Everyone has a voice inside their head, and many of us are kept awake at night trying to tune it out. We may be thinking about what happened that day, or about something that is yet to happen, simple things that shouldn't contribute to insomnia. Sometimes the voice could be saying, "Why did you do that? That was so embarrassing," or "I'm so nervous for tomorrow, there are so many things that could go wrong." For some people, this only happens when they're stressed out, upset, or just plain exhausted, but what if everyone had this voice running through their minds all day long?
People with anxiety hear these thoughts constantly; they are often unprovoked, and they can be a real pain to deal with. For me, this voice basically prohibits me from being myself around people I don't know very well, which makes me feel very awkward and self-conscious. My social anxiety has gotten better over the years, but I still hear this voice in the back of my mind nagging me, telling me that I should stop being annoying or boring or stupid. But I am a sensible human being as well, so I know these thoughts are ridiculous. I know I'm not annoying or boring or stupid. So, to get through awkward situations, a simple "shut up" to the nagging voice usually does the trick, at least for a while.
The best time to sort through the feelings you've been having during the day, however, is at night, or some other time when you're by yourself. If something happens during the day that I don't like, it usually helps me to tell the voice inside my head things like, "I'll probably never see that person again" or "The other person probably felt just as awkward as I did." Repeating it definitely helps, because the inner voice doesn't always listen very well. Also, when I suddenly remember an awkward situation from years ago, I cringe and beat myself up, but then I tell myself, "They probably don't even remember what happened." And then I move on.
Of course, these things will never shut anyone's inner voice up completely, but it helps to cope with the crippling anxiety that some of us experience. Whenever you hear this voice trying to bring you down, don't ignore it. The longer you ignore it, the louder and more demanding it becomes. Address the voice before it gets to be too much, and tell it to leave you alone, because you know that the situation isn't as bad as the voice is saying it is. This may not be helpful for everyone, but it's important to know how your anxiety affects you, and what the voice in your head is telling you. The more you know about yourself, the more comfortable you'll feel. With experience, you'll know just what to say to your inner voice to make yourself feel better.
