academy)
HEALTHY UNPLUGGING HABITS
How can we protect ourselves from the illusion that the online world is more compelling, beautiful and filled with endless routes for joy and awe than the real and messy world of nature, people, opportunities and those dreaded “pauses in between”?
Observe Yourself. As I mentioned above, self observation is a key step. And please be brave and give yourself permission to be honest with yourself. We have the answers within us and have everything to gain by putting in the effort it takes to nestle into our internal silence and listen. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
Before you go for your phone, ask yourself, do I feel empty, bored, anxious, lonely, insecure, vulnerable, restless, unworthy? What might I be trying to escape?
While on your phone, try pausing, taking a deep breath and ask, Is this really where I want to be right now? Is this best for me?
When you get off your phone, check in again. How is my energy? Do I feel happier, more fulfilled and creative, more worthy or peaceful, I am more in love with my life? Or do I feel more empty, frustrated, disappointed in myself, tired, wired, restless?
Create Distance Between You and Your Phone (Physical and Emotional)
We need to create boundaries. Sometimes we need a definitive structure to combat our brains’ firing temptations. Here are some ideas:
Pick a specific bedtime for your phone, put it to bed and then LET GO.
Buy an actual alarm clock and put your phone to bed in another room
Create a weekly Sabbath for yourself - 24 hours with no phone. It’s a life saver.
Feed your soul with whatever helps you connect to something bigger in life.
Write down your offline passions like nature, crafts, people, animals, athletics, dance, music, poetry, writing a letter.
Partner with a friend to keep you accountable.
If you really need more help, you can try programs like Catherine Price’s 7 day challenge.
For so many people, the events around us have evoked a great deal of anger, fear and confusion — and a widespread increase in “us versus them.” It’s understandable that we would feel strong emotions these days, and that it’s a time for speaking and standing up for what we believe in. But how do we find balance when anger or sadness take hold?
