
Ask HN: How Do You Avoid Falling into Self Pity - HNLurker2
My condition (you can skip): Sometimes in the past I fell into self pity to myself which put me into depression and made me do terrible stuff (hurting others).<p>Question: how do you avoid falling into self pity?
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CyberFonic
I think that there are many interpretations of the concept of "self pity". You
don't specify what sorts of thoughts you are referring to.

In my experience, I can't tell whether depression leads to self-pity or the
other way around. The "falling into" part is hard to discern until you are
already in that negative space. If I find myself lashing out at others and
hurting them, I stop and ask myself how am I hurting? Why do I feel that the
people I hurt are out to hurt me.

The act of "stepping outside of myself" in the moment provides an alternative
perspective and the kernel upon which I can forge a new direction, hopefully
out of the pit of self-pity. Not easy but achievable.

