Dr. Janna Gottwald-Stridbeck, Dipl.-Psych.

Psychologist | Psychotherapist in training | Educator

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I was invited to contribute to the blog of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and to write about my findings on prospective motor control and executive functions in 18-month-olds published in Psychological Science (2016). Find my blog post about the paper here.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on October 31, 2017 by lene.

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About me

I am a psychologist, educator and psychotherapist in training. My expertise is in clinical psychology, developmental psychology, embodiment, neurodiversity, early childhood and trauma in adults.

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I took a deep dive into books written on autistic experiences. Here are some I’d liked best - most of them written by autistic people and in a non-pathologising way: 

1️⃣ Temple Grandin - The autistic brain: Exploring the strength of a different kind of mind

2️⃣ Pete Wharmby -‎ Untypical: How the world isn’t built for autistic people and what we should do about it @pete_wharmby_books 

3️⃣ Steve Silberman - Neurotribes: The legacy of autism and how to think smarter about people who think differently 

4️⃣ Steph Jones - The autistic survival guide to therapy @autistic_therapist 

5️⃣ Brit Wilczek - Autismus, Trauma und Bewältigung: Grundlagen für die psychotherapeutische Praxis

6️⃣ Sarah Hendrickx - Women and girls with autism spectrum disorder: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age

(Regarding 6️⃣: There’s a newer version out by Sarah Hendrickx. This version has a different cover)

#trauma #autism #childhoodtrauma #cptsd #autismspectrum #autisticcommunity #neurodiversity #actuallyautistic #therapy  #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #neurodiversität #neurodevelopment #psychologistsofinstagram #therapistsofinstagram #bookworm #bookwormchallenge  #relationaltherapy #therapistsconnect #therapistcommunity
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I took a deep dive into books written on autistic experiences. Here are some I’d liked best - most of them written by autistic people and in a non-pathologising way: 1️⃣ Temple Grandin - The autistic brain: Exploring the strength of a different kind of mind 2️⃣ Pete Wharmby -‎ Untypical: How the world isn’t built for autistic people and what we should do about it @pete_wharmby_books 3️⃣ Steve Silberman - Neurotribes: The legacy of autism and how to think smarter about people who think differently 4️⃣ Steph Jones - The autistic survival guide to therapy @autistic_therapist 5️⃣ Brit Wilczek - Autismus, Trauma und Bewältigung: Grundlagen für die psychotherapeutische Praxis 6️⃣ Sarah Hendrickx - Women and girls with autism spectrum disorder: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (Regarding 6️⃣: There’s a newer version out by Sarah Hendrickx. This version has a different cover) #trauma #autism #childhoodtrauma #cptsd #autismspectrum #autisticcommunity #neurodiversity #actuallyautistic #therapy #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #neurodiversität #neurodevelopment #psychologistsofinstagram #therapistsofinstagram #bookworm #bookwormchallenge #relationaltherapy #therapistsconnect #therapistcommunity
12 months ago
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1/9
What are the links between autism and trauma? In her 2024-book, Steph Jones (@autistic_therapist) cites an article by Lobregt-van Buuren and colleagues (2021) that presents us with some stats regarding the co-occurrence between autism and trauma. 

Part of the autistic experience and some of the observable autistic traits seem to be similar to trauma symptoms (stemming from emotional neglect and attachment trauma). That led psychiatrists and psychoanalysts in former decades to the belief that one causes the other, i.e. early attachment trauma leading to autism. Research however shows that this is not the case. It is more the other way around: Being autistic increases the risk for traumatic experiences (Wilczek, 2024). 

Why‘s that? Here are 7 possible explanations for the autism-trauma link:

(1) Autistic traits are being misjudged as being trauma symptoms leading to misdiagnosis and wrong treatment.

(2) Growing up in a world that is not shaped for autistic people can be traumatic per se.

(3) Autistic people are at a biological greater risk for trauma because of their sensitive and highly reactive nervous system. 

(4) Autism is highly heritable, i.e. there is a high likelihood that one (or both) parent(s) is (not-knowingly) neurodivergent too, which can come with a lower stress tolerance and more situations of overwhelm for the neurodivergent parent. This in turn can have a negative impact on the autistic child. 

(5) Many autistics experience bullying and ostracism at school or work. Autistic people experience these more often than non-autistic people. Bullying can be traumatic.

(6) Some predators specifically target autistic people who more often than non-autistic people have difficulties with setting boundaries. Autistic people often are more vulnerable to relational abuse than non-autistic people. 

(7) Autistic people often experience being fundamentally different than non-autistic people. Leaving many feeling frequently misunderstood, isolated and bewildered. Isolation and being lonely can be traumatic. 

📖Brit Wilczek (2024). Autismus, Trauma und Bewältigung.

📖Step Jones (2024). The autistic survival guide to therapy.
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What are the links between autism and trauma? In her 2024-book, Steph Jones (@autistic_therapist) cites an article by Lobregt-van Buuren and colleagues (2021) that presents us with some stats regarding the co-occurrence between autism and trauma. Part of the autistic experience and some of the observable autistic traits seem to be similar to trauma symptoms (stemming from emotional neglect and attachment trauma). That led psychiatrists and psychoanalysts in former decades to the belief that one causes the other, i.e. early attachment trauma leading to autism. Research however shows that this is not the case. It is more the other way around: Being autistic increases the risk for traumatic experiences (Wilczek, 2024). Why‘s that? Here are 7 possible explanations for the autism-trauma link: (1) Autistic traits are being misjudged as being trauma symptoms leading to misdiagnosis and wrong treatment. (2) Growing up in a world that is not shaped for autistic people can be traumatic per se. (3) Autistic people are at a biological greater risk for trauma because of their sensitive and highly reactive nervous system. (4) Autism is highly heritable, i.e. there is a high likelihood that one (or both) parent(s) is (not-knowingly) neurodivergent too, which can come with a lower stress tolerance and more situations of overwhelm for the neurodivergent parent. This in turn can have a negative impact on the autistic child. (5) Many autistics experience bullying and ostracism at school or work. Autistic people experience these more often than non-autistic people. Bullying can be traumatic. (6) Some predators specifically target autistic people who more often than non-autistic people have difficulties with setting boundaries. Autistic people often are more vulnerable to relational abuse than non-autistic people. (7) Autistic people often experience being fundamentally different than non-autistic people. Leaving many feeling frequently misunderstood, isolated and bewildered. Isolation and being lonely can be traumatic. 📖Brit Wilczek (2024). Autismus, Trauma und Bewältigung. 📖Step Jones (2024). The autistic survival guide to therapy.
12 months ago
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2/9
Some signs you are recovering from complex trauma 

❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. 

❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years affect us as adults.

#trauma #bodywork #childhoodtrauma #cptsd #ptsd #traumarecovery #traumasurvivor #cptsdrecovery #cptsdawareness #therapy #internalfamilysystems #sensorimotorpsychotherapy #somaticexperiencing #ifs #somatictherapy #traumatherapy #developmentaltrauma #psychologistsofinstagram #therapistsofinstagram #embodiment #embodied #relationaltherapy #therapistsconnect #complextrauma #complextraumarecovery 
#therapistcommunity #partswork #partsworktherapy
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Some signs you are recovering from complex trauma ❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. ❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years affect us as adults. #trauma #bodywork #childhoodtrauma #cptsd #ptsd #traumarecovery #traumasurvivor #cptsdrecovery #cptsdawareness #therapy #internalfamilysystems #sensorimotorpsychotherapy #somaticexperiencing #ifs #somatictherapy #traumatherapy #developmentaltrauma #psychologistsofinstagram #therapistsofinstagram #embodiment #embodied #relationaltherapy #therapistsconnect #complextrauma #complextraumarecovery #therapistcommunity #partswork #partsworktherapy
12 months ago
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3/9
It is about how the past is effecting us in the present. How our nervous system, our body, our sensations and emotions are telling a story right now that we don’t fully understand, yet. It is not about the historic events itself, but how they continue to affect us in the present. 

Along these lines, I find the concept of dual awareness by Heller and LaPierre helpful that is used in work with structural dissociation (van der Hart, Nijenhuis & Steele, 2006).

Simply put, dual awareness means addressing both, the traumatised parts of the psyche feeling overwhelmed and helpless that developed in the past AND the experiencing parts of the psyche in a safe and understanding environment in the now. Experiencing and seeing both at the same time can help integrating the traumatic past.

📖 Janina Fisher. Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation

📖 Laurence Heller & Aline LaPierre: 
Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship

❤️ Save this post to come back to it whenever needed. 

❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on trauma & psychodynamic thinking.
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It is about how the past is effecting us in the present. How our nervous system, our body, our sensations and emotions are telling a story right now that we don’t fully understand, yet. It is not about the historic events itself, but how they continue to affect us in the present. Along these lines, I find the concept of dual awareness by Heller and LaPierre helpful that is used in work with structural dissociation (van der Hart, Nijenhuis & Steele, 2006). Simply put, dual awareness means addressing both, the traumatised parts of the psyche feeling overwhelmed and helpless that developed in the past AND the experiencing parts of the psyche in a safe and understanding environment in the now. Experiencing and seeing both at the same time can help integrating the traumatic past. 📖 Janina Fisher. Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation 📖 Laurence Heller & Aline LaPierre: Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship ❤️ Save this post to come back to it whenever needed. ❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on trauma & psychodynamic thinking.
1 year ago
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4/9
Emotional flashbacks are a core feature of complex trauma. It’s a form of remembering without the awareness that we are remembering. Emotional flashbacks differ from classical flashbacks in that way that they have no visual component. This makes them harder to spot than classical flashbacks. 

Emotional flashbacks are sudden regressions to strong feelings from our childhood. These feelings are usually related to past abuse and neglect. We experience feelings from the past as if they were related to the present moment. 

These feelings can consist of overwhelming fear, shame, rage and depression.

They often come with fight, flight, freeze or fawn reactions.

Simply said, emotional flashbacks transport us back in time without us noticing. Being aware of and identifying the signs of emotional flashback can help us not only handling them, but also to learn about our unaddressed pain. Thereafter, we can address our own neglected needs that show up with the flashbacks. 

5 signs of emotional flashbacks:
⚡️Sensation of strong emergency 
⚡️Very painful feelings
⚡️Feeling completely helpless
⚡️Feeling hopeless 
⚡️Overwhelming feelings 

It’s to Pete Walker’s credit that we know about the importance of emotional flashbacks in complex trauma. Emotional flashbacks are more common than classical flashbacks with a visual component. Pete Walker has a toolbox for emotional flashback management that you’ll find on his website or in his book.

📖 Pete Walker (2013). Complex PTSD: From surviving to thriving.

❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. 

❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years affect us as adults.
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Emotional flashbacks are a core feature of complex trauma. It’s a form of remembering without the awareness that we are remembering. Emotional flashbacks differ from classical flashbacks in that way that they have no visual component. This makes them harder to spot than classical flashbacks. Emotional flashbacks are sudden regressions to strong feelings from our childhood. These feelings are usually related to past abuse and neglect. We experience feelings from the past as if they were related to the present moment. These feelings can consist of overwhelming fear, shame, rage and depression. They often come with fight, flight, freeze or fawn reactions. Simply said, emotional flashbacks transport us back in time without us noticing. Being aware of and identifying the signs of emotional flashback can help us not only handling them, but also to learn about our unaddressed pain. Thereafter, we can address our own neglected needs that show up with the flashbacks. 5 signs of emotional flashbacks: ⚡️Sensation of strong emergency ⚡️Very painful feelings ⚡️Feeling completely helpless ⚡️Feeling hopeless ⚡️Overwhelming feelings It’s to Pete Walker’s credit that we know about the importance of emotional flashbacks in complex trauma. Emotional flashbacks are more common than classical flashbacks with a visual component. Pete Walker has a toolbox for emotional flashback management that you’ll find on his website or in his book. 📖 Pete Walker (2013). Complex PTSD: From surviving to thriving. ❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. ❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years affect us as adults.
2 years ago
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5/9
Showing up authentically means being comfortable with ourselves - with all of ourselves. C.G. Jung wrote in this context “ich will lieber ganz sein als gut” (I prefer to be whole over being good). If we try to only be “good”, if we can only accept ourselves being good, the other parts of ourselves have to go into hiding. There could have been a time when this was necessary in order to feel any self-worth and to protect ourselves from over-critically and shaming parts (introjects) within ourselves. However, this becomes a trap. 

Janina Fisher talks about this form of splitting and structural dissociation in trauma survivors: "By holding out some sense of themselves as ‘good’ disconnected from how they have been exploited, abused children capitalize on the human brain’s innate capacity to split or compartmentalize."

She continues, "That ‘good child’ might be precociously mature, sweet and helpful, perfectionistic, self-critical, or quiet and shy, but, most importantly, he or she has a way to be acceptable and safer in an unsafe world."

This adaptive strategy becomes a trap and costs us our authenticity.

"To ensure that the rejected ‘not me’ child is kept out of the way (i.e., out of consciousness) requires that, long after the traumatic events are over, individuals must continue to rely on dissociation, denial, and/ or self-hatred for enforcing the disconnection. In the end, they have survived the failure of safety, the abuse, and betrayal at the cost of disowning their most vulnerable and most wounded selves. Aware that their self-presentation and ability to function is only one piece of who they really are, they now feel fraudulent. Struggling to stay away from the ‘bad’ side and identify with the good side, they have a felt sense of ‘faking it’, ‘pretending’, or of being what others want them to be. For some, this conviction of fraudulence engenders resentment; for some, shame and self-doubt. For both groups, the legacy of the trauma remains alive rather than resolved."

📖 Janina Fisher. Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation

❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on trauma & psychodynamic thinking.
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Showing up authentically means being comfortable with ourselves - with all of ourselves. C.G. Jung wrote in this context “ich will lieber ganz sein als gut” (I prefer to be whole over being good). If we try to only be “good”, if we can only accept ourselves being good, the other parts of ourselves have to go into hiding. There could have been a time when this was necessary in order to feel any self-worth and to protect ourselves from over-critically and shaming parts (introjects) within ourselves. However, this becomes a trap. Janina Fisher talks about this form of splitting and structural dissociation in trauma survivors: "By holding out some sense of themselves as ‘good’ disconnected from how they have been exploited, abused children capitalize on the human brain’s innate capacity to split or compartmentalize." She continues, "That ‘good child’ might be precociously mature, sweet and helpful, perfectionistic, self-critical, or quiet and shy, but, most importantly, he or she has a way to be acceptable and safer in an unsafe world." This adaptive strategy becomes a trap and costs us our authenticity. "To ensure that the rejected ‘not me’ child is kept out of the way (i.e., out of consciousness) requires that, long after the traumatic events are over, individuals must continue to rely on dissociation, denial, and/ or self-hatred for enforcing the disconnection. In the end, they have survived the failure of safety, the abuse, and betrayal at the cost of disowning their most vulnerable and most wounded selves. Aware that their self-presentation and ability to function is only one piece of who they really are, they now feel fraudulent. Struggling to stay away from the ‘bad’ side and identify with the good side, they have a felt sense of ‘faking it’, ‘pretending’, or of being what others want them to be. For some, this conviction of fraudulence engenders resentment; for some, shame and self-doubt. For both groups, the legacy of the trauma remains alive rather than resolved." 📖 Janina Fisher. Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation ❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on trauma & psychodynamic thinking.
2 years ago
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6/9
Have you been engaging in a lot of people-pleasing or codependent behaviour in your life? Do you want to become more yourself? If you’d like to change the overly adaptive behaviour that is catering to other people’s needs but not to your own, it will be difficult at times. It will sometimes be hard to change these behaviours, because being unapologetically yourself is not always fun and freeing. 

No, your new behaviours can go so much against your seemingly natural tendencies of adapting to others and of trying to be “perfect” and to be liked by others that letting go of these behaviours will first of all feel UNCOMFORTABLE. 

Yes. Healing and change are also uncomfortable at times.

Keep going. 

Feeling uncomfortable in this context doesn’t mean you’re heading in the wrong direction.

It most likely means, you’re growing and evolving. 

💫 Tolerate feeling guilty.

💫 Tolerate feeling uncomfortable.

💫 And see what changes for you. 

❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. 

❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years relate to mental health as adults.
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Have you been engaging in a lot of people-pleasing or codependent behaviour in your life? Do you want to become more yourself? If you’d like to change the overly adaptive behaviour that is catering to other people’s needs but not to your own, it will be difficult at times. It will sometimes be hard to change these behaviours, because being unapologetically yourself is not always fun and freeing. No, your new behaviours can go so much against your seemingly natural tendencies of adapting to others and of trying to be “perfect” and to be liked by others that letting go of these behaviours will first of all feel UNCOMFORTABLE. Yes. Healing and change are also uncomfortable at times. Keep going. Feeling uncomfortable in this context doesn’t mean you’re heading in the wrong direction. It most likely means, you’re growing and evolving. 💫 Tolerate feeling guilty. 💫 Tolerate feeling uncomfortable. 💫 And see what changes for you. ❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. ❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years relate to mental health as adults.
2 years ago
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7/9
There are quite different views on trauma therapy out there. I recently attended a clinical talk where the speaker (a psychiatrist and trauma therapist) talked about a new intensive exposure therapy (#DBT oriented) in an inpatient setting for people with #PTSD and #CPTSD. In the speaker’s view, stabilisation is overrated and they argued for more intense exposure to traumatic memories to help people processing.

There are clinicians who share the view that exposure and confrontation lie at the heart of trauma therapy. Then there are others who say that exposure is either overrated in efficacy or even damaging to some people. Instead stabilisation and imaginative work should get more room.

Janina Fisher @drjjfisher argues for a “gentler, less traumatising way” of trauma treatment. She powerfully writes in “Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors”:

"It never made sense to me that a therapy for those who have been badly hurt should have to cause the same intensity of pain (…)

And it has equally felt unacceptable that processing trauma should be as frightening and overwhelming as the early experiences themselves, that all subsequent relationships, even the therapeutic ones, should feel as threatening as those in childhood (…)

My purpose in developing this approach was to describe a way of coming to terms with trauma that felt healing; that spoke to survival, not victimization; that created warm and pleasurable feelings in the body rather than terrifying ones."

The basic questions are: Do we need to re-experience the pain in order to heal? And what is it that does the healing? Is it the different experience of difficult emotions in the accepting environment of a good enough therapeutic relationship? Is it the presence of an empathetic witness? Is it a different relational experience all together? Is it the integration of previously avoided feelings, thoughts and sensations?

📖Janina Fisher: Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation. 

❤️ Save this post to come back to it whenever needed. 

❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years affect us as adults.
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There are quite different views on trauma therapy out there. I recently attended a clinical talk where the speaker (a psychiatrist and trauma therapist) talked about a new intensive exposure therapy (#DBT oriented) in an inpatient setting for people with #PTSD and #CPTSD. In the speaker’s view, stabilisation is overrated and they argued for more intense exposure to traumatic memories to help people processing. There are clinicians who share the view that exposure and confrontation lie at the heart of trauma therapy. Then there are others who say that exposure is either overrated in efficacy or even damaging to some people. Instead stabilisation and imaginative work should get more room. Janina Fisher @drjjfisher argues for a “gentler, less traumatising way” of trauma treatment. She powerfully writes in “Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors”: "It never made sense to me that a therapy for those who have been badly hurt should have to cause the same intensity of pain (…) And it has equally felt unacceptable that processing trauma should be as frightening and overwhelming as the early experiences themselves, that all subsequent relationships, even the therapeutic ones, should feel as threatening as those in childhood (…) My purpose in developing this approach was to describe a way of coming to terms with trauma that felt healing; that spoke to survival, not victimization; that created warm and pleasurable feelings in the body rather than terrifying ones." The basic questions are: Do we need to re-experience the pain in order to heal? And what is it that does the healing? Is it the different experience of difficult emotions in the accepting environment of a good enough therapeutic relationship? Is it the presence of an empathetic witness? Is it a different relational experience all together? Is it the integration of previously avoided feelings, thoughts and sensations? 📖Janina Fisher: Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation. ❤️ Save this post to come back to it whenever needed. ❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on embodiment, childhood trauma and how our early years affect us as adults.
3 years ago
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8/9
Your inner critic tries to help you! Sounds unbelievable? Yes, this critic can be very critical and even toxic. How is this supposed to help? 🤔

From an #IFS lens and a #psychodynamic perspective, the critical part in us developed in our childhood. It carries messages we heard from our caregivers or other important people in our lives. Rules about life and how to behave. How to stay safe and get our needs met.

As children, we internalised these messages, which is a clever way of our psyche. We learn how to navigate the world and this makes survival more likely. It helps us when our parents are not around (we now have inner parental figures). When we were traumatised by our parents, it even helps us with preventing some of the future punishment, shaming and hurt - we adapt to our caregivers’ wishes in foresight! Additionally, this critical part in us made sure to secure the love and attachment to our caregivers. The part tells us, when our parents punish us, it’s about our badness and so they can stay good parents. So, we can keep believing we are safe with our parents and won’t have to face existential anxiety and desperation. 

Later, when we are adults however, this inner critic can become crippling. This part can make us perform well at our jobs, but is never satisfied. The part is blaming, critiquing and shaming us for even minor things we probably accept in others. 

As adults, our inner critic still tries to protect our wounds and tries to prevent future hurt. However, the critic hasn’t got the memo yet, that we are grown-up, don’t live with our family of origin anymore, and can use adult strategies to design our life. The inner critic is exhausted from all the protection work. 

Instead of fighting the inner critic or feeling bad about it, the way to solve this inner conflict is this: Get to know your critic and befriend them. Acknowledge all the work the critic has done for you. The critic has well intentions. They are just a little outdated! 

❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. 

❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on childhood trauma and on how our early life experiences relate to embodiment and mental health in adulthood.
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Your inner critic tries to help you! Sounds unbelievable? Yes, this critic can be very critical and even toxic. How is this supposed to help? 🤔 From an #IFS lens and a #psychodynamic perspective, the critical part in us developed in our childhood. It carries messages we heard from our caregivers or other important people in our lives. Rules about life and how to behave. How to stay safe and get our needs met. As children, we internalised these messages, which is a clever way of our psyche. We learn how to navigate the world and this makes survival more likely. It helps us when our parents are not around (we now have inner parental figures). When we were traumatised by our parents, it even helps us with preventing some of the future punishment, shaming and hurt - we adapt to our caregivers’ wishes in foresight! Additionally, this critical part in us made sure to secure the love and attachment to our caregivers. The part tells us, when our parents punish us, it’s about our badness and so they can stay good parents. So, we can keep believing we are safe with our parents and won’t have to face existential anxiety and desperation. Later, when we are adults however, this inner critic can become crippling. This part can make us perform well at our jobs, but is never satisfied. The part is blaming, critiquing and shaming us for even minor things we probably accept in others. As adults, our inner critic still tries to protect our wounds and tries to prevent future hurt. However, the critic hasn’t got the memo yet, that we are grown-up, don’t live with our family of origin anymore, and can use adult strategies to design our life. The inner critic is exhausted from all the protection work. Instead of fighting the inner critic or feeling bad about it, the way to solve this inner conflict is this: Get to know your critic and befriend them. Acknowledge all the work the critic has done for you. The critic has well intentions. They are just a little outdated! ❤️ Save this reel to come back to it whenever needed. ❤️ Follow @janna.gottwald for more content on childhood trauma and on how our early life experiences relate to embodiment and mental health in adulthood.
3 years ago
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9/9
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