“The inner critic is the superego in overdrive desperately trying to win your parents’ approval. When perfectionist striving fails to win welcoming from your parents, the inner critic becomes increasingly hostile and caustic. It festers into a virulent inner voice that increasingly manifests self-hate, self-disgust and self-abandonment. The inner critic blames you incessantly for shortcomings that it imagines to be the cause of your parents’ rejection. It is incapable of understanding that the real cause lies in your parents’ shortcomings.”