fbpx
Menu

Scared to get rid of self-criticism/loathing

HomeForumsEmotional MasteryScared to get rid of self-criticism/loathing

New Reply
Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #68836
    Kaitlin
    Participant

    Hi…I don’t know what to do about this. I have a problem with beating myself up constantly that I only know about because so many different people have told me. It’s probably stemmed from how I was brought up- my mom was very, very hard on me all of the time. Because she thought it would make me better. So now I’m carrying that pattern into adulthood, even though I recognize it as unhealthy, at the same time how can I stop? Deep down I truly still feel like it’s helping me- by keeping me and my behavior in check. Preventing my mistakes from getting too bad because I’ll catch it in time, because I catch everything, whether it’s bad or not. Does that make sense?

    Because I don’t enjoy hating on myself this much, having cruel things running through my head all of the time, but who knows who I would be if I didn’t? Various friends have complimented me by saying things like I’m so honest or I’m so kind or I’m a very good person, and then they always go on to say something like “And I don’t know why you’re so hard on yourself…” But what I’m saying is, what if without the constant self-critic berating me, I’m not any of those good things anymore, at least not to the same degree? What if I would be not even enjoyable at all anymore?

    I also recognize that my negativity on myself might actually be an annoying trait to people! But I always come back to the notion that it’s worth it. So…I don’t know how to stop. Even though I know I should and I want to be able to, it still feels like I can’t.

    #68839
    Bluesman
    Participant

    And do you really feel this self-criticism is serving you?
    Do you feel that youre “happier” for all of this?

    Id imagine you mean the world to somebody, will you be happy when they see you the way you see yourself?
    I wouldnt want to be seen in the negative light that I have seen in myself, when I let myself self criticize and belittle myself.
    It isnt always easy to let go and just BE, it is easier said than done, but we must show ourself some compassion and stop the cycle of pain and hurt that we self inflict.

    Ive read somewhere, and im sure I will butcher it, but here goes it anyways.
    We all have 2 voices in our head, one is our true self which is nurturing and keeps us out of harms way, keeps us safe and follows our dreams. The other voice is “that friend” who pretends to be our friend…sometimes telling us what we want to hear so we keep them close and value their opinion…but says THE worst things to us about ourselves and makes us feel badly.
    But only one voice is needed…make the choice, listen to yourself and not “that friend”…YOU DONT NEED THEM ANYWAYS!

    Mediitation is an excellent way to silence “that friend” and it gives your true selfs voice volume and clarity. But it is a practice and must be done often and regularly or that friend will come back to visit more often.
    Ive been a terrible self critic myself, it sucks because its a dirrect reflection of self esteem. I was fortunate enought to find a class on self esteem…and that also did wonders…it helped my true self debate that friend away to where it tool away the friends powerful voice.
    I hope this makes some sense and that it helps you make peace within…or atleast gets you started on the path to peace…and just BEING…and being happy!

    #68914
    Lou
    Participant

    Hi, Kaitlin. Another self-criticiser here! Lol. I don’t know if you’ve tried imagining that you’re speaking to your inner child when that critical voice comes up in your head. It seems this comes from childhood for you as it does for so many others, so there’s still a bunch of memories that belong to your child self. Imagine you’re speaking to her. Would you be so critical of a little girl? I’m sure you’d want to nurture and protect her, make her feel safe. But that is who you’re speaking to when your critical inner voice switches on – that little girl who got so used to being criticised that she took over the job from her mother and started doing it herself.

    As for who you are – the fact that you’re worried about being a good person shows that you have a strong inner moral compass. You’re not going to turn into a horrible person just because you stop being critical of yourself. You’ll eventually – once you manage to quieten the inner critic – become a happier, more confident version of the lovely person you are now. I have a couple of suggestions just of things that have helped me – Faster EFT (you’ll find loads of youtube videos on this for free), and Maxwell Maltz’s Psycho Cybernetics, which helps to improve self image, and identify false beliefs that are damaging your self image at the moment. I hope they resonate with you as much as they did for me.

    Much luck!

    #69031
    xWhy
    Participant

    Kaitlin,
    Who you are and who you will become have nothing to do with criticism either from others or yourself. It is because you make good choices. That won’t change if you stop abusing yourself with these thoughts. About 3 years ago, I started to question everything. I saw a picture of what boys in high schools are doing to each other in order to fit in. It showed the cuts and welts that completely covered the backs of two boys. They looked like beaten slaves from civil war movies. I asked, “if this how we treat each other now in order to be considered worthy, is that right?” I then began a year long process of questioning every time I felt judgement from others and myself and asked wether it was valid (provable or opinion) given with compassion (in love and with my best interest) and wether if what was being judged was in anyway related to who I really am (or was it just superficial garbage). I hope this helps, because in my case almost no judgement of who I am met any of these requirements. It will probably be the same for you. You are also a perfectionist so let me fix that now. Your good had always been and always will be better than most peoples best. So go easy, you will still shine!

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Please log in OR register.