On Self-Hatred

by The School of Life

“The School of Life: On Self-Hatred may be the most essential of The School of Life’s essential philosophy handbooks: it reminds us, yet again, that we are not alone, that much more connects us than divides us and that self-acceptance is one of the most important keys to peace of mind.” – Emma Thompson, DBE British actress and screenwriter

A guide to emotional healing and living a more self-accepting life.

Behind many of our problems lies an often ignored factor: we don’t like ourselves very much. We are sufferers of self-hatred. We tell ourselves the meanest things. It’s because of self-hatred that we tend to neglect our potential at work and get entangled in unfulfilling relationships, that we lack confidence in our social lives and suffer from anxiety, despair, and imposter syndrome.

This is a book that, with immense compassion and fellow feeling, investigates the phenomenon of self-hatred while giving pragmatic advice on how to overcome it. It asks where the feeling comes from, what it makes us do, and how we might become kinder and more compassionate towards ourselves.

We have probably spent far too much of our lives disliking ourselves and attacking everything we say, do, or feel, while not even realizing what we’re up to. It’s time to overcome our masochism and move towards a more self-forgiving and accepting stance. The School of Life: On Self Hatred is a guide to the more compassionate and gentle relationship we should have had with ourselves from the start, and can all achieve now.

• Identifies the origins and consequences of self-hatred and provides advice for leading a more self-accepting life.
• Encourages us to develop assertiveness against self-hatred and gives us the tools to challenge our inner critic.
• Accessible and pragmatic, with a compassionate and realistic tone, outlining the importance of self-care.
• Part of The School of Life’s series of giftable essays. Other titles include: Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person, On Confidence, How to Find Love, and Self-Knowledge.

Hardcover | 160 pages | The School of Life | 2023

The School of Life is a London-based organisation built to help us find calm, self-understanding, resilience and connection – especially during troubled times. The School of Life Press was established to condense their learning into a collection of wise and considered texts. The titles are designed to entertain, educate, console and transform.