Self Criticism

Notes

Claim

Self Criticism is when we are our worst enemy, the opposite of Healthy self-talk prevents spiraling and builds resilience.

Explanation

When we criticize ourselves, we often lack Being kind to yourself strengthens resilience and growth, and we know exactly which buttons to push in order to make us feel bad about ourselves. We usually judge ourselves by unbelievable standards Perfectionism paralyzes action through unattainable standards, and while we call it criticism, it is far removed from actual criticism that can help us improve. The goal is not to support us, but rather damage us.

Why it matters

Examples

Supporters

Opposers

When we criticize ourselves, we damage our Self-worth is accurate assessment of your capabilities, and ironically locks us in an unchanging state, unable to escape and become someone who doesn't deserve these criticisms.

By saying things like "Why do I always do...", "Why I am so stupid...", or "I don't deserve happiness", we attach our failures to our identity, unable to gain enough distance to learn and grow from them. We tarnish our identity, rather than our actions, as if we are beings of pure incompetence and worthlessness.

We have no Safe Base provides security enabling growth and exploration, no where to feel validated, no where to find the energy to escape our circumstances.

Self criticism is a swamp that only grows deeper and harder to escape Harmful actions reinforce themselves through self-perpetuating feedback loops. We criticize ourselves, so we feel bad, and eventually we will make more mistakes, which would lead to more criticism, more self hatred, more mistakes...

Open questions

Visual

Overview

🔼Topic:: Inner Critic and Self-Perception ↩️Origin:: 🔗Link::