[thevoyage]

I was wondering if people who are depressed react to criticism differently than non-depressed? I understand they are very sensitive concerning "the guilt feeling", but how about criticism?

thank you in advance for your time :-)

[neutrino]

Personally I don't handle criticism well. I start thinking things like "okay, now he/she hates me", "I suck", "I'm worthless", "I'm stupid" etc. Not sure how other people react.

[falsememory7]

Hmm... That's a good question Voyage I definitely feel as if people who are depressed *tend to* react to criticism differently - I think it's a lot easier to take things personally when we're depressed. When someone gives us criticism, we usually see it as an attack, or a list of all the things that we've done wrong, and a sign of our extreme imperfection, rather than constructive criticism - a way to improve ourselves. I think with depression, generally speaking, it makes everything seem gloomy and/or hopeless, and a lot of that stems from ourselves, and our own personal dissatisfaction within ourselves - when other people give us criticism, sometimes that makes us shut down, rather than fuel our desire to tweak things and improve... I think it also depends on how the criticism is given. What do you think?

[reesecups]

I agree that criticism hits some people hard. I also think it is considered emotional hypersensitivity and I suffer from it badly. I have no problem when people I don't know and/or care about criticize me. But frankly it is awful when someone I like, care and/or respect is even slightly negative towards me.

[Daeva]

I think this varies on what is being criticized and that persons normal ability to withstand criticism. I also think it matters on who is doing the criticizing, there's alot of factors in this. However I think it could go to either extreme of making them feel worse about themselves, or them just not caring and resenting the person or just generally 'whatever' feeling. I know for me when I was depressed a harsh criticism would have sent me over the edge.

[NWgirl2013]

When I am deeply depressed, and if I am criticized, I tend toward a cross between 'whatever' & 'add it to the pile' of what's wrong in general.
It comes from that feeling of being misunderstood, not guilt. No one can really know how you feel, and criticism is just pointing out the obvious flaws I am well aware of.(thanks for that...)
Anyone foolish enough to criticize an already depleted person get put in a category of someone to be wary of in future, for me. And I don't engage. I retreat. No energy for the likes of that. At that point I am barely hanging on as it is...why stand for someone pushing my head under?

[yellowfrog268]

I think the answer to your question is yes.

I have dysthymia and I know that not only am I sensitive to criticism but I also feel a need to prove myself. Even if the other person is right and I'm not, I want them to be crystal clear on why I've acted or made the choices that I did. Also,the "you're such an effed up failure" monster raises it's ugly head sometimes.

[1776]

I used to be very sensitive before I was put on medication. Everything hurt. Whether it was hurtful or not, I would look for the pain in it, which I admit is sick.

I confess I'm mentally ill, but there's not much I can do about it short of taking meds.

[court_1219]

Originally Posted by thevoyage

I was wondering if people who are depressed react to criticism differently than non-depressed? I understand they are very sensitive concerning "the guilt feeling", but how about criticism?

thank you in advance for your time :-)

I react horribly to criticism I find it very hard to accept anything negative about me or what I have done. I take it to heart and hold onto it for a long time. It is especially worse when I over hear people discussing suicide or depression and make jokes out of it. It burns and stings and tears me down. I handle criticism very poorly and wish there was a way I could fix that.

[ToeJam]

Depends on the state of my depression.

Times when it hits really hard and I'm flooded by intrusive thoughts, criticism is something I take on the chin... doesn't hold much relevance since I'm so low anyway, I'm beyond caring.

Other times though when anxiety is an issue then yes I can get hyper sensitive.

[healingme4me]

I have depression, and handling criticism, has certainly been huge for me, to work on, throughout my life.
I have realized, it's not necessarily the critique, but how the person making the critical remarks presents it.
Imagine that, a lifetime, of learning to discern.

Sent from my LG-MS910 using Tapatalk 2

[Idiot17]

Most of the time i couldn't care less what people think or say. It's beyond me. When i'm caught on a very real down low and it's someone thats decent that said or did something to criticize then i'd be thrown.

[Melmo]

I don't handle criticism well at all. My former boss at work would tell me mistakes I made and I felt like I was working so hard, and that I was doing a good job so when she would tell me all these things I did wrong I'd completely just lose all motivation to even try. I feel stupid, incompetent and useless. I don't know if this is because of my depression or if I've always handled criticism poorly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

Depressed people experience a lot of shame. I do. The feeling of "what's new" is shame based but so is anger and lashing out. Defensive behavior. It is because you don't want people to see what you "see" so you put up a wall. It makes taking criticism rather difficult. I can put up a front at work and take it very well. It is a different story in my personal life.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

At this stage of the game in my depression, I would react poorly to a perceived criticism from anyone, but especially my husband. The depression has really taken a toll on my self esteem - - to the extent I feel insecure about our relationship (even though he has reassured me time and again that he is in it for the long haul). A perceived criticism at this point would only make me feel worse about myself than I already do. Normally, I'm pretty thick-skinned, and a perceived criticism would roll off my back.

[gayleggg]

When I'm depressed I don't handle criticism very well. It usually make me cry. Then I try to over compensate out of guilt.