If there is an emotion that we cannot control due to its irrational nature, it is hatred, which most of the time is accompanied by anger, rage and aggressiveness. We can feel hate towards some things that translates into a feeling of revulsion, but the most harmful hate is that we feel towards other people. Like any feeling, the mechanisms of hate are very difficult to unravel, but it is worth considering to what extent this emotion limits us in the development of our personality.
The causes that produce hate
The most frequent cause of the appearance of the feeling of hate is the response to an aggression. Sometimes we feel damaged by other people, aggressions that don’t have to be physical, but sometimes they are too. At that moment we start to consider that person as an enemy who is attacking us and the immediate response is hate.
All those people with low self-esteem tend to harbor feelings of hatred, because they feel attacked more easily than self-confident people. Insecurity and feeling inferior to others are sources of hatred in our social relationships. Therefore, it is convenient to improve those aspects of our personality, if necessary with professional help that teaches us to channel our insecurities without feeling hate towards other people.
The consequences of feeling hate
It is true that hate is a natural feeling, but it is no less detrimental to our emotional and physical health. In any case, it is a negative emotion that can affect our state of mind to the point of making us fall into depression. In addition, hate is related to some health problems, such as insomnia, stress, anxiety, and considerably weakens the immune system.
The love-hate relationship
To avoid these health risks, it is clear that we have to get rid of hate, but it is not easy, since it is an innate feeling with which our brain reacts to aggression. Furthermore, hate is generated at the same point in the brain where love is produced, hence the difficulty that many couples have in distinguishing whether they hate or love each other. Both emotions, hate and love, thus become passions that inevitably consume us. Inevitably?
How to avoid feeling hate
We don’t have to resign ourselves to suffering or feeling emotions we don’t want. Learning to rationalize each feeling that arises in us and relativize the importance of those feelings will help us feel stronger and more secure. It is also important to manage the feeling of hate by reducing its intensity and for this a greater tolerance towards other people’s mistakes is necessary. Keep in mind that most of the times we’ve felt hurt, the other person hasn’t even realized the damage they were doing.
The way to channel hatred towards other types of emotions that are less harmful to our health is to improve our self-esteem and increase the degree of understanding towards others. Make your own the motto that “it doesn’t offend who wants to, but who can” and make an effort in your personal development so that no one can harm you.