"The problem wasn't what happened to my cardiovascular system while we were chatting. It was the act of thinking about that stressful experience that keeps our physiological stress response activated. We shouldn't stop the negative chatter, but instead harness it. This insight has changed my life - we are not our thoughts as they are right now."
It can speak to us in the middle of a work project, the middle of a date, or the middle of the night. The critical voice in our head telling us we're just not good enough and we're headed for failure. Listener Patricia Branigan wrote in to ask what we can do the quiet down this chatter.
To explain what damage negative self-talk does to us and explore some simple strategies to challenge our inner critic, Dr Laurie Santos is joined by "chatter" expert Ethan Kross (professor of psychology and management at the University of Michigan).
You can read more in Ethan's book 'Chatter: The Voice in our Head (And How to Harness it)'.
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