Your inner critic is often an internalised echo of early experiences, caregivers, teachers, peers, cultural expectations. At some point, your nervous system learned that criticism prevented rejection. If you judged yourself first, you could avoid being judged by others. Perfectionism. Overachieving. People-pleasing. Hyper-independence. These are not personality flaws. They are adaptive strategies. The problem is that what once protected you may now be exhausting you or h