How do you deal reasonably with criticism and mistakes? Someone is unhappy with a piece of work I have done and I’m feeling really upset about it, which is how I feel whenever someone criticises me. The daft thing is that, although I understand why they are unhappy with what they are being told, my work is correct and I stand by the result. Objectively I can see that they are probably having a bad day and are having a bit of a toys out of pram moment. But as soon as anyone criticises me, I feel completely worthless and depressed. I want to cry and hide away from the world forever. I often have intrusive thoughts at these times. I am a 40+ year old woman and this is ridiculous. Even if I had made a mistake, mistakes happen and I don’t work in medicine or air traffic control so it’s not exactly the end of the world.
I have always struggled with criticism. I lost one parent at a young age and the remaining parent was very critical and would regularly tell me that I was stupid and rubbish and that I was so awful they wished they were dead. Obviously, even I can see this is probably related! But how do I get passed it? This has had an impact on my career over the years as I avoid high stakes projects and situations where I might be commented on. Therapy would be great but i can’t afford private and whenever I’ve approached the doctor I’ve not got anywhere.
How do you deal with being criticised?