The Inner Critic - A Psychology Practice For Self-Compassion

There is a voice in your mind that has probably been there so long you have stopped noticing it.

It comments on everything you do. It compares you to everyone around you. It holds you to a standard nobody could meet. And it speaks to you in ways you would never speak to anyone you love.

This practice does not try to silence that voice.

It does something more lasting than that.

Designed by a psychologist with eighteen years of experience, this five minute session uses self-compassion research and cognitive awareness to gently change your relationship with your most critical thoughts.

Not by fighting them. By finally responding to yourself the way you would respond to someone you genuinely love.

Three and a half minutes. One of the most important things you will practise today.

Transcript

This is Zuzanna. I would like to share with you this psychology practice for self-compassion. Come and rest for a moment. You don't need to change anything about how you feel right now. You don't need to arrive feeling calm or ready or okay. You can arrive exactly as you are. Simply let your body find whatever position feels easiest. And allow this to be a few minutes that belong entirely to you. Free slow breaths to begin and end. And out. One more. This time longer on the exhale. Now bring your awareness gently inward. Notice what your mind is saying right now. Not what it should be saying. What it is actually saying. Maybe it is telling you that you are behind. That you should be further along. Did you have handled something badly? That you are too much or not enough. Or both at once. Simply notice the words. It's dawn. Its temperature. Don't argue with it. Don't agree with it, Simply observe it. The way you might observe a storm from inside a warm room. The storm is real. But you're not in it right now. Now I want you to bring someone to mind. Someone you love. Someone whose struggle would matter deeply to you. A close friend. Your child, Your sister, Anyone whose pain you would take seriously. Imagine there are sitting in front of you right now. And they are going through exactly what you are going through not something easier. Exactly this. What would you say to them? Notice the shift in your body. When you turn your attention towards someone you love. How naturally the softness comes. How readily the patience arrives. You already know how to do this. You do it for others without even trying. Very gently. Turn it toward yourself. Not because you have earned it. Not because you have resolved a thing you are struggling with. Simply because you are human. And humans who are struggling. Deserve kindness. Including you. Place a hand on your heart if that feels right. And simply say inwardly with whatever warmth you can find right now. I see you. This is hard. And you are allowed to be kind to yourself. Stay here for a moment. Simply breathing. Simply receiving that. The inner critic will come back. That is not a failure. That is simply how minds work. But something has shifted now. Because the next time you hear that voice. . . You'll have practiced something. A pause. A question. Would I say this to someone I love? And if the answer is no. . . You have a choice. Not to fix the thought. Simply to respond to yourself differently than you have before. That choice made quietly. Again. And again. Is what changes things. Not all at once. But genuinely. Over time. When you are ready. Let your eyes open softly. Thank you for giving yourself this few minutes. You deserve them.