Why some teens hate themselves

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 to connect with a trained counselor, or visit the 988 Lifeline website. Wiley Also an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Aguirre provides a crash course in self-hatred, explaining what negative self-talk really is, where it comes from, how it can damage a young person’s mental health, and how parents and caregivers can help their teens get through the struggle and learn more constructive ways of thinking. Aguirre: Some people have asked me: “Is there a biological underpinning to self-hatred?” The one thing that I’ve seen is that almost all the people I meet who experience core self-hatred are highly sensitive people. Aguirre: Somebody who’s depressed might be very dissatisfied with their life during their episode of depression and say, “I hate how I’m living” or “I hate that I’m not getting out of bed and going to work.” It’s not self-hatred per se, but it’s hatred of the impact of depression, hatred of the circumstances. But with people who experience core self-hatred, people who have an underlying “undeservedness” and shame, even when you treat the underlying condition, it doesn’t lift.