Issue 73 –
How Strong is Your Inner Critic?
An informal rating of the power of your Inner Critic
by
Hal Stone, Ph.D. & Sidra Stone, Ph.D.
People have often asked us how they can evaluate the strength of their Inner Critics,
so we have come up with these questions below to ask yourself about yours.
This rating scale will give you an idea of what your Inner Critic sounds like
and how much it interferes with your sense of wellbeing.
To be rated on a three point scale of:
Rarely (1) Sometimes (3) Frequently (5)
Scores of 1 – 45 — Small Inner Critic
Scores of 46 – 75 — Medium Sized Critic
Scores of 76 – 100 — Very Strong Inner Critic
PLEASE NOTE: This is not a standardized psychological test.
| Rarely (1) | Sometimes (3) | Frequently (5) | |
| 1. I wake up at night worried about the mistakes that I made the day before. | |||
| 2. I replay conversations after I’ve had them to see what I’ve done wrong. | |||
| 3. I don’t like the way my clothes look on me. | |||
| 4. When I’m with other people, I wonder if they’re critical of me. | |||
| 5. I’m cautious about trying anything new because I’m afraid of looking foolish. | |||
| 6. I’m afraid people will laugh at me. | |||
| 7. I worry about what other people think. | |||
| 8. I often feel inferior to other people. | |||
| 9. I wish I had a more attractive body. | |||
| 10. When I look in the mirror, I check to see what’s wrong with me. | |||
| 11. When I read over something I’ve just written, I’m not satisfied with it. | |||
| 12. I’m afraid that there’s something basically wrong with me. | |||
| 13. I wonder what other people would think of me if they really knew what I was like underneath. | |||
| 14. I compare myself with other people. | |||
| 15. I seem to attract judgmental people. | |||
| 16. I question my decisions after I have made them and think that I might have done better. | |||
| 17. “When I say “No”, I feel guilty.” | |||
| 18. When I take a test like this, I’m sure that I’ll look worse than other people. | |||
| 19. I avoid taking risks if I can help it. | |||
| 20. When I think about self-improvement I feel that there is something wrong with me that needs to be fixed. | |||
| Totals |
Total Points: ____________