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Does anyone NOT have an inner critic?

215 replies

HorseGallopingOnATomato · 14/02/2021 20:48

Is it possible?

OP posts:
BlueTimes · 14/02/2021 20:49

Apparently lots of people don’t. It baffled me when I first realised this because mine never, ever shuts up! How do people manage with all that silence going on in their heads?

Buzzer3555 · 14/02/2021 20:50

I definitely have one...i don't always listen to her though

HorseGallopingOnATomato · 14/02/2021 20:51

Mine neither. Driving me mad. Especially in lockdown. :(

OP posts:
NiceGerbil · 14/02/2021 20:52

What do you mean?

I don't think I do. Having to ask probably means I don't?!

ShirleyPhallus · 14/02/2021 20:52

Not very much, but I think I listened a lot to my inner critic and stopped doing stuff that would make me feel bad and now am pretty happy with how I am.

I still have A LOT of internal dialogue going on but it’s more “shall we have fish or chicken for dinner” rather than “you’re doing a rubbish job of XYZ”

HorseGallopingOnATomato · 14/02/2021 20:57

@NiceGerbil the mean side of the inner monologue that says stuff like

I can’t believe you’re still in this job, you’re rubbish
You’ll never do xyz
Let’s go back over all the people that said mean things and why you deserved it
You aren’t ready to do XYZ, you’ll make a fool of yourself
Why do you think X will be interested in what you have to say?

That kind of stuff

OP posts:
BaggoMcoys · 14/02/2021 21:00

Is your voice like a second person? I think in the first person. Sometimes I have negative thoughts but not quite how you describe. To use one of your examples my thought process would be "I'll never do xyz" rather than "you'll never do xyz".

Tomcullenisahero · 14/02/2021 21:04

@NiceGerbil I think I must have your inner critic as well as mine 😄

HorseGallopingOnATomato · 14/02/2021 21:06

@BaggoMcoys omg I actually don’t know! I’ll pay attention and come back and report!

OP posts:
ssd · 14/02/2021 21:06

I have a voice in my head all the time

HalfBrick · 14/02/2021 21:27

Me! I have an inner voice but I don't blame or criticise myself. I'm not some mad love yourself ego, just not negative towards myself at all. Stopped when I was about 25 after a life changing event and its bloody great.

HorseGallopingOnATomato · 14/02/2021 21:34

@HalfBrick i wish I could learn from you! Do you have any advice to offer us?

OP posts:
LadyJaye · 14/02/2021 21:36

I've taken to thinking of my inner critic as Donald Trump.

Now, whenever it says something, I'm like OMG SHUT UP TRUMP YOU ORANGE NAZI and it works amazingly well.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 14/02/2021 21:36

I have an inner bully - the only person she bullies is me. I am trying to learn to ignore her.

NiceGerbil · 14/02/2021 21:36

Ah got it OP no I don't have that.

I tend to have music in my head.

Whitegrenache · 14/02/2021 21:36

It's the inner chimp...

Read the chimp paradox book , it's very interesting

lightand · 14/02/2021 21:37

No.
I ditched pride too.
I have no intention of me being the person to stop me.

Bluntness100 · 14/02/2021 21:37

I don’t have this, it sounds wearying. I have more an inner super fan.

BarbarasStripedHands · 14/02/2021 21:42

My husband doesn't have one but I definitely do.

He was also astounded the other day that when people read books, they 'see' the scene and the characters. To him, it's just words, he doesn't visualise anything.

He's and avid reader and to think he doesn't experience that, baffles me.

35andThriving · 14/02/2021 21:43

I would love it if I could shut my inner critic up. It sucks a lot of the joy out of life.

LynetteScavo · 14/02/2021 21:43

My inner critic constantly tells me I'm not thin enough, don't earn enough, don't keep the house perfect enough. I just wish I could be satisfied or one day.

Jasperjosephjulian · 14/02/2021 21:44

No, mines a total bitch.

WanderingMilly · 14/02/2021 21:51

No, reading this I realise I don't have an inner critic as stated here. I do have a lot of thought in my head, it tends to be a dialogue very similar to how I talk to myself.

But definitely, like the pp earlier, I'm thinking "What shall I cook for dinner? I must remember to text XYZ, has the washing machine finished yet?" and all that sort of stuff. Sometimes I think about the past and analyse it, sometimes I plan for the future, sometimes I do criticise myself, eg. I'll drop something and say, Oh crap, that was a daft thing to do. But equally I might think, You poor thing, if I'm feeling under the weather.

But it's all me, I quite like myself and so my inner chatterings are generally everyday and supportive.

OverByYer · 14/02/2021 21:56

My inner voice is very unforgiving.
And doesn’t stop talking.
From the way I look to the way I speak. I wish it would give me a break sometimes

the80sweregreat · 14/02/2021 21:59

Not only an inner critic ( as per the chimp book) but I've started talking to myself now too!
I think it helps me to remember things , as I do become forgetful too if I don't.
My brain is overthinking all the time. Misdemeanors from my youth pop up a lot! I was such an idiot when I was young (at times)
I also can hate myself too. It is a bit of mess lately I blame the lockdowns.

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