Psychology Today | 01.01.2026 04:20
The inner critic is a scolding voice in our head that hurls “can'ts” and “shoulds” at us: “You can't go.” “You can't make it alone.” “You should stay put.” The inner critic is a mindset, usually from the past — something we learned, not something we were born with. It is an echo from people and institutions who judged us in the course of our lives. They include family, peers, religion, school, and society. It is now internalized and part of our mental apparatus. Most of us have internalized some shaming messages from our past.
