Self-hatred and self-directed attack
This part concerns harsh rejection of yourself, including disgust, name-calling, withdrawing care and thoughts of self-injury. It is a set of reported responses, not a label for the kind of person you are.
Five numeric responses produce a sum of 5–25 and a mean of 1–5. A larger value reflects greater average endorsement of these five statements. No value is used to determine immediate danger, a diagnosis or a risk category. A skip leaves this part unscored.
What changes when criticism turns into rejection
- Being frustrated with a mistake and turning against yourself are related experiences, but they are not interchangeable descriptions. The five Hated Self statements ask about being so angry with yourself that you want to hurt yourself, disgust with yourself, stopping caring about yourself, calling yourself names and not liking being you. The full wording matters; this part is not simply a measure of being demanding.
- The source name is a name for this part of a questionnaire. It should not become a label such as a bad personality or an identity you have to accept. You may recognise some statements and not others. A response also cannot tell the page why a thought appeared, whether it is present now, or what practical help is needed.
A score example without a severity label
- In a fictional set of five responses, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 add to 15 and average to 3.00. That arithmetic describes the selected values. It does not establish a moderate level of danger, a probability of self-harm or a clinical category. The 2019 source endpoints are retained, while the middle choices remain the numbers 2, 3 and 4 rather than invented frequency labels.
- A sum from five statements cannot be ranked against the raw sum from nine or eight statements as though the biggest total identifies the loudest critic. Even the part mean is not a risk screen. If there is an immediate concern about your safety, use the support instructions now; you do not need to calculate a result or decide which label fits.
After an upsetting conversation
- Consider a fictional person, Wei, after receiving criticism about a shared project. He may want to understand the complaint and repair a mistake. He may also notice a different response: using a harsh name for himself, feeling disgust rather than describing a specific action, or thinking that he no longer deserves ordinary care. These experiences illustrate why the statements name different responses, not one generic feeling of stress.
- The example does not establish his score and cannot settle whether the criticism was fair. It also does not mean every person who has a self-rejecting thought will act on it. Conversely, a questionnaire response cannot rule out a current safety concern. Where safety is uncertain, getting real-time help takes priority over interpreting this example or finishing the remaining statements.
Skipping is a valid way to use this page
- One statement explicitly mentions wanting to hurt or injure yourself. You can skip it, any other statement, or the whole questionnaire. The skip choice is a web adaptation and is not assigned a response value. With four numeric answers and one skip, this part shows four of five numeric responses available and has no sum or mean. It does not estimate the missing answer.
- You can still read all three full explanations after choosing skips, including when every statement is skipped. Reading the method and support information is not a reward for disclosure. If you do not want to answer a sensitive statement, you do not owe the page an explanation, and a skipped result must not be displayed as zero concern.
Five answers cannot assess a crisis
- These statements do not establish current intent, plans, access to means, injuries or the other information a professional may need in an urgent assessment. This edition therefore does not attach a risk colour, alert level or crisis prediction to an item or part score. Choosing the smallest response is not proof of safety, and choosing a larger response is not a diagnosis.
- If you may harm yourself now or need urgent medical care, stop the questionnaire and contact local emergency services or an emergency department. If possible, involve a trusted person who can stay with you while you seek help. The support message is available regardless of your answers. Do not wait for a total, a threshold or a completed result before acting on an immediate need.
A practical step does not have to be self-punishment
- When there is no immediate danger and reflection feels manageable, you might identify one ordinary need that has been pushed aside: food, rest, a conversation or help with the situation. Asking someone to help you organise the next step can be more usable than demanding that you suddenly like yourself. These are optional ways to notice a need, not a treatment plan derived from your score.
- Accountability and care can occur together. You can acknowledge harm, apologise or correct work without deciding that you should be deprived of basic care. A difficult relationship, exclusion or an unsafe environment may also require practical protection or outside support. The questionnaire cannot determine which of those circumstances applies to you.
Support does not cancel a painful response
- You might endorse some self-reassuring statements as well as some self-rejecting ones. This edition does not subtract one part from the other to produce a reassuring net result. Those responses may concern different occasions or different aspects of what happened. Seeing them side by side can invite a more specific conversation, rather than forcing one story about your personality.
- Nor does a later decrease establish that an earlier difficulty has been resolved. Context, interpretation and what you felt able to report can all differ between attempts. If you are already receiving care, the most useful information to bring may be the actual experience and what has changed in daily life, not a target number you think you ought to reach.
A conversation can start without a result
- If these thoughts are recurring, frightening or difficult to manage, consider speaking with a qualified mental health professional. You can say what happens after a setback, whether the thoughts feel current, and what makes daily life harder. You do not have to use the term Hated Self, and this page cannot decide what care you need.
- A trusted person can also help you take the first practical step, such as staying with you or helping you contact a service. If the need is urgent, use emergency care rather than waiting for an appointment or another test. Asking for support is available to people with any response pattern, including no calculated result at all.