I have to catch myself when the inner critic is being abusive to my inner child and put him in his place whilst nurturing the little boy inside.

This is so true. This is so honest and beautiful. We all need to be more nurturing and gentle with ourselves! Since I've started vlogging, I have realized, that I will tend to not record myself unless I've got a bit of makeup on. Isn't that ridiculous?

And I agree, having been part of the music industry, there was always pressure to carry a certain image. I remember a certain old bandmate constantly trying to get me to wear skirts on stage. It didn't seem like a big deal, but for me, it took away my sense of self and my confidence. I only gave in once and it was my worst show ever because I wasn't being true to me. It made me self-conscious and my performance suffered as a result. It's a very small sliver of an example, but one that stuck with me.

The mass media has done such a number on sexualizing everything that now it is more acceptable for children to see breasts in lingerie ads, rather than a mother nursing her child! And once you have nursed a child, or 2, or 3, or 4 and those breasts are not where they once were, the pressure to bind them into torturous contraptions or get them altered surgically is huge!