How to Heal Your Inner Critic (Without Fighting It) // IFS Explained

• Why Traditional Self-Talk Tools Didn’t Work for Me

• What Internal Family Systems (IFS) Taught Me

• Your Inner Critic Might Be Trying to Protect You

• A New Way to Heal: Compassion, Not Control

• Recommended Read: Freedom from the Inner Critic

If you’ve ever felt paralyzed by your own self-talk, you’re not alone. In this episode, I dive into the emotional work of healing the inner critic through Internal Family Systems (IFS)—a therapy model that changed how I see myself.

For years, I tried to silence my inner critic with positivity and productivity—but nothing stuck. The voice inside that told me I wasn’t good enough kept showing up. I was overwhelmed, ashamed, and exhausted.

It wasn’t until I started working with my therapist using IFS that something shifted. Instead of trying to get rid of the inner critic, I learned to listen to it. I realized that critical part of me was trying to protect the most tender, exiled parts of myself—the ones that still carried old pain.

This episode walks through that transformation:

• Why fighting your inner critic doesn’t work

• The powerful role of the “protector” and “exile” in IFS

• Real examples from my life, and how this work freed me

• A must-read book that supported my healing journey

If you’re doing the inner work, or just beginning to explore your self-talk, this is a safe space to start.

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