SUNIL Awasthi, a good friend of mine, often complained that his wife constantly criticised him. She used to call him sloppy, unclean, lazy, overweight and absentminded! He put up with all this for some time, but now he was losing it.

"Why does she keep on criticising me? Am I really that bad?" he asked me frequently. His woes did not end at home. At work, too, his boss and colleagues felt he was slow, a plodder, and a stickler for rules, lacking free spirit, nervous, you know, the works.

No one likes to be criticised, obviously. And yet, many of us are victims of this, from family, friends and colleagues. Criticism can bite, making one feel unworthy and useless. When it becomes longstanding, it tends to reduce one's self worth and self-esteem, leading to depression.

You would want to scream at the person who is criticising you. Or just disappear. But here's one thing as old as man himself. And it's here to stay. So, how do you go through life with all that criticism coming your way?

Dr P V Vaidyanathan is a consulting paediatrician and child specialist from Mumbai, and our resident relationship columnist.

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