Search Results for: critical inner voice

The Importance of Choosing Your Thoughts

…s. This inner critic, also referred to as the “anti-self” or the “critical inner voice” can take over our thinking and lead to rumination. Rumination occurs when we become trapped in a negative cycle of circular thinking. This type of thinking has a strong link to depression and suicide. When we are in the realistic point of view of our “real self,” we can have positive self-reflection. When we are in the point of view of our anti-self, experienci…

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Finding Your Cure for Depression

…Firestone. Voice Therapy introduces people to the concept of the “critical inner voice,” a destructive pattern of thoughts that fuels self-hatred. The critical inner voice is like a sadistic coach who comments on our lives and torments us. It undermines our goals and kicks us when we’re down. People with depression often strongly experience this “voice,” driving feelings of hopelessness, unworthiness or shame, a concept I’ll elaborate on in two up…

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How to Beat the 5 Types of Boredom that Arise in Relationships

…relationship, or your life in general. You may be listening to a “critical inner voice” that operates like a mean coach inside your head, insulting and undermining you. This “voice” also tends to target people close to you. Naturally, there are times you have real complaints about your partner or your circumstances, but the critical inner voice tends to nitpick, exaggerate, and distort in ways that ruin your mood and negatively color your point of…

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How to Stop Fighting and Feel Close Again

…luding our early attachment patterns, psychological defenses, and critical inner voices about ourselves and others. That is why the key to getting along with our partner is rarely as simple as it sounds. However, the good news is we have a lot of power when it comes to making things better. Here are some efforts we can take to ease tension and keep feeling close to our partner: Don’t fester A study from researchers at the University of California…

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How to Stop Making the Wrong Relationship Choices

…f your partner’s shortcomings. This negative way of thinking, or “critical inner voice,” directs us to recreate the emotional environment we grew up in. If, as children, we were neglected, it warns us that we are going to be rejected. If we were intruded on, it tells us that a loved one is demanding of us. In almost no area is this coach as loud or tough on us than in our intimate relationships. Think of your inner coach as an old dialogue that wa…

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What Drives Our Loneliness?

…meful feelings inside us and listen to self-critical thoughts or “critical inner voices” that put us down in regard to new relationships. These “voices” don’t just isolate us by criticizing us and diminishing our confidence but by tricking us into self-protecting. “Don’t trust her,” it says, “she’s probably using you.” “Stay home tonight. You don’t need the stress of going out and talking to people. Things are too hectic. You need your own space….

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Challenging Depression

…ar: A cognitive/ affective/ behavioral approach to conquering the critical inner voice that drives depression Exercises, and other tools that can help people separate from negative thoughts Specific actions and exercises people can engage in to reduce symptoms of depression Tools to enhance mindfulness, self-compassion, and a positive sense of self During the pandemic, a major study showed that the number of U.S. adults experiencing depression tri…

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Cynical About Relationships: Is Cynicism Ruining Your Love Life?

…ynical attitude is what my father Dr. Robert Firestone calls our “critical inner voice.” The critical inner voice describes a negative thought process we all experience to different degrees that harshly criticizes us and others. For many of us, this voice gets loudest when it comes to our romantic life. Our critical inner voices can act as a barrier to getting close to someone else. Like the world’s worst matchmaker, it tends to feed us a steady s…

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Changing the Way You See the World

…ctive. The language of this internal enemy is referred to as our “critical inner voice.” This “voice” is like a running commentary in our heads criticizing, casting doubt, and often making us feel anxious, depressed, or uncertain about whatever’s going on in our lives. Just as our real self is born from positive experiences, our anti-self is shaped by negative early life experiences, i.e. the hurtful ways we were seen or treated in our family, rej…

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How to Stop Worrying

…critic Part of changing our relationship to our worries means quieting an inner voice we all possess that perpetuates our anxiety by warning us about everything that could go wrong. Our “critical inner voice” is like an internalized coach, an enemy that evaluates, undermines, and criticizes us but that also fosters paranoid, suspicious attitudes toward the world around us. Like the flip side of a positive sense of self or “real self,” our critica…

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