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This is NPR's LifeKit. I'm TKJuTes. As an audio producer and host, I spend a lot of

time finding the positive when I talk to other people, and I love it. One of the best and

easiest parts of this job is having quality conversations with interesting people and

discovering all the good they have to offer. But when it comes to doing the same for myself,

that can be a lot harder. You know that little voice inside our heads,

like the running dialogue we have is self-talk. We all have some version of self-talk.

The only issue is that a lot of times that self-talk tends to be very critical and negative.

Things like, I'm so stupid, I never get anything right. No one will ever love me. That's joy

hard and Bradford. In Atlanta-based clinical psychologist, better known as Dr. Joy. She's the

host and founder of Therapy for Black Girls, a podcast and online space dedicated to encouraging

the mental wellness of black women and girls. And one of my go-to places for a mental or emotional

pick me up. You know, the interesting thing is that our negative self-talk often operates in

extremes, right? Like there's not a lot of gray area or grease given when it's our negative self-talk.

...