Self-Love & Inner Healing: Becoming Your Own Safe Place - 2

Self-love isn’t about perfection, confidence, or constant positive thinking.
It’s about learning to belong to yourself — gently, day by day.

This is the 2nd of a 4-part series inviting you to soften self-judgment, heal inner rejection, and reconnect with the parts of you that have been waiting to be seen. Through guided reflections, embodiment practices, and compassionate inner dialogue, you will learn how to offer yourself the tenderness and understanding you’ve longed for from others.

Join Gabriella across four sessions, exploring self-compassion, the inner critic, emotional safety, and wholeness — helping you create an inner environment where you feel accepted, supported, and deeply at home.

Episode 2 in the series is all about: Meeting the Inner Critic with Compassion - Understanding the Voice That Tries to Protect You.

No experience needed. Just your presence, your breath, and a willingness to be gentle with yourself.

Transcript

Hello,

I'm Gabriela and welcome.

Give yourself a moment to find a comfortable position and take a slow breath in and gently release.

Today,

We meet the inner critic.

The familiar voice inside that says,

You are not enough.

You should be better.

You should have known.

You can't mess this up.

Most people try to silence this voice,

But the truth is your inner critic is not the enemy.

It's an old protector shaped by fear,

Shaped by past experiences,

Shaped by the moments you felt unsafe.

Unseen or unworthy.

Whenever your inner critic criticizes you,

What it is really saying is,

I'm scared.

I don't want you to get hurt again.

I'm trying to keep you safe.

Take a breath.

Let that land.

Imagine your inner critic as a younger version of you.

Perhaps anxious,

Overwhelmed,

Or simply doing its best.

Can you offer that part compassion instead of punishment?

In your mind,

Say silently to yourself,

Thank you for trying to protect me.

I am safe now.

You don't have to carry this alone.

Feel how the tone shifts.

Feel how your body softens.

This is the beginning of healing your inner dialogue.

Not by fighting it or through resistance,

But by understanding it.

Take one more breath here.

Feeling your heartbeat in your chest.

And when you're ready,

Gently returning to your day.

If you have a pen and paper to hand,

Here are a couple of questions for you to answer now or in your own time.

What does my inner critic commonly say?

When did I first learn to speak to myself this way?

And for today's ritual,

I would like you to write one phrase your inner critic often says.

And once you have written that,

Then I want you to reverse the phrase by rewriting it as a compassionate truth.

And this concludes day two.