 | This articleneeds attention from an expert in Psychology. The specific problem is:Article needs significant revision, analysis, and sourcing.WikiProject Psychology may be able to help recruit an expert.(April 2024) |
Self-hatred is a state of personal self-loathing or lowself-esteem.[1]
The term "self-hatred" is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually describe people who hate themselves as "people with lowself-esteem".[1] Self-hatred, self-guilt andshame are important factors in some or manymental disorders, especially disorders that involve a perceived defect of oneself (e.g.body dysmorphic disorder). Self-hatred is also a symptom of manypersonality disorders, includingborderline personality disorder,[2] as well as mood disorders likedepression. It can also be linked to guilt for someone's own actions that they view as wrongful, e.g.,survivor guilt.[citation needed]
Self-hatred by members of ethnic groups, gender groups, and religions is postulated to be a result of internalization of hatred of those groups from dominant cultures.
Theodor Lessing, in his book,Jewish Self-Hatred (1930), identified this as a pathology, “a manifestation of an over identification with the dominant culture and internalization of its prejudices.” There have been studies from sources stated in the scholarly research, “mental illness in Jews often derived from feelings of inferiority and self-hatred resulting from persecution and their subordinate position in society.”[citation needed]
The term has been used to labelAmerican Jews accused of hiding their identity “by converting or intermarrying and raising their children in another faith” to overcome sociopolitical barriers due toantisemitism in the United States.[3]
Internalizedhomophobia refers to negative stereotypes, beliefs, stigma, and prejudice about homosexuality andLGBTQ people that a person with same-sex attraction turns inward on themselves, whether or not they identify as LGBTQ.[4][5][6]
Self-deprecation is the act of belittling, undervaluing, or disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest.[7] It is often used as a form of humor and tension release,[8] but it also simultaneously normalizes self-hatred.
Self-harm is a psychological phenomenon in which subjects feel compelled to physically injure themselves (for example, the cutting, burning or hitting of oneself) as an outlet for self-hatred,anxiety, or anger, and is related to numerouspsychological disorders.[9][10][11]
In some cases, self-harm can lead toaccidental death orsuicide due to itsself-destructive nature. However, it is not a definitive indicator of either the desire to attempt suicide or evensuicidal ideation.[12] For this reason, self-harm is sometimes also called non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).
