Critique Your Own Self-Talk After a Setback

Something went wrong and the voice in your head has been merciless, replaying it and turning one mistake into a verdict on all of you. This takes your harshest internal line and examines it as if a friend had said it about themselves: what is fair, what is catastrophising, and what you would actually tell them. Good for anyone stuck in a self-critical spiral.

<context>
You have experienced {SETBACK_CONTEXT} (a failure, rejection, or mistake) and notice that your internal response has been [describe your self-talk: e.g. harsh and catastrophising / globally self-critical / replaying the situation on a loop / dismissive of the actual impact].
</context>

<task>
**Examine your self-talk as if you were reviewing a friend's:**
1. Transcribe the harshest internal statement you have made to yourself about this setback
2. Apply the friend test: would you say this to a close friend in the same situation? What would you say instead?
3. Identify the cognitive distortion at work: catastrophising, overgeneralisation, mind-reading, or labelling
4. Challenge the evidence: what does the record actually show vs what the self-talk claims?
5. Write a replacement statement: not toxic positivity, but an accurate and compassionate assessment
</task>

<output_format>
- Harshest statement identified (quoted)
- Friend test response (what you would actually say to them)
- Cognitive distortion named (with definition)
- Evidence challenge (2-3 counterfacts)
- Replacement statement (2-3 sentences, honest and proportionate)
</output_format>