Rewiring the Critical Inner Voice With EMDR and Neuroscience for Lasting Change
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 4
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Written by Daniela D Sota, Registered Psychotherapist
Daniela Sota is a psychotherapist in Toronto, Canada. She has been working in mental health for 20 years and primarily uses EMDR as a therapeutic modality.
Most of us are familiar with that inner voice. It's persistent, harsh, and often relentless. It second-guesses your decisions, keeps you stuck in patterns you know aren't helping, and repeats thoughts like "I'm not good enough," "I'm unlovable," or "I always mess things up." Sometimes it says, "People will judge me," "I'm a burden," or "No matter what I do, it's never enough."
This is the critical inner voice. It shapes how we view ourselves, others, and the world. It influences how we show up in relationships, at work, in parenting, in creativity, and even in rest. It tells us that we are not worthy, not capable, not safe, and keeps us in survival mode long after the original threat is gone. And most of the time, we believe it.
If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. More importantly, there is a path forward. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful, neuroscience-informed psychotherapy that helps people transform this voice by targeting the experiences and memories that created it. Rather than simply teaching you how to manage your inner critic, EMDR helps rewire it at its origin.
What is the critical inner voice?
The critical inner voice is not intuition or conscience. It is not the thoughtful part of you that helps you reflect or adjust course. Instead, it's an internalized pattern of negative self-talk, often harsh, punishing, or shaming. It might say, "You could've done better," or "You're a failure." Though it can seem like it's trying to protect you from failure, it often causes more harm than good.
This voice fuels self-doubt, perfectionism, procrastination, burnout, and chronic dissatisfaction. It undermines relationships, silences creativity, and restricts growth. It may seem helpful on the surface, but in practice, it functions more like an internalized abuser, repeating outdated fears and beliefs that keep you stuck in a cycle of shame and survival.
Where does it come from?
The critical inner voice usually develops in childhood, during moments of emotional pain, disconnection, or unmet needs. Children absorb the messages they hear from caregivers, peers, teachers, and society. With limited understanding, they interpret experiences in black-and-white terms: "If I'm being yelled at, I must be bad." "If I'm ignored, I must not matter."
Even well-intentioned caregivers can contribute. A parent who is emotionally unavailable or under chronic stress may not intend harm, but a child's brain registers the lack of emotional responsiveness as evidence that they are not enough. Over time, these early experiences form lasting beliefs that shape identity, even when they no longer match reality.
The brain encodes these memories in emotional and survival-related neural networks. As the child grows, the beliefs become ingrained not just in thought patterns, but in the body and nervous system as a whole.
Your body believes the voice
When the critical inner voice is activated, the response is not just mental – it is physical as well. You may think, "I'm going to fail," and your body reacts as if you are in real danger.
The amygdala, a brain region involved in memory, emotion, and fear conditioning, detects a threat and activates the fight-or-flight response. Your heart races, breathing becomes shallow, and blood flow shifts toward the muscles. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for reasoning and decision-making, begins to shift offline. In this state, survival instincts override reflective thought. You're not thinking clearly because your brain is prioritizing survival.
This reaction is adaptive when the danger is real. But when it's triggered by old, inaccurate beliefs such as "I'm not safe to speak up," the response becomes a barrier rather than a protector. When repeated over time, this pattern contributes to anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and even physical health problems.
The cost of constant survival mode
Living in a persistent state of low-level threat has consequences. You may avoid challenges that lead to growth, suppress your needs to avoid conflict, or think of others first and ignore your own needs. These patterns serve one goal – safety – but the emotional and psychological costs are high.
Eventually, the survival-based response becomes ingrained, like muscle memory. Even if you intellectually know the belief is false, your body continues to respond as though it's true. That's because the inner critic resides in the brain's implicit memory system. Simply talking about it can be ineffective in changing the inner critic, and temporary at best. Because it operates below conscious awareness, influencing how you think, speak, move, and relate to others, without you even realizing it.
How EMDR makes a difference
EMDR is designed to help the brain process and integrate unhealed experiences that are driving these patterns. It uses eye movements, rhythmic tapping, or repeating words out loud, while the client recalls emotionally charged memories. This technique activates both hemispheres of the brain and taxes working memory to facilitate reprocessing.
For example, someone who grew up with a critical parent might internalize the belief, "I'm only lovable if I succeed." That belief can manifest as perfectionism, anxiety, or shame. In EMDR, the client revisits a memory that contributed to the belief not to relive it, but to reprocess it from the safety and awareness of the present moment.
Repetition has the emotional charge fade, and the brain is able to integrate new, adaptive beliefs. These beliefs aren't surface-level affirmations. They feel true in the body. "I'm enough just as I am" becomes a felt experience, not just a hopeful statement.
What neuroscience shows
Neuroscience research reveals that traumatic or highly emotional memories are stored in the brain in fragmented ways. When an experience overwhelms our coping capacity, the memory often becomes stuck in an unprocessed form, linked to physical sensations and negative self-beliefs. These memories can continue to affect behavior and perception long after the event is over.
EMDR helps the brain complete the memory-processing cycle. Brain scans show that after successful EMDR treatment, activity in the amygdala decreases while activity in the prefrontal cortex increases. This shift allows for better emotional regulation, clearer thinking, and a reduction in fear-based responses. In effect, the brain becomes more integrated, and the critical voice loses its power.
A new relationship with yourself and the world around you
One of the most profound outcomes of successful EMDR is a transformed relationship with the self. Clients often describe the inner critic as becoming quieter, more distant, or even disappearing entirely. They begin to experience themselves with more compassion and less fear. They reconnect with curiosity, creativity, and confidence.
When the old voice does show up, it is recognized for what it is – an echo of the past, not a current truth. Instead of reacting automatically, clients pause, assess their situation, and choose a new response. They interpret events through new lenses. They begin engaging more fully with life. Relationships improve. Authenticity deepens. Joy becomes more accessible. They no longer just cope, they thrive.
Final thoughts
The critical inner voice may seem like an unchangeable part of who you are. But it isn't. It's a learned response, one that emerged from earlier life experiences. And what is learned can be unlearned. EMDR offers a powerful, permanent, evidence-based way to quiet the inner critic by healing the experiences that gave rise to it.
By targeting the root cause, not just the symptoms, EMDR helps people reconnect with their own worth, resilience, and sense of possibility. When the inner voice transforms from a harsh critic to a supportive ally, life begins to open in ways that once seemed out of reach.
Are you ready to press stop on your own inner critic and experience more freedom? Visit here to learn more about how EMDR can help you thrive.
Read more from Daniela D Sota
Daniela D Sota, Registered Psychotherapist
Daniela Sota is a passionate advocate for mental health, championing the idea that mental health IS health. With over 20 years of experience, she works with clients to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be, whether struggling, stuck, or thriving. Daniela’s extensive training in various psychotherapeutic modalities led her to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a neuroscience-based psychotherapeutic modality that has transformed her approach. She uses EMDR to help clients overcome many diverse issues, including trauma, anxiety, negative self-talk, relationship issues, and repetitive patterns, as well as to enhance performance in business, arts, and sports.
