That Critical Inner Voice

That critical inner voice inside your head comes from your childhood. We all had parents, teachers, siblings or bullies who criticized and judged us in one way or another. Over time, we begin to judge and criticize ourselves the same way. We often judge others also but we are always the most harsh on ourselves. This inner critic is really a protective mechanism. We would rather be hard on ourselves than have to hear it from someone else. It's a way of protecting ourselves from rejection and emotional abandonment. Unfortunately the cure becomes worse than the disease as we hold ourselves down with low self esteem and even anxiety.