Self-Judgement and Self-Compassion

Reflections on Healing from Inner Criticism

This article comes from a series of realizations of how seriously I was beating myself up for being an imperfect human. I hold myself to a very high standard, trying to be aware, positive, compassionate, and empathetic to everyone on this wild journey of life, but realized I wasn’t giving myself the same grace I wanted to give everyone else. This relentless self-judgement has been hurting myself and my closest relationships. This reflection comes after a lot of crying and inner reconciliation. It was medicine for me and I hope it is for you as well.

Learning about self compassion made me realize how much I’ve been hurting myself. I want to love myself, but a loud voice in my head would have it otherwise. Fueled by the contempt for the society and way of life I participate in, it harshly critiques every thought and action I or other people do. It seeks to dominate others with superious intellect and understanding. I believe it grows when I isolate myself physically, staying behind my screen and in my home as to avoid humility at facing the realities of the world. There’s a lot of weight in my heart and on my shoulders because of it. My inner critic will also take on other people’s problems, traumas, and harmful behaviors because it believes it can fix them with it’s superior intellect and…