Photo Credit: Nik Shuliahin
Do You Wonder Why You Hate Yourself Even When Others Like You?
It’s so tragic to hear someone say I hate myself. But down deep, many people do. Do you hate yourself? It seems there are so many things in this world that attack our self-esteem and sense of worth. Some people, perhaps even you, are locked in their own personal jail, full of self-loathing, desperately wanting to get out, but not believing they can.
Can You Relate To Caroline?
Others may think you are just crying out for attention. But the feelings are very real. You are miserable because of how you feel about yourself, even if it sounds exaggerated or overly dramatic. I believe you.
Caroline described her self-hatred like this: I hated myself because I thought I wasn’t good enough to be in this world. I thought I was ugly, stupid, and weird. I wished I could have been someone else.
So why do people hate themselves?
We took a poll and asked what reasons you might have to hate yourself. The majority of people said it was something about their appearance, followed closely by I didn’t feel loved, and then I failed at a relationship. Each of these could be their own articles.
For now, let’s examine what I see to be some of the greatest causes of self-hate.
Blame Ourselves When Bad Things Happen
When bad things happen, we often blame ourselves. It’s easy to let this blame turn into self-hatred and suck the very life out of us. This can leave us depleted of any kind of self-worth or love. When bad things happen, the worst thing you can do is spiral down into self-pity.
When bad things happen, we blame ourselves. It's easy to let this blame turn into self-hatred. Click To TweetSometimes self-hate is emotional exhaustion from the blame game. It’s important to remember that painful, challenging, and hard times are going to happen. Sometimes you just need to give yourself a break and get some rest. You will look much better to yourself when you get some rest and forgive yourself for any mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes.
Rejection or Abandonment
Everyone will experience rejection of some sort. It’s normal. But it’s difficult. Not everybody is going to love you, or accept you.
But it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, and that you should hate yourself because of it.
Not everybody is going to love you, or accept you. It doesn't mean you're a bad person. Click To TweetTom wrote: I used to live consumed with thoughts about what everybody else was thinking about me. I felt like people were constantly rejecting me. All the worst things came to mind, even though there was no way of actually knowing what people were thinking. I had to quit, or else I’d go crazy.
Sometimes when people experience rejection or abandonment, they turn the responsibility onto themselves, as if they are the ones who caused the pain. Don’t let what other people think about you determine what you think of yourself. The freedom you experience when you let go of this burden like Tom did, will give you great joy. He’s right, it’s not worth going crazy over something you really can’t control.
Negative Self-Talk
Thinking poorly about yourself is kind of like self-rejection. You see something about yourself that you think is stupid or ugly and you think criticizing yourself about it will somehow make it go away. It won’t. It will actually make it worse. A lot of people feel ugly. Lazy. Inadequate. It’s like the whole human race suffers from deep, low self-esteem.
Mona wrote: I hate who I’ve become. I know there is a hardworking, honest, skinny person inside me somewhere, but most of the time I think about how far to the negative I’ve come, then get even angrier at myself for not working harder to become the person I know I can be.
So what can you do to feel better about yourself?
The Fight Against Self-Hate
The fight against self-hate is an on-going battle in all of us. Some struggle with it more than others. But it seems to always be there working in the shadows, waiting to pounce on us, and take us down. One thought that has helped me in this struggle is God’s love for me.
I ask myself, “Why should I hate someone God loves so much? Why should I slap Him across the face? He’s the one who made me, and He did it for a very special reason.” There is no one else in the whole world who is just like you or me. Isn’t that incredible? That person, YOU, is worth loving.
There's no one else in the whole world who's just like you or me. That person, YOU, is worth loving. Click To TweetSo how do you climb out of the dark hole of self-hate? Check out 5 Things to Think or Do When You Hate Yourself.
I think I suck and I’m a miss take and I’m a waste of space in the world and I’m 11 years old I need help with a lot like moving and where and when.
Judah, You are valuable and you matter in this world. Don’t give up. We are here to listen and help you through this. We believe in you. We have a partner that you can help you through this. We are emailing you with some information to help you so please check your email. If you need someone to talk to right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1.800.273.8255 or chat online with them at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/. You can reach the Crisis Text Line 24/7 by texting “START” to 741-741 too.
Here is a list of additional suicide prevention resources https://www.thehopeline.com/suicide-prevention-resources.
I’m going through a hard time and I think I’m a misfit and a mistake
I am coming out of a oppressive occult cult online I was forced to join n need my Lord Gods forgiveness and hope n guidance n protection for me n my family
Brooke, You have been through much.you are not alone. Would you be open to online chat with a HopeCoach tonight? To chat click on the “GetHelp” button or go to http://www.thehopeline.com They will listen and pray with you. We are praying for protection for you and your family. We emailed you with some resources that may help you too. So please check your email.
I have felt like I was not loved by my family but I now know that is not true because of this article and I try to remember that I am a important part of someone’s life (especially my family’s life) I now know that I can cry and just let out my emotions. It always helps then sometimes I say to my mom,” I feel like everyone hates me that is why I’m always so sad and my emotions get triggered so easily.” So I think it helps to talk to someone so they can help you. So now I know that I am a important piece to someone’s life and that I am great just the way I am! From😭 To 🙂. That is how much this article helped me I also hope it helped you as well(I am actually in elementary school crazy right?)
I feel like I’m ugly and that no one wants to be around me and it’s really depressing also I’m struggling with my sexuality it’s really hard. sometimes and I have wanted to hurt myself I won’t go into detail… so I have talked to my youth pastor and he encourages me to tell my parents but I still haven’t… please help!
Amelie, You are not alone in what you are feeling. We are here to listen and help you through this. We are glad you talked to your youth pastor. He was right to encourage you to talk to your parents. We do understand the difficulty to do this. If you are self-harming we have a partner that can help you with this at https://www.thehopeline.com/partners/door-of-hope-4-teens/ They have recovery coaches that you can text for help with self-injury. Also, would you be open to chat online with one of our HopeCoaches? It will help to continue talking about what you’re going through. To Chat online go to https://www.thehopeline.com/gethelp/
Sometimes when I get yelled at I feel like I’m not worth living or I’m not good enough for my family and I’m scared to open up about and I have never gone to my school concler even though I know he can help me so I just try to think about God and me knowing that he lov s me even though I’m not the best or normal. This article helped me understand my self worth.
hey, my name is chase, I’m not allowed to share my name with you, but… I think your article might actully help me, i am in school so i might get callt (i forgot how to spell it) so lets just hope i don’t get callt, and thank you, for the article, i think it might help me. so ya. thanks for the article that you put out there. it might help me (999,999,999,999 % help me…) thanks. bye now.
Good I’m going through a hard time to in school but I think I suck wich is better in my eyes