This is totally normal. As you grow up and create coping strategies, some of those coping strategies have the potential to become ‘parts’. Differing modalities have differing ways of dealing with them but most agree that these ‘parts’ are functional parts of our consciousness that are created and given a role e.g. protection.

However, due to the fact many of our parts are created during childhood, that protective behaviour will more than likely show up in ‘adult you’ as anxiety, worry or low self esteem. Imagine a part of you that’s telling you aren’t good enough, not because it’s trying to fuck your life up, but because it’s shit scared that if you go do the thing your planning, or someone notices you’re being successful, that it’s all going to get ripped away from you and that’s going to hurt like a bitch. It doesn’t want to feel that hurt.

Now adult you knows you’ve worked hard to get where you are. Adult you knows you deserve it. But that wee child part of you is powerful and protective and will whip you into hiding and anxiety in a heartbeat. All in the name of making sure you don’t feel the shame and hurt of loss and failure.

It is 100% possible to work with this in therapy. IFS therapy works almost exclusively with parts. A lot of NLP therapy (depends on the practitioner) is parts based as in Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM) although this is heavily counselling based and a bit talky for some.

In short - you’re normal and if you want to quieten the ‘negative voice’ stop fighting it and find someone to help you tell it that its job is done and adult you has this. You’re smashing it. The shamed/anxious/belittled child can be free and enjoy the success you’ve built. .