does your i/o critic do this?

[Elizabeth Jack]

I can't seem to shake the feeling that someone is going to come out of nowhere and shun, shame, and reject me.  Does this happen to anyone else? like it's exhausting. Every thing I do on this site even, and every other interaction, or non interaction, I feel like it's being scrutinized, and judged.  It.  Is.  Beyond.  Exhausting.  It's in my nightmares, it's always a question on my lips, "Did I speak okay?" even though I always try to be kind, honest, and gentle, I feel like someone is going to "out" me and ruin my life.  Even though I hide nothing!   

Anyone else deal/dealt with this?     

[Three Roses]

Yes! It's exhausting, crippling even. Second-guessing every word, every deed, sometimes even my facial expressions.

I've been doing some work on silencing the inner critic, which seems to have helped. Try going to pete-walker.com and searching for thought stopping or thought correction for how-to.

[Dutch Uncle]

Yes, I have this too. I've come to side with those who say it's the Inner Critic = the internalized voice of the abuser(s). Which was forcibly internalized, not by our own doing, I want to add.

One of the best Vlogs I've seen on it is this one: Flying Into Glass: The Narcissist's Voice In Your Head (specifically after 7:24, when it gets more general and less focussed on No Contact). His suggestion on asking yourself: "It this me, or is it my abuser?" has been helpful for me. It does take a lot of effort, but it helps.

[woodsgnome]

Elizabeth Jack wrote: "Every thing I do on this site even, and every other interaction, or non interaction, I feel like it's being scrutinized, and judged."

That's 100% how I am. Part perfectionist, true. Part fantasy, maybe. But for sure it's all built on fear that my every word is subject to rejection, and go down the list from there.

It's probably good that it can be recognized, which doesn't do diddly to dim the (mostly) self-inflicted pressure. I sense the critics lurking, and the judgements will be harsh, says the mind. Followed to its logical(?)  conclusion: I'm no good and can't get with it. It hurts, yet it's so ingrained it's doubly hard to deflect, let alone be rid of.

My rejection bulb is now flashing its warnings, and the thought police are at the ready; so I must stop before the grinning inner critic adds the guilt back in to this already tangled mess.

[Entropic]

I know this is a late response, but I figured it may be useful anyway, if not for myself.

Anyway, it sounds more like an inner critic reaction than an outer one. I can't overly relate as I seem to fall very heavy on the outer critic spectrum (freeze/fight) and I rarely struggle with/suffer from inner critic criticism, though it happens but not in the way that seems to be typically described. In terms of the IC, the feeling I struggle the most with is guilt, not shame. I struggle with second-guessing myself as I am too decisive and action-oriented.

I have never run into the concept of OC before, it was quite interesting to read and when I read that a strong IC is typical for CPTSD it made me hesitant to consider how well it applies to me at least based on that definition, though I relate 100% to others, but if the IC can also be replaced by an equally strong OC, then that's me.