Hi, all.

Had an interesting session today, and the role of the inner critic was a big part of it. I can be talking to R, and suddenly the inner critic stops me in my tracks. It thinks everything I could possibly want to say to her is pointless, wonders why I'm even bothering, that kind of thing...

R pointed out that it's only been in the last five or six sessions that we've really acknowledged the inner critic, which is interesting to me. I don't know what changed to bring it into the room more.

Thankfully, it's compliant with 'Piss off!' or other variant phrases (and R doesn't bat an eyelid at my talking to someone who's obviously not in the room...) but I was wondering whether anybody could offer any strategies or experiences.

What do you do when the critic won't get off your back, and prevents you from saying what you want (and need) to say?

I have a sense of déjà vu about this, so apologies if I've posted something similar before.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to offer.