This article originally appeared in the Fall 2026 issue of EquiManagement. Sign up here for a FREE subscription to EquiManagement’s quarterly digital or print magazine and any special issues.
Everyone has an inner voice that can be critical and negative from time to time. Sometimes this voice can be so loud that you begin to believe what it tells you: “I’m so stupid!” if you forget a differential diagnosis or drug dosage in the moment. Or, “No one will ever want me as their veterinarian,” if a client says they would prefer your colleague to see their horse.
When you do something well while your inner critic is in charge, you might not feel joy but merely breathe a sigh of relief because you’ve escaped criticism. Unfortunately, that relief lasts only until the next judgment presents itself, providing a perfect setup for anxiety and depression. People with a strong inner critic tend to have one thing in common: However great their success, they don’t feel it’s genuine. Imposter syndrome is common to most professionals, but you don’t have to give in to its refrain of “I don’t belong here.”
Tools and Resources
Fortunately, there are tools and resources to help humans regulate their inner critics. Changing your perspective and gaining a more positive outlook begins with reframing your negative thought patterns.
Cognitive Reframing
Cognitive reframing is the technique of adjusting your attitude by recognizing the negative thoughts and reactions that come to your mind as they occur. Sometimes they follow a recurrent theme. For example, you might ignore all the positives in a situation and fixate on the negatives or take a single negative event and see it as part of never-ending hardship. On a long ambulatory day, you might dwell on the one horse that was difficult to sedate sufficiently for dental work and whose owner was persistently anxious, instead of remembering the gratitude other clients expressed for your work. Or you might have trouble hitting the vein on a horse with a long winter coat and tell yourself you don’t have the clinical skills required for your job.
Self-Distancing
When your inner voice is critical, it’s important to ask, “Is this really true?” Offer yourself the opportunity to consider other possibilities—that you are competent and well-trained. A technique called self-distancing involves replacing the first-person pronoun “I” with a non-first-person pronoun, “he/she,” or your own name when talking to yourself. For example, you could say, “Susan, what happened wasn’t about your ability to find the vein. You were disoriented by the length of the winter coat. Once you wet it down with alcohol, you found it without a struggle.” You can also combine this technique with asking yourself “why” questions, like “Why does Susan, who has never had trouble finding a vein before, feel so upset?” Self-distancing allows you to pause, step back, and think as clearly and rationally as if it had happened to someone else.
Self-Affirmation
Self-affirmation has also proven to be a useful offset to self-criticism. Use phrases you might say to support a friend to support yourself. For instance, “You have a solid set of clinical skills that you learned in your internship.” When your inner critic gives you a scathing judgment, ask yourself, “Would you say that to someone you love?” If the answer is no, ask yourself, “Why would I say that to myself?” Help your self-compassion find its voice, and give yourself the support you undoubtedly give others.
Related Reading
- The Business of Practice: Practicing Self-Compassion
- The Business of Practice: Silencing Your Inner Critic
- Veterinary Wellness Briefs: Mental Health Resources for Veterinarians
Stay in the know! Sign up for EquiManagement’s FREE weekly newsletters to get the latest equine research, disease alerts, and vet practice updates delivered straight to your inbox.
