What would you say to a client who feels as if they’ve wasted years of their life trapped in a cycle of harsh self-judgement?
You see, feeling like you’re “never enough” is very common. According to Tara Brach, PhD, this sense of inadequacy leads to some of the most pervasive suffering in our culture.
In the video below, she’ll share some specific questions that may help clients soften their inner critic and quiet chronic self-judgement. Have a listen.
Do you have clients who are hard on themselves for being self-critical? It’s a vicious cycle.
How might you use these techniques in your practice? Please leave a comment below and let us know.
Thank you Tara. A few minutes that remind me of what I need to do. Be kind to oneself, difficult if kindness is something you have not learnt as a child. My child is now my source, my motivation for learning and teaching myself. Thank you!
Thank you Tara🙏
Thank you for clarity Tara and reminder. I recognise myself living this behaviour since childhood. I exciled myself to another country where nobody knew me, thinking it would never happen again, only to experience the same phenomenon walking along with me and not realising this never left me. I behaved like a child covering their eyes so that the bad things are no longer there. but take your hands away and it stares you in the face…..no escape possible until one finds the courage to deal with it. I’m so afraid of being rejected again and again that I keep running from myself. The social rejection by classmates, parents and teachers was so big as experience that until now I’m still on the run from myself. It’s time for a rest and no longer to feel ashamed of who I am.
Thank you Tara for delivering a subject which is probably applicable to all !
I find Your style authentic , soft and , yes, KIND 🙏🏻
Thank you
Many people who have suffered trauma are trapped in that cycle of regret and self judgement. This hinders their healing. I have learnt something about the new future i.e starting afresh.
Thank you for the snippet. It is a hard lesson to be kind to ourselves and speak positive affirmations to change the way we think about ourselves. The more we practice kindness toward others it rubs off on ones self. Thank you again for your message.
Thank you for that. I sometimes wonder if you’re listening as I teach my viola students, who are so full of judgement that it paralyzes them. I’m working on the be kind idea while teaching, but it’s hard with teenagers to get them to think beyond “those wrong notes”…
Thank you for this nugget of wisdom!
Love even these snippets of understanding.. Wish I could listen to everyone of these lectures. Great job.
Thanks for sharing the insight, it is always nice to hear her calming, relaxing and wise voice.
Great reminder, thank you.
I often talk to my patients about the Buddha’s second arrow. The first arrow is the actual problem, whatever that may be. It could be the habit of self downing. The second arrow is putting oneself down for the self-criticism, self-judgment, or self-denigration.
I also tell people about the five defaults of the brain. These are where the brain goes in most people when at rest, not busy with a task. They are:
Is there a danger?
How am I doing in comparison to other people around me?
Am I physically OK and safe right this minute?
What’s wrong with me right now?
What can I criticize in others?
Once people see that these tendencies are innate and originated as a way to keep ourselves protected and safe, they have a tendency to stop pathologizing about them.
Very helpful! Thanks.
Thanks for sharing, Nicole. Really very helpful.
I truly connected to Tara’s words of Please be kind. And to ask myself anew every time what does it mean in this moment to be kind. A feww days ago I had to go with a friend to let her hospitalized son in a psychiatric unit that she was diagnosed with Cancer. It was only this notion of being kind to myself that helped me to be king to him and to huis mother. Tha kindness spread, and I saw how soft and kind he became towards her, and towards himself as well. Please continue spreading self care messages. It is most important to us, the therapissts, and to our patients,clients, and the world.
I find the compassion focused intervention of asking ‘is this helpful or is this harmful’ a wonderful way to increase awareness and set the intention of being kind to ourselves.