Self-Hatred & Anxiety

The reason we may feel more anxious than we should lies in an unusual place: Self-hatred. If we think of ourselves as 'bad', then surely bad things must happen to bad people. One of the ways of calming down is to learn to unpack the origins of our self-suspicion and lay the ground for a more self-loving and compassionate future.

FURTHER READING

"The temptation, with dealing with anxiety, is always and invariably to focus on the ostensible cause of our worry: the journey to the airport, the forthcoming speech, the letter one is waiting for, the presentation one has to hand in… But if we proceed more psychologically, we might begin in a different place. With great kindness and no disrespect, we may step past the objective content of anxiety and look instead at something else: how the anxious person feels about themselves…"

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CREDITS

Produced in collaboration with:

Vale Productions

Title animation produced in collaboration with

Vale Productions

[theschooloflifetv]

Do you suffer from anxiety? What helps you cope? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to turn on notifications to ensure you don't miss our next film.

[_daki]

I’m literally crying over this video. I just can’t seem to accept myself.

[marcocaloi]

"2. People should be relatively grateful to have me in their lives."
I instinctively laughed.

[nicolascage]

I’ve hated myself since I was very young and I’ve struggled with severe social anxiety through my teenage years and I had no idea they could be connected

[silverbackshooting]

“If things are going well this must just be a calm period”. Couldn’t explain my life any better. I am constantly looking for what’s going to destroy me next instead of enjoying life. It’s not a good life to live.

Edit: so many supportive comments have been left for me. I would like to thank all of you for helping me and others in the comments. I feel much better and am still working on feeling hopeful for the future.

[ideasinmotion]

Nothing gets me more in the festive spirit than hatred and anxiety

[mr_spookypants]

For some odd reason when someone is rude to me I always blame myself

[braeden]

If you're reading this please remember, confidence doesn't come from being loud, extroverted, and talkitive. It comes from being comfortable with yourself. That's one thing I've learnt and its helped me a lot in life. At the end of the day, you're gonna find people like you much more when you're being real.

[Schneeregen_]

"I genuinely hate myself"

Literally everyone: "Good."

[reynercalayo]

To everyone watching this video: I sincerely pray that you find the answer you’re looking for.

Edit: It's been two years since this comment and I'm still alive. There are still times when I wish I wasn't but they are becoming less frequent. It seems that things do get better. It warms my heart that I'm not alone in this journey as this comment section proves. I appreciate you all. Thank you so much and I hope that things continue to get better for all of us.

[Hmy]

I’ve always have this crippling fear from making any mistakes or get humiliated because of them.

I’m 35 y/o and still get terrified of people humiliating me and I don’t know how to defend myself.

I feel like a child who’s constantly apologise to get people forgiveness.

It hurts me so much .. I want to learn how to love and stand up for myself more, and accept my mistakes as part of me.

[MrNerdyBrit]

I can't even remember a time when I liked or loved myself. I often feel like the world would be a much better place without me.

[whatisjoedoing]

Why is there no podcast for School of life??? I would love to listen to these things on the go without having to pay for YouTube Premium

[whatwazthat]

Absolutely spot on. As someone with bad anxiety, the constant fear of my impending, justified punishment for existing was something I had no idea wasn't normal. Once you recognize it, you start to feel better.

[evahagen]

I don't think I was negelected as a kid in any way, but I still hate myself more than I could hate anyone ever. And this fact makes me hate myself even MORE because even with all the love of the people in my life, I still ended up like this...

[chloearavani]

I started crying when he mentioned that we just need love

[BREEP.]

Knowing that I cause my anxiety with self hate only makes me dislike myself more. This hit too close to home. lol not feeling confident makes me avoid social situations all together bc I will be uncomfortable the entire time. Merry Christmas! 🤗

[pyrushero]

So, the weird thing is, I like myself, yet I'm almost convinced no one else could. Like, the only person who could like being around me is me. I know that's logically probably not true, but I can't kill the thought from my subconscious anyway.

[konan]

Whenever I feel anxious and insignificant (mostly as a result of anxiety attacks) I would remind myself of my favorite line in the Desiderata poem:
"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here." We're worthy.

[NidusFormicarum]

I dislike myself because other peoole get angry with me, annoyed at me, yell at me, reject me, abandom me. I can't manage my every day life and other people excpect me to. I don't find the help I need and people expect me to. The key for me is guilt and coping with stress.