Processing Your Inner Critic Transforms Your Depression!

Conventional psychologists and psychiatrists diagnose depression by asking leading questions about things like apathy, hopelessness, loss of interest or pleasure in things, sleep problems, appetite and weight changes, lack of concentration, social isolation, and repeatedly going over thoughts. It’s a way to gather general information that could mean anything but is useful for concocting a diagnosis.

When my client, 39-year-old Bob (his pseudonym), told me he was depressed despite the fact that nothing particularly depressing had occurred in his life, I asked him an unusual question: “What would you have to say to someone to make them feel like you do?” He asked me what I meant, and I replied, “Imagine you could say something to me that makes me feel like you feel. What would you say?” His response was that of a severe critic who unleashed a plethora of personal attacks.

This was the beginning of a dialogue (between Bob and his inner critic) that led to the total transformation of is depression. He went from spending his days in a deep, dark funk to being happy and realizing success in life. Depression isn’t an “illness” to manage but rather a meaningful and purposeful personal growth process trying to happen.