inner critic Archives - Chris Sharp Counselling

The Word That Steals Your Power (And What to Say Instead)

by Chrisanxiety, counselling, inner critic 15 November, 202427 September, 2025No Comments

There’s a word that shows up with almost every counselling client and leads to lots of self-criticism. It’s so common that most people don’t even notice they’re saying it. Yet this single word has an extraordinary ability to make us feel guilty, anxious, and powerless. The word? “Should.” “I should be over this by now.” …

The Paradox of Change: Why Acceptance Comes First

by Chriscounselling, inner critic 4 October, 202427 September, 2025No Comments

The paradox of counselling is that often the best, longest-lasting change comes when we accept ourselves where we are now. But it’s tricky. Of course, most people come to counselling because there is something that they want to change. Accepting themselves feels like the opposite of change. But how do we do acceptance? In this article, I hope to show how and why acceptance is so fundamental to lasting change and what we can do to be more accepting of ourselves.