In the age old story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the doctor drinks a potion which turns him into a monster. In real-life though this ‘potion’ does not exist, nor do we need it in order to commit unethical behaviour.
The Voice Within
In certain scenarios, we are told to follow our gut instinct, listen to our inner voice and go with our beliefs, but what if our inner voice tells us to do something unacceptable? There are people who suffer such an experience and in some instances they could be suffering from multiple personality disorder which can be frightening.
It is known that many people have an inner voice and they can be both good or bad depending on what they’re telling us to do. Sometimes they critic us and our behaviour by telling us we’re not good enough, we’re too fat, we’re not smart enough etc. In other cases our inner voice does not only critic us but also tells us to do bad things. This could be a small misdemeanours like eating that second slice of cake through to bigger and unacceptable actions such as illegal activity, crime and socially unacceptable behaviour.
Turning the Negative Inner Voice Off
There are cases when our negative inner voice tells or forces us to do bad things – things which we wouldn’t normally or otherwise do. In moments of weakness our inner voice wins and we just find ourselves doing those bad things, as if we have no control over our actions. A good example of this is an alcoholic in recovery. They know it’s wrong for them to drink, but some can fall of the band wagon a few times before becoming sober long term.
The good news is that we do have control over our actions and our inner voice as well. A strong conviction and the will to say ‘No!’ is often sufficient enough to remove our inner voice. For those with stronger urges, this may not be enough.
As with most things, the first step is acknowledging your behaviour through reaching out via counselling, through self help groups and self education. It’s not necessarily about turning your inner voice off, it’s about teaching your inner voice to be positive and encouraging. This can take practise, however the results are worth it.
When not checked, our inner voice can run and ruin our lives and the people around us.
If our inner voice becomes too much to handle it is strongly advise that you seek help from professionals immediately. To regain control, you have to take action.