How to Cope When You Feel Like You “Hate” Everyone
The following are some general tips to help you cope when you feel like you “hate” everyone.
- Try patience-building exercises
Patience — like muscles, endurance, or playing an instrument — requires practice and discipline. If you find you have limited patience for others or in general, you may find patience-building exercises helpful, including:
- practice taking a few deep breaths
- enjoy the wait
- take time to reassess the situation
- set boundaries
- manage your time well
- For more information on patience building, check out this resource.
- Explore your triggers
Certain situations may negatively influence your feelings toward others. Knowing your triggers may help you plan and develop strategies to help you feel better when you face them.
Some triggers that may cause you to feel general “hate” or anger toward others may include:
- finding trash on a nature trail
- other people’s driving abilities
- betrayal of trust
- being made fun of or mocked
- Challenge cognitive distortions
Cognitive distortion is a pattern of exaggerated thought with no basis in reality or what happened. It causes you to view things in a more negative light.
- Examples of cognitive distortion can include:
- overgeneralizing
- blaming
- “should” statements.
- These thought patterns can cause you to dislike others based on fallacies or misinterpretations of their actions.
Cognitive restructuring helps you to reframe or train your thoughts to help you interpret life events in a more positive manner.
It may help you to understand others’ actions and feel less disdain for others.
- Consider your past traumas
Your past can influence you, sometimes in ways you don’t intend or realize. Evidence suggests that people who undergo traumatic events often view themselves and the world through a negative lens.
If you find yourself hating others, you may be able to trace its origin to a recent or past trauma ranging in severity from a cheating ex to the unexpected death of a loved one.
You may find your attitude toward others changes as you take steps to address the trauma. Counseling and other types of therapy may help you to address unresolved emotions, like grief, that you experienced due to a traumatic event.
Addressing these underlying emotions may help improve your thoughts about others and contribute to an overall sense of well-being.