Powerful hypnotherapy techniques can transform how you perceive criticism, and help you use it to fuel your fire instead

There’s a concept I’ve always liked: ‘A diamond is just carbon that does very well under pressure.’

It makes you stop and think, doesn’t it? Pressure often gets a bad name. People hear the word and think of stress, worry, or being pushed too far. But pressure itself isn’t necessarily the problem. While excessive amounts of long-term pressure can trigger unhelpful coping mechanisms, and have negative health implications, without a certain amount of pressure, little would get done. Carbon doesn’t become a diamond without pressure, and people don’t achieve their potential without a healthy amount of pressure either.

The real question is how we deal with pressure. Take scrutiny, for example. For many, being under scrutiny feels uncomfortable, even threatening. It can trigger feelings of being judged, doubted, or exposed. But, if you look at it differently, scrutiny can be seen as a mirror. It reflects back what we’re doing well, as well as what still needs work.

There’s a distinction between helpful feedback and unfair criticism, of course. Sometimes scrutiny comes from bias, incomplete information, or malicious intent. The skill is in receiving feedback calmly, and being able to identify whether it is legitimately constructive.

If you can get past the sting, scrutiny can be a tool. Without it, there’s no pressure. Without pressure, there can be less motivation to improve performance. And without performance, we never discover our capabilities. The real skill is learning to respond to scrutiny calmly, rationally, and positively.

To understand why the pressure that comes with feeling under scrutiny can be so difficult, it helps to know about the two distinct ways the brain works.

The intellectual brain (unique to humans)

This is where logical, considered decision-making takes place. It’s calm, rational, and positive. It’s where problem-solving and creativity live, and where we can see the bigger picture. This is the part of the brain we want to use when we’re under scrutiny.

The primitive brain

This is our survival system. It’s fast, reactive, and powerful, designed to keep us alive. The amygdala, when triggered, sets off the fight, flight, or freeze response. That’s useful if you’re facing real danger – but less so when the ‘threat’ is a looming deadline or a tricky conversation. The snag is, the primitive brain doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality.

Under pressure, most people unknowingly slip into the primitive brain. Anxiety rises, confidence dips, and performance suffers. Scrutiny, instead of feeling like feedback, feels like an attack.

This is especially true if you’ve been under pressure for an extended period of time, which can see anxiety levels build up – and that small critique seems more threatening. Normally, the brain clears unprocessed negative thoughts through REM sleep, but when overwhelmed, that process falters.

This is where hypnosis can be a powerful tool. Hypnosis is a changed state of awareness and relaxation that allows for improved focus and concentration. It artificially activates the REM state – the brain’s natural mechanism for processing thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Think of it like this: someone criticises you at work, and the thought lingers all evening. When you sleep, your brain processes the emotions attached to the event during REM. The next morning, you may remember the comments, but the emotional charge is gone.

The trouble is that REM sleep is limited to about 20% of the night. If the brain has too much to process, REM is overloaded, and the sleep quality is affected. That’s why people wake at 3am with racing thoughts, or already feel tired when their alarm goes off in the morning. Over time, this builds into anxiety, poor concentration, and a dip in performance – feeding a cycle of feeling under scrutiny.

Hypnosis gives the brain more processing power. It helps people clear the backlog, regain calmness, and return to peak performance. But hypnosis is only part of the picture – what’s just as important is the mindset that we carry forward.

Most of us, when receiving criticism, dwell on the problem. We replay our mistakes, beat ourselves up, and ask: ‘Why did this happen?’ This can keep us locked in the primitive brain, focused on negativity.

  • A solution-focused approach flips that. Instead of asking why, it asks better questions:
  • What do I want instead?
  • What’s already working that I can build on?
  • What’s one small step I can take right now in the right direction?

These kinds of questions re-engage the intellectual brain. Clients often call these ‘the miracle questions’, because they help to shift perspective almost instantly. By focusing on solutions rather than problems, pressure stops being a threat and becomes a challenge. Scrutiny turns from an attack into a form of valuable feedback. Anxiety can be replaced with mental clarity and calmness. This means that accepting constructive criticism can be transformed into a resource for your own personal development.

Scrutiny, then, and the accompanying pressure you might feel, isn’t necessarily something to be feared. It’s part of everyday life, part of progress, and part of performance. Without it, we don’t grow. With it – handled well – we can thrive in every part of life.

Diamonds are created under pressure, and so are we!