"I Hate Myself" by Blaise Aguirre is an incredibly powerful and validating book for anyone struggling with intense self-criticism, emotional pain, or identity challenges. Dr. Aguirre writes with deep empathy and clarity, making complex psychological concepts feel accessible and relevant. His use of real-life examples and the framework of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers both understanding and practical tools for healing.
What stands out most is his nonjudgmental tone—he truly meets readers where they are, offering hope without minimizing the intensity of their experiences. Whether you're someone going through these struggles personally or a loved one or professional trying to understand, this book is a must-read. It’s a reminder that change is possible and that no one is alone in their pain.
Highly recommended for anyone ready to begin a journey toward self-compassion and emotional resilience.
Science has defined and studied self-criticism, self-blame, self-contempt, and self-disgust. This book attempted to increase interest in self-hatred and self-loathing - especially as they have a high correlation with suicide ideation.
Fairly standard self help book. Dances around the topic of how to help yourself without actually saying anything. Non-committal in its approach to treatment for self loathing, basically - “Here’s some treatments that have helped people hate themselves a little less, but it hasn’t been studied enough, and it likely won’t change the root problem for you.”
Also, many of the patient testimonials feel contrived - they use a lot of psychology terminology and jargon that make me think the author wrote them and not genuine real people struggling with self loathing.
This is a great book and one that I wish I had access to in my early years of recovery from addiction. The author is a professor of psychiatry and discusses how many mental health professionals don’t address the fact that many people have a deep self-hatred. This book is for both patients and mental health professionals, explaining the nuances of what makes people hate themselves and the DBT tools people can use to overcome these thoughts and feelings.
more investigation of self-hatred as a diagnosable psychological phenomenon than self help book, so it was less dramatic and desperate than id expected. thanks for the present mom!
Not my favorite book, and particularly hard to stomach because 1) a man wrote it, 2) he quotes taylor swift multiple times, 3) there were typos, and 4) he included a stupid ass section at the end where he asked AI about self hatred. Some of the points in here I will take with me in my journey to stop hating myself, but this felt a little cheap and sloppy overall
tā bija 8h gara, bet galvenais un vērtīgākais bija pašās beigās, divas nodaļas noklausījos divreiz. long story short, man patika atziņa par to, kā tu tagadnē esi vajadzīga nākotnes sev nevis pagātnes sev, tāpēc nav jēgas sev līdzi staipīt pagātnes sevi!
Clearly written by a practicing psychiatrist, the content is spot on. Might be more scientific than the average reader wants, but all the info is up to date and relevant. Best self-help book I’ve ever read.