If you’re feeling unsettled in your relationship and you’re not sure why, one of the reasons could be that your partner’s way too critical of you. Maybe they’re always picking on you or making you feel like you’re not good enough. It’s no wonder you’re feeling like your confidence is shot and you’ll never be capable enough for your partner. It sucks! Here are 10 signs that you’re dating an overly critical partner and it’s breaking you down.
1. You’re Afraid To Make A Mistake.
A fear of messing up can make you nervous and unconfident around your partner. You might spend too much time worrying about how they’ll judge you, like if the choc-chip cookies you’re baking flop. You might not realize that your thoughts are always on your partner: what they want, what they think, and how they’ll react if you make a mistake. It’s exhausting.
2. You Always Feel Watched By Your Partner.
When your partner’s around, you always feel like they’re watching your every move. They might interrupt you when you’re working to tell you that your posture’s bad and it’s hurting your health, or they might say, “Are you really doing that?” when you have a third cup of coffee. Geez, it’s like you’re constantly being told what to do!
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4. They Say They’re Trying To Help.
When you get annoyed with how your partner’s always hovering around and telling you what to do, your partner might throw their hands up and say, “I’m just trying to help you!” or “I don’t want you to get hurt.” How convenient! And yet, their reasoning still displays how they think you’re in the wrong and they’re your rescuer. Ugh.
5. They “Fix” What You’ve Done.
When you’ve done something, like packed supermarket items in the trolley during a shopping trip, your partner will repack them so they’re in a different order. When you apply bronzer to your face, they’ll rub some of it off. OMG, what on earth is going on? It feels like you can’t do anything right because your partner thinks their way is the only right way.
6. They Try To Change Your Appearance.
An overly critical person is someone who wants control. They might nitpick your appearance and try to change it, which is so out of line it’s infuriating. So, for example, they might tell you that you shouldn’t wear purple or you should dye your hair brown instead of red. Woah, whatever happened to making your own choices, especially when it concerns your body?
7. They Never Give You Praise.
Someone who criticizes you a lot won’t have any room in their brain for being supportive. They won’t compliment or praise you, which means they’re not a supportive, loving partner. All you get are criticisms and complaints. Geez, why are you even with this person? They’re always putting you down and it’s not on.
8. They Put You Down In Front Of Your Friends.
A critical person might have the gall to express what annoys them about you in front of your friends or family. That’s so out of line! They might mask the comments as “jokes,” such as by saying, “She rips bags of chips open like a coyote – it’s cute!” Or, “She’s such a bad driver, I think I have whiplash.” While they might crack jokes about things you’ve done so it seems like they’re doing this in a good-natured way, it’s so disrespectful!
9. They Exaggerate Small Mistakes.
You trip in your heels but manage to recover like a runway model and your BF goes on about how you could’ve broken your neck. You spill a bit of coffee when handing it to your partner and their blow up in anger about the tiny drop that splashed on the floor. Geez! Dramatic much? The way they’re behaving, you’d swear you killed someone. SMH.
10. They’re Hypocritical.
An interesting thing about overly critical people is that they don’t hold themselves to their own high standards. So, they’ll expect you to drive their car slowly but they’ll drive fast and recklessly. Or, they’ll expect you to pack away your shoes instead of leaving them in the entryway, but then they’ll leave a pile of their shoes in the same spot. Ugh, what?
11. They Mumble About You.
Your overly critical partner might not always confront you about what they think you’re doing wrong. They might be a bit more insidious by mumbling to themselves about it. So, when you leave the room they might say something like, “Crazy” or “Ridiculous,” which makes you feel like they’re talking about you. Or, they might shake their head while looking at you chatting to someone at a party, as though judging your every move. Creepy.
