I'm always familiar with the voice inside of my head. It talks all the time.
What I didn't notice was that there were actually different kinds of voices: paranoid, hopeful, over-analyzing, etc. Each voice represents a different me. So there are multiple "I"s living inside of me.
Another thing I didn't notice was that the voices weren't me, and I didn't have to listen to them. I pay too much attention to my internal chatters. While in reality, they might mean nothing but noises. When I stop engaging with them, they come and go without disturbance. Another key is I can choose and decide if I want to engage with the voice.
After noticing these two things, whenever I sense something going on in me, I will simply be aware of the fact that one of "I"s is talking. And if I don't want to hear her anymore, I might simply shift the focus of my flashlight.
The internal dialogue might look like: "Oh, the paranoid me is freaking out again. There's no need for that. Let's don't pay attention to her."
Then the voice will quiet down. 🙂