“They’re all going to know I’m incompetent. They’re going to find out I’m a fraud. I’m not good enough to be in this position; I should just give up.” Negative thoughts about yourself and your capabilities flood your mind as you try to remember the important points of the presentation you’ve prepared to give in front of your coworkers, manager, and the CEO of your company. Your stomach churns, the contents of your lunch threatening to rise into your esophagus as you swallow apprehensively. You shuffle the note cards between your sweaty palms, trying not to shake or fidget while attempting unsuccessfully to ignore your heart, thudding relentlessly against your chest.

Does this experience sound familiar, whether it has occurred during a public speaking event or when engaging with other circumstances outside of your comfort zone? Do you recognize a voice similar to this showing up within you during stressful, high-pressure, or vulnerable moments in life? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, that voice is most likely not really your own; rather, it may be the voice of your inner critic. Nevertheless, you can learn to effectively navigate a relationship with your inner critic through expressive arts modalities, a bit of imagination, and a secure sense of trust in yourself.

Inner Critic and Self-Image

The inner critic refers to an internal voice that may judge, criticize, or otherwise negatively impact one’s self-image. Oftentimes, the inner critic shows up during times when we are more vulnerable to self-consciousness and self-doubt; it may be especially highlighted in unfamiliar environments where we are unsure of the expectations that have been placed upon us or in settings where we feel pressured to show up in a certain way other than our authentic selves. While it is vital to have a strong sense of self in order to combat the inner critic’s consistent fault-finding, we can also learn to work with the inner critic by treating this part of ourselves as a separate entity or character we can explore utilizing expressive arts methods.

Inner Critic, Meet the Expressive Arts

The purpose of reframing this voice as an inner critic is to create externalization, allowing for healthy detachment rather than being consumed by the fears, doubts, and wounds the inner critic often expresses. As you start to build upon this inner critic character, reflect on your most frequently voiced negative beliefs. Do you notice any patterns? Identify if this voice echoes someone else from your life – past or present – such as a parent, partner, or teacher. It’s possible it may even mimic general societal messages you’ve been conditioned to believe throughout your life to the point of you internalizing some disparaging perspectives as your own.

To further aid in the externalization process, you might flesh out this character even more by naming your inner critic and creating visual art to represent what this entity physically looks like.

What traits does your inner critic exhibit?

Maybe they sound condescending and judgemental or perhaps pessimistic, angry, or even afraid. How might your inner critic walk or move? Think about what gestures or expressions your inner critic might display, and try pantomiming these motions yourself. You can even engage in a dialogue with your inner critic. To do this, use your dominant hand to ask questions of your inner critic and then allow your inner critic to answer using your non-dominant hand. Go back and forth between each hand and perspective, letting the conversation flow in order to learn more about what the inner critic’s motivations are and what purpose it has served in your life thus far.

Collaborating with the Inner Critic

Going deeper with exploring the inner critic can provide insight into how to collaborate with this character as a functioning ally rather than an unmotivating arch-nemesis. For example, the inner critic is often operating from a place of fear.

The inner critic may anticipate rejection, hurt, or pain and be aiming to protect you from experiencing negative consequences as a result.

Nevertheless, part of learning to work alongside the inner critic is building trust within yourself that you will be able to manage rejection as a part of life, as well as affirming that trying does not equate to failure, regardless of the outcome. Notice which environments or situations your inner critic tends to be the most vocal in, such as academic settings, work environments, family systems, or other social backdrops. Identify the costs and benefits of your inner critic being a source of motivation and imagine how the inner critic can be partnered with rather than fought against.

Try to separate yourself from the inner critic by labeling negative or insecure thoughts as stemming from your inner critic instead of originating from you. Practice saying, “My inner critic is showing up in this way because…” or even “I’m having the thought that…” rather than accepting your thoughts as indisputable facts that are all-pervading when they are actually fleeting and ever-changing. Notice these thoughts without judgment as they arise, holding compassionate space for your inner critic’s motives. Humor can also help to take the power away from your inner critic. Empower your inner guide to lead you from a place of curiosity and openness rather than insecurity and fear. For example, consider enacting a scene in which you store the inner critic’s thoughts in a box you can lock away. Imagine turning down the volume of your inner critic’s voice or even sending your inner critic away to a separate room you can intentionally choose to visit if you wish. While every individual has had experience with an inner critic at some point in their lifetime, it is possible to externalize, reframe, and even befriend this part of ourselves.

The expressive arts serve not only as a powerful tool but also as an accessible pathway for cultivating, expressing, and healing the inner critic character that lives within us all.

It is important we do not shame ourselves for the inner critic existing in the first place but rather aim to honor the protective mechanisms we have developed in order to survive while simultaneously creating space for more compassionate, aligned, and values-based approaches.

Key Points

• The inner critic refers to an internal voice that may judge, criticize, or otherwise negatively impact one’s self-image.
• The inner critic is most active during stressful, high-pressure, or vulnerable phases of life, such as starting in a new work environment or auditioning for a performance role.
• Externalizing the inner critic as a character or entity outside of oneself allows for healthy detachment rather than being consumed by the fears, doubts, and wounds the inner critic often expresses.
• Learning more about the inner critic’s motivations enables one to partner with the inner critic as an encouraging ally rather than a disparaging rival.
• The expressive arts serve not only as a powerful tool but also as an accessible pathway for cultivating, expressing, and healing the inner critic character that lives within us all.

Written by Sarah Engelskirchen-Bugler, MA, LMHC, Graduate of NWCEAI Professional Training Program