Gina Popejoy - Change Coach Profile

Before I came to this understanding, I struggled with self-criticism and self-judgment for as long as I can remember.  It was baffling how cruel I was to myself, I wouldn’t speak to another living being in the manner I routinely spoke to myself.

As we do, I tried to change my internal world with external achievements, relationships, or possessions in hopes of finding peace. When that didn’t work I numbed the pain and anxiety with substances, primarily food…generating more criticism, tension, and confusion.

What I have come to see is the criticism and judgment was my brain’s way of trying to find safety.  I belittled and dismissed myself before anyone else could.  Our brains are wired for survival and sometimes go too far in their drive for certainty. It was a habit developed when I was a young girl growing up in a tension-filled home. I thought I was insecure and didn’t like myself because of my insecure and self-critical thinking.  What a relief to find out WE ARE NOT OUR THOUGHTS. No matter how long we have unintentionally practiced a habit, it still doesn’t make you the habit. I hope you can feel a little more space just hearing these words.

When we understand how our brains work, we can develop a healthy, light-hearted, spacious relationship with it. In this understanding, we can quit fighting our thoughts or trying to change them, opening the door to our own heart.  This is where I truly found self-compassion, peace, and the acceptance I was longing for.

Our pain and tension is there to tell us we are not telling ourselves the truth, not that there is anything wrong with us.

I meet my clients right where they are.  There is no agenda other than discovering their own heart so that they can live a freer, more spacious life.  If you would like to have a free half-hour chat with me, please schedule a session below.