My inner critic has been a constant, nagging source of anxiety for most of my life. The one who tells me that I should go on a diet, that I’m not as clever as my friends, and that any day now someone will realise how bad I am at my job and I’ll get fired. I call him Russell and he’s a bit of a dick.

Until recent years I had never questioned whether this constant, critical narrative was anything other than the truth, until, through therapy, I became aware of the concept of an inner critic.

Many schools of psychology describe it, and at first, I thought of it as the critical voice in my head - like it was a part of me that I was consciously in control of.

All that did was make me feel bad for not being able to stop it.

But then I thought, what if that voice ISN’T a part of me that I can control? What if it’s something else? And that’s where Russell came in.

So, what happened next? Well, I’m sorry to say that despite this “aha” moment, my inner critic didn’t ever go away. He’s very much still with me, for a large amount of the time.

Only now, I’ve learnt the ability to manage him, and to take back some of his control and power. I’ve learnt to appreciate the ways in which my inner critic serves me, as much as it knocks me down, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that without a loud and intrusive inner critic, I wouldn’t have the same drive to do well - I’d probably never have started my business.

Through this community, I hope that we can share knowledge, resources and tools to support you in getting to know your inner critic & take away their power.