How to overcome Self-Criticism

Do you find that you are very critical of yourself?  Are you struggling with negative thoughts that lead you to feel bad the rest of the day?  If so, you are not alone.  Negative or irrational thoughts are common and while they are only thoughts, they can be harmful to your overall well being.  

We tend to hear a lot about people criticizing or judging others, while at the same time, people are struggling with being hard on themselves by self-criticisms and self-judgements.  

How self-criticisms affect us

While thoughts can’t physically harm us, they can still cause us much harm; such as self doubt, low self esteem, and poor concentration.

Our thoughts determine how we feel and our feelings influence how we behave.  If we are constantly criticizing or negatively judging ourselves, we are left feeling sad/mad/angry/guilty/not enough, and therefore we behave in negative ways such as isolating, lashing out at others, drinking, self harm, etc.  Take a look at how thoughts affect us in this model for more clarity on this process.

What can I do to stop?

Ideally, changing the way you think about yourself or a situation(s) you are going through, can be helpful in stopping yourself from criticizing and judging yourself.  The first step is to recognize that you are self-criticizing.  Once you become aware of this, my suggestion is to be gentle and kind to yourself.  Come up with “evidence” that challenges your negative thought/criticism.  Be patient with yourself on this journey.

Help is available

If you find yourself self-criticizing and negatively judging yourself, we can help.  Through evidence based skills we can help you change the way you think about yourself (or a situation) so that your emotions/feelings and behaviors are more positive and realistic.  The result will be less harm to your overall well being and more happiness and joy in life.  If you think that you can benefit from this or would like more guidance, feel free to contact me for a free consultation today.