Your inner critic gets louder under stress because your amygdala is trying to protect you from danger. Two strategies to quiet it: gratitude and expressive writing. Both help your brain notice what's actually going well, not just threats.
What is the deal with gratitude in expressive writing? I love these two strategies. It's a way to silence your inner critic and bring your bell self forward. We talked about the inner critic and how your inner critic has a megaphone when you're feeling a sense of stress because that mechanism is powered by your amygdala. Ironically, your inner critic is trying to keep you safe even though it feels very negative. You know, when you're trying something new or trying to get out of stress and engage or be challenged, your inner critic says no, don't do it. It's. It's not safe. It's scary and because it's a fear of failure, et cetera. And so the other thing that happens when you're feeling a sense of stress is that your brain, because it's primed for survival with the amygdala, is focused on the negative. And it's like things happen in Technicolor in your brain with the negative, but in reality the same amount of negative and positive things are happening at all times because.
