"Gosh! How could I have been so dumb?"
"Nothing that I say ever makes any sense."
"I am not pretty enough."
"I am so fat."
"I'm unloveable."
Have you ever had some of those inner monologues? If you haven't, you can start being honest with yourself and the rest of the world. Some refer to that inner voice as the devil on one's shoulder or as self-criticism. Dr. Jacqueline Hornor Plumez, the author of The Bitch In Your Head: How to Finally Squash Your Inner Critic, refers to that voice as "the Bitch."
Personifying the inner critic as malicious and unpleasant helps the reader to understand that the inner voice can be defeated. Suddenly, the reader's guard and awareness are both up and ready to pounce on that inner critic, if she still dares to present herself. And present herself she does, that is why, Dr. Plumez carefully outlines how and why "the bitch" manifest herself and how to silence her.
Dr. Plumez attributed each chapter to a different inner critic. For example, one chapter talks about the inner criticism revolving around work while another centered on phobia. Structuring it this way gives the reader free rein on whether to read the book cover to cover or in different orders. Furthermore, although the book's title seems to cater exclusively to women, there are certain chapters that caters to both genders. In addition, the book does not age discriminate. Dr. Plumez refers to scenarios that are identifiable to both young and old.
What makes this book even more relatable are the personal stories throughout. They not only help support Dr. Plumez ideas but they also help the reader further comprehend how damaging and prevalent the inner voice is.
While Dr. Plumez's book offer a wide range of strengths, I was still able to locate one minor weakness. She does a good job of using the word "bitch" to immediately grab the reader's attention, however, the excessive repetition of the word throughout the book became too much of a distraction, at least for me. So, If you have any issues with that word being incessantly used, well, you have been warned.
If you believe that your inner voice has inhabited your being in a negative way, I highly recommend that you read this book. You will get useful tools on how to better identify your inner critic or critics and how to not let it impede on your self esteem by someone who is highly qualified for the job. And qualified, she is, Dr. Jacqueline Hornor Plumez obtained a Ph.D in psychology from Columbia University and has been a practicing psychologist for over twenty-five years.
