Aw, I think you’re doing great, I really do. You are recognizing your parents’ voices, and that they are wrong. And you are recognizing that you need to get help, and you’re doing that through therapy. She’s right, it took several decades to make you the man you are today, it may take the rest of our life to become the man you really are. Some things you could try along the way:

– Listen to that parental voice when it comes up – actually LISTEN to it. Don’t shove it away, or automatically poo-poo it, just listen to it. Be with that voice. Hear the words, and let them flow over you. Sometimes we think we have to AGREE with what we are hearing, but that fight-or-flight response misses the opportunity to move PAST what we are hearing. So give it space, a few seconds, to just BE.

– After their words have passed over you (and with some practice I bet it will take fewer and fewer seconds), look at your hands. Be where your HANDS are, and continue with your task. Their words are now gone, and you are present with your task and can get on with it. If their words pop up again, try not to block them but HEAR them, WATCH them flow over you, then RELEASE them and move on.

Their words are not the truth, and their words are not YOUR words. Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. God bless you on this journey.