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Inner critic

18 statements about your inner speech — how you talk to yourself after mistakes, after praise and in hard moments. Rate the last two weeks and answer as things really are: there are no right answers here. Your result appears straight away, with no registration.

  • 18 questions
  • about 5 minutes
  • answers never leave your browser
A woman looks at her reflection in a mirror, her expression thoughtful

Answers are processed in your browser only: they are never sent to the site and they disappear when you refresh the page.

If you feel very bad right now and have thoughts of harming yourself, or that you would be better off not living, do not wait for an appointment. Contact your local emergency service. In Kazakhstan — 112 or 103; free round-the-clock psychological help — 1303 (Almaty). In another country, call your local emergency number.

Question 1 of 18

  1. 1 After a mistake I go on telling myself off inside for a long time — more harshly than I would tell off another person.
    How often has this been true over the last two weeks?
  2. 2 I put my successes down to luck or to the task having been easy.
  3. 3 When things are hard, I can say something supportive to myself — the way I would to someone close to me.
  4. 4 Before a new task I already hear “it won't work” inside and put off starting.
  5. 5 When something goes wrong, my first thought is “something is wrong with me”, not “what can be fixed here”.
  6. 6 Praise makes me uncomfortable: it feels as if I have not earned it.
  7. 7 I redo what I have done many times over, because nothing ever seems good enough.
  8. 8 I catch myself in inner phrases like “who does things like that” or “I've ruined everything again”.
  9. 9 I remind myself that everyone makes mistakes, and that it does not make me worse than other people.
  10. 10 I compare myself with others, and the comparison is almost never in my favour.
  11. 11 I find it hard to ask for help: it feels as if I am obliged to manage on my own.
  12. 12 Slips from many years ago resurface in my memory, and I flinch inside all over again.
  13. 13 One critical remark cancels out ten kind words for me.
  14. 14 After a setback I get back to my tasks fairly quickly, without getting stuck in self-reproach.
  15. 15 Resting without feeling I have “earned it” makes me feel guilty, and I cannot relax.
  16. 16 Inside, I demand more of myself than I could demand of anyone else in the same circumstances.
  17. 17 After a failure I feel so ashamed that I want to hide from everyone.
  18. 18 When I feel low, there is not a single warm word for myself inside.
Over the last two weeks, have you had thoughts of harming yourself, or that you would be better off not living?

Only you can see this answer, and it is not counted in the score. This question is the same in every test: it is about safety, not the topic of the test, and it is asked out of care, not for diagnosis.

Left to answer: 19

This is an author-made self-observation checklist, not a validated instrument and not a medical assessment. It does not diagnose anything and does not replace a consultation with a specialist.

What this is based on

The checklist draws on Paul Gilbert's Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS) — the criticising self and the reassuring self — and on Kristin Neff's three components of self-compassion: self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness. The wording of the statements is original; items from the original questionnaires are not copied. This is self-observation over the last two weeks, not a validated instrument. The four outcomes describe the balance between the criticising and the supportive voice — from steady self-support to almost constant self-blame, where a conversation with a specialist is needed.

Sources

  1. Gilbert P., Clarke M., Hempel S., Miles J.N.V., Irons C. (2004). Criticizing and reassuring oneself: An exploration of forms, styles and reasons in female students. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. DOI 10.1348/014466504772812959
  2. Neff K.D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity. DOI 10.1080/15298860309027
  3. MacBeth A., Gumley A. (2012). Exploring compassion: A meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review. DOI 10.1016/j.cpr.2012.06.003
  4. Kirby J.N., Tellegen C.L., Steindl S.R. (2017). A meta-analysis of compassion-based interventions: Current state of knowledge and future directions. Behavior Therapy. DOI 10.1016/j.beth.2017.06.003
  5. Wakelin K.E., Perman G., Simonds L.M. (2021). Effectiveness of self-compassion-related interventions for reducing self-criticism: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. DOI 10.1002/cpp.2586

Would you like it to be quieter inside?

At the first consultation we will look at whose voice your critic speaks in and what it is trying to protect — and set a goal by which progress will be visible.

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