Do you struggle with your self-image? Been on the receiving end of verbal abuse as a child or as an adult with an abusive partner. Feel anxious in social situations?
Imagine going to one of those carnival amusements called the house of mirrors. You know the one where it has all sorts of mirrors that make you look weird: one makes you looked all distorted like a monster, one makes you look short and fat, another tall and skinny. There might also be a true mirror that reflects a true image.
Now imagine taking the perspective from the corner of the room looking at “you” standing in front of the mirror. With each mirror you see the reflection change from monster, to short and fat, to tall and skinny but the “you” in front of the mirror stays about the same. Even with the true mirror, you are one thing and the reflection is another.
No one runs out of the house of mirror shouting “Aaaaaah, I’m a monster.” We usually walk out being mildly amused.
Try to have this same perspective with the critical voice in your head (which by the way is not your voice, but the voice of the abuser you’ve internalized). Try to move through your day centered in your true self and not being distracted by the reflections of others. Remember, the house of mirrors is not a house of horrors. It is amusing.