Cognitive restructuring
'Cognition' is a word used to denote a thought or belief, and 'restructuring' involves challenging a cognition by looking at the evidence for or against it. The basic idea behind cognitive restructuring is that thoughts themselves are not facts; you need to consider whether the thoughts you are having are true and to consider whether there are any other ways to thinking about a particular situation. At first this can be a real challenge: we often believe what we think and don't question our own thoughts. However, often our thinking is biased, and with perfectionism it can be biased towards thinking too negatively and harshly about yourself.
Am I self-critical?
The following selection are a few simple statements to help you reflect on your own self-criticism.
I tend to devalue or undersell myself
I have a difficult time accepting my weaknesses
I believe I could always do more or do better
If I do well, it was probably by chance
If I do badly, I tend to think it's my own fault
I am my own worst critic
If you feel at least 3 of these 6 statements apply to you, chances are you spend a considerable amount of time listening to your inner critic.
Identifying the inner critic
One way to help you identify your inner critic is to look for thoughts that you would hesitate to say to another person, because they sound shady or judgemental.
When you are used to being self-critical, it can sometimes be hard to recognise the self-critical voice because you accept it as the truth.
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Use the following activity to identify your inner critic. Try to understand which events most commonly trigger critical thinking and what your critical voice says.
See if you can identify those thoughts that express criticism of you.