…m doubt and hurtful influences to discover who we really are. However, the inner voice can be tricky. Like pretty much everything and everyone in our lives, it has two sides. In fact, it’s almost as if we’re in possession of two inner voices: a positive life-affirming voice one that represents our real self (our true wants, desires and goals) and a critical, coaxing and destructive inner voice. My father Dr. Robert Firestone often refers to this i…
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…down. This internalized enemy that can be conceptualized as the “critical inner voice. By identifying the self-defeating instructions and self-hating commentary of this “groaning inner voice,” we can start to act against its direction and challenge the roots of our depression. Watch a Whiteboard Video on The Critical Inner Voice The frequency and intensity with which someone experiences critical inner voices correlates with their level of depress…
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…lives, but rather on a negative internal distortion known as our “critical inner voice.” The critical inner voice is a well-integrated pattern of negative thoughts toward ourselves and others. In addition to casting a shadow on our sense of self, this internal enemy is often at the root of our maladaptive behavior. We experience this “voice,” not as an auditory hallucination, but as a series of questioning, critical, and self-limiting thoughts and…
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…live a life free of the harsh attitudes of our inner critic? The Critical Inner Voice and Self-Hatred In their research, psychologists Dr. Robert and Lisa Firestone found that the most common self-critical thought among a diverse population of subjects tested is “You are different from other people.” Most people see themselves as different, not in some positive or special way, but in a negative sense. Even people who seem well-adjusted and well-l…
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…carries around our own inner troll just waiting to pounce. This “critical inner voice” produces an endless feed of cruel comments on pretty much everything we do. It’s there to tell us we’re stupid, ugly, boring, awkward, incapable, unworthy, or whatever buzzword shakes us to our core. Our inner critic is particularly troublesome, because unlike trolls we encounter on social media, the one in our heads has the inside track on our vulnerabilities…
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…estructive Thoughts (FAST) to evaluate people’s self-attacks (or “critical inner voices”) along a continuum. What they found is that the most common self-critical thought people have toward themselves is that they are different – not in a positive sense, but in some negative, alienating way. Whether our self-esteem is high or low, one thing is clear; we are a generation that compares, evaluates and judges ourselves with great scrutiny. By understa…
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…r person than our own defenses and an internal enemy known as the critical inner voice. The voice is what runs us down when we make a mistake or say something stupid. It’s the part of us that doesn’t believe we can accomplish anything or that we’ll ever be smart enough, attractive enough or just enough. Most of us can identify this voice in some area of our lives. But rarely do we recognize just how vicious an intruder it can be on our relationshi…
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…irited, external points of view can free us from that destructive critical inner voice. You don’t have to look far to find your critical inner voice. It’s there when you go to a job interview: “Why are you wasting your time? The other applicants are more qualified for this job.” It’s there when you express a point of view, “You idiot, why did you say that? Now everyone will think you are stupid.” It’s there when you make a mistake, “Can’t you do a…
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…nd creativity,” said Dr. Lisa Firestone co-author of Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice. “Yet, getting ‘in our heads’ can also be dangerous when we are negatively turned against ourselves.” Dr. Firestone states that there is “an important difference between introspection and rumination.” While introspection involves “healthy self-reflection and exploration, rumination is more like a “vicious cycle” of negative thinking and critical, demoralizing se…
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…r identity. In this post, I will illustrate how listening to our “critical inner voice” works to diminish our ability to show up each day as the person we want to be: to become the most “us” version of ourselves. The “critical inner voice” is a term often used by psychologist Robert Firestone to describe a part of ourselves that is against us. This “voice” insults, undercuts, and outright attacks us, pushing us deeper into self-hatred and further…
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