Three Tips To Reduce Self-Hatred

Medically reviewed by Julie Dodson
Updated February 21, 2024by BetterHelp Editorial Team

Self-hatred or feeling like a bad person can be challenging to experience and can worsen symptoms of many mental health conditions. Feelings of self-loathing can also be a symptom of a larger overall mental health condition. If you're experiencing feelings like these, understanding how to reduce these sensations and increase self-compassion may be valuable.

Learn how a negative self-image can impact your mental health

Why do I hate myself? 

There are many reasons you may be feeling down or negative about yourself. Insecurity and unrealistic expectations are common reasons for self-loathing.

If you often find yourself thinking, “I hate myself,” or you experience negative thought patterns of hatred toward yourself, it could be a sign that outside factors are influencing your mental heath. For example, you might compare yourself to others online or in person and feel you aren't matching society's ideals. For many people who spend time online, social media exacerbates these feelings and adds to the fear of being left out. 

Rejection can be difficult to accept and may also make you feel self-loathing if you believe the rejection was due to a personal attribute, personality trait, or another feature. Even if you weren't the problem in the situation or relationship, being rejected can cause feelings of rejection sensitivity, which can make you feel flawed or undesirable. 

Environmental factors may be causing you to feel less love for yourself. For example, if you're struggling to clean your home, go to work, or perform as you'd like to, you might feel like you are doing something wrong, you may also feel guilt or shame. If other people in your life are spreading negative messages about you or calling you names or other bad things, it can cause you perceive that they are correct about you. 

In addition, many individuals experience self-loathing as a symptom of a mental illness or health condition like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Talking to a professional may help you reduce these feelings in these cases and may improve your emotions.

Three tips for reducing self-loathing 

Regardless of the cause of your self-hatred, there are a few ways you can increase self-compassion and to help you learn how to not hate yourself, including the following. 

1. Talk to a therapist 

Getting help from a therapist is not a bad thing and they may help you to recognize and pinpoint the origin of your self-hate and identify ways to manage those negative emotions and feelings of self-hatred. Once you know the cause and thought patterns associated with your negative self-image, you can come to terms with what may have impacted them. 

A therapist can walk you through identifying your core internal beliefs and linking childhood experiences to how you feel about yourself today. Many of these thoughts may not be conscious or could feel like parts of your personality and they can be hard to recognize on your own. A core belief determines to what degree you feel safe, worthy, and loved. You may also examine your decision-making ability and how powerful and competent you feel. A therapist may help you understand how these core beliefs coincide with your sense of belonging and how others may treat you.

A counselor can recommend many exercises, such as using a journal to explore your daily thoughts. Negative thoughts can be tracked by visualizing and writing about situations or your emotional space. You can also document times when you've felt anxious, sad, angry, shameful, or hurt. Further, it may help to jot down notes when you've felt uncomfortable and noticed negative thoughts. Studies have also found journaling highly impactful for reducing mental distress.

Speaking to a mental health professional about your negative thoughts can also help by allowing you to hear another person tell you that you’re worthy of love. Reading sentiments like these is often less impactful than hearing people in your life say them out loud. You can then recall your therapist’s kind words about you when you practice self-compassion, which might help when you’re finding it challenging to reduce self-hatred. In addition to providing advice, diagnosis recommendations for conditions like depression are another potential benefit a therapist can offer.

2. Start a self-care routine 

Another way to learn to love yourself when you feel bad is by building up a solid self-care routine and making a point to improve your own mental health. Many people may focus too often on work and other responsibilities (like school, raising kids, or taking care of others) that they forget to recharge and take care of themselves. Always putting others first can leave your mental and physical health on the back burner, leading to burnout and other negative consequences.

Come up with a list of ways to take care of yourself regularly. A few ways to do so can include the following: 

  • Taking the time to enjoy a shower
  • Getting your hair done
  • Prepping healthy meals for the week
  • Weekly exercise
  • Practicing mindfulness or meditation (proven to increase self-compassion
  • Making time for a relaxing cup of coffee and reading in the morning
  • Taking the time to see friends and family
  • Journaling every day 
  • Practicing your spiritual or religious beliefs
  • Joining a music group like a choir or orchestra
  • Hiking with your family or friends
  • Getting a snack or lunch by yourself  

Learning to prioritize self-care may allow you to get accustomed to the idea that you are worth setting aside time. These routines, if kept up, can make you feel mentally and physically well and potentially increase your self-compassion. 

Self-care practice can begin by listing at least ten activities you want to do during a typical week. Break them down into smaller chunks. For example, if you want to exercise more each week, you can choose one type of exercise to schedule, such as stretching. Once you have established your ten items, ask yourself two questions:

  1. Does this activity lift my mood, give me energy, nourish me, or increase my sense of being alive? 
  2. Does this activity diminish my mood, make me feel drained of energy, or decrease my sense of being alive? 

Partake in activities to which you answer "yes"  for the first question. Try to reduce activities in your life to which you answer "yes" for the second question.

3. Be kind to yourself 

The journey towards ending your self-hate can be challenging if you have felt self-loathing toward yourself for some time or if you dwell on a past mistake. You might experience setbacks as you try to increase self-compassion. 

Various limited-thinking patterns can get in the way of a positive outlook. Personalization often aligns with negative self-worth, as people may compare themselves to others to determine their worth. The negative mantra may come from questioning your value, as in, "I'm not smart enough to do that job." You might also flip the comparison in a more favorable format by saying, "At least I'm smarter than them." Both statements can indicate low self-esteem. 

The other form of personalization is to spiral downward and relate everything around you to yourself. When you focus on unfavorable comparisons, this process can last long-term, affecting yourself and how you act in relationships. For example, if you're personalizing a conversation and your friend yawns while you're speaking, you might think they're bored or don't like what you're saying, even if they're just tired. 

Challenging these automatic thoughts is one way to be kinder to yourself and others. For every negative thought, consider a positive. For example, if you have an angry thought about yourself, think about your favorite memory from the week or the people who inspire you to keep going. Try to consider one aspect of yourself for which you're grateful. 

You can also use self-talk and try repeating positive affirmations daily or writing them in a journal to manifest them. For example: 

  • "I commit to always doing my best."
  • "I am a powerful force in the world."
  • "I can make a difference."
  • "I love how creative I have been this week."
  • "My eyes look beautiful today." 
  • "Even when I am struggling, I admire my resolve to continue trying."

Learn how a negative self-image can impact your mental health

Counseling options 

If you continue to struggle with self-esteem after trying lifestyle changes and self-affirming exercises, you might benefit from speaking to a therapist or finding a support group which may help you to realize that you matter and are important. Many individuals avoid in-person therapy due to its cost and inconvenience. If you have believed that therapy is out of reach to you, you might find online therapy more convenient. 

Through an online therapy platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist within 48 hours of signing up and choose an appointment at a time that works for you. If you struggle with socialization, online therapy can also allow you to choose between phone, video, or live chat sessions. Many clients also take advantage of the unlimited messaging feature to check in with their therapist throughout the week.

Studies have found that online therapy is more cost-effective than in-person options. In addition, some researchers have seen how online therapy can be more effective than in-person therapy for treating symptoms of depression, which can be a common cause of low self-esteem or self-love. 

Takeaway

You're not alone if you're struggling with self-compassion or self-love. Taking the first step to get support or try to increase your self-love can show you that you care and want to make changes, even when they're difficult. Consider contacting a therapist for further guidance on this topic.

You are deserving of positive self-esteem
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