Recognising and Reframing Negative Self-Talk

Negative self-talk is the inner voice that criticises, blames or predicts failure. In optical practice it often follows a complaint, a difficult patient or customer interaction, a safeguarding concern, a safety-related error, an inspection remark, or a busy shift.

Common patterns

• All-or-nothing thinking: "If I did not do this perfectly, I failed."
• Catastrophising: "This will ruin everything."
• Overgeneralising: "I always get this wrong."
• Personalising: "The patient or customer is upset, so it must be my fault."
• Mind reading: "Everyone thinks I cannot cope."

Reframing with compassion

Reframing does not ignore the issue. It replaces a harsh, sweeping judgement with a balanced statement that keeps responsibility and helps learning.

Clinical role example

Compassionate reframing keeps the learning but removes the unnecessary self-attack.