Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

How to stop hating yourself after cheating?

233 Answers
Last Updated: 05/31/2022 at 8:53pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Polly Letsch, LCSW

Clinical Social Work/Therapist

I provide non-judgmental, person-centered, objective therapeutic treatment for individuals of all ages to improve social, emotional, mental and other areas of functioning.

Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
June 25th, 2021 7:08pm
I'm sorry to hear you are having thoughts of self-hatred. At the end of the day, there was a reason why you cheated. Perhaps you were very lonely or you felt unloved or unfulfilled in your current relationship. Find the part of you that felt they needed to cheat and empathize with them. Attempt to give them what you thought another partner might give you. If you are able to do this, you won't have to cheat again. Until then, realize that it is a common occurrence and you are not alone. Taking the time to address this issue now will be difficult, but it will improve your future relationships or your current relationship.
KimJisung
July 11th, 2021 2:53am
It's important to remember that, at the end of the day, you're human. People make mistakes. Things happen. The only way to move on from a mistake is to use it as an opportunity for individual growth and learning. Did you do it with ill intent in your heart? Did you do it just to cause trouble? No, you were human. One of the worst things one can do is dwell on a mistake, letting the past have an effect on their future. It's important we heal our own wounds, as to not risk bleeding on those who didn't hurt us.
lovelySoul2345
October 6th, 2021 11:28am
Part of the human experience is making mistakes. Life can be really hard and we all go through difficult times and may do something we later regret. You sound remorseful and like you're owning your mistake. I would encourage you to try and view yourself with compassion. Hating yourself and beating yourself up won't change the past, in fact it will only drag it out longer. There comes a point where you can try and accept it for what it is, a mistake that you're brave enough to own and acknowledge. The next step is apologising to the person you hurt. Then forgive yourself! Therapy can help you if you're struggling with this. Everyone makes mistakes. You deserve to be able to be happy, love yourself and move on. You got this :)
Anonymous
October 7th, 2021 10:46am
One thing I've learned is that we are all become the person that we hate or someone that we are not proud of, but that doesn't mean that we are a bad person. Sometimes, we do wrong things and make bad choice, and that's okay, that's part of our life. The best way to stop hating yourself after cheating is to learn how to accept what already happened and take a baby steps on the process of forgiving yourself. Forgive yourself for cheating. Forgive yourself for doing things that is not right to kill your sadness. Forgive and learn to let go.
AmarahSofia
December 22nd, 2021 12:05am
Hating yourself after cheating, won't make you any good neither can change what has happened. It is a good thing that now you are aware about your mistakes and wanting to make things right but the person you cheated on deserves a sincere apology. Bear in mind the potential consequences of someone who has to suffer because of cheating. This experience may haunt them to the extent of causing emotional and mental distress. Think hundred of times, then ask yourself; What if I am in her/his position, what would I feel? Is this the right thing to do? No one deserves to get cheated of. If you are no longer happy or you felt your partner has shortcomings then talk about it, that is why open communition is very important. Better to hurt someone with the truth rather than feeding them sweet lies. Make some self realization of what you did, it is now the time to be better and do better.
Anonymous
January 28th, 2022 4:19pm
It sounds like there's some shame/guilt associated with having cheated. It's important to ask yourself why you feel this way? What is the source of this feeling? Remember that shame and guilt are different. Try to identify your feelings, so that you can start to unpack where they come from. Also, think about why you cheated in the first place. Was it fear of failure, or something else? Understanding why you acted in a way that made you feel poorly about yourself can help you understand how to stop engaging in that behavior as well as open the door to self-compassion.
Anonymous
February 2nd, 2022 12:25am
Often cheating comes because of an unmet need. Sometimes people cheat completely aware that they are going to cheat and some others do it without thinking and then they realize when it's done. My approach would be to first forgive myself for acting on wanting to meet that need in someone else rather than trying to solve the issue with my partner, because maybe I wasn't aware that there was an unmet need, or because I didn't feel safe telling the person, or maybe I tried many times to solve the issue with my partner and it didn't move in the direction I needed. If you speak to the person you cheated with with honesty and let them go if they want to go, forgive yourself for acting in a way you don't like (because we are human and we make mistakes for whatever the reason) and work on yourself and the need you had, you can little by little stop hating yourself for cheating. And for that matter learn from it so it wont be repeated again.
emeraldmermaid309
February 24th, 2022 3:40am
Come to peaceful terms with yourself. All actions have a reason behind them so don't beat yourself up. Everyone makes bad decisions in life. It doesn't help you if you hate yourself after making a bad decision because you are less likely to grow from it. Think about the reason that you cheated either because you are not satisfied with your partner since they are not providing you with either physical or emotional needs or something else. If you are still in contact with this person you were in a relationship with, try to empathize with their feelings. Figure out what you both can do to heal.
Anonymous
April 3rd, 2022 6:48am
You have to learn how to forgive yourself. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes in life. All you can do now is learn from it and try not to do it again. Also you might need to figure out what caused you to do it. Did the person cheat on you first? Or you might not be ready for a relationship and should stay single until you can follow commit to one person. I would not beat myself up about it but take it as a learning experience. Remember we are not perfect at all and will make mistakes in life.
notnovember12
March 26th, 2016 9:40pm
Stay positive, keep an open mind, it wasn't your fault, you are great. Note one thing you like about yourself every day.
carlier231
March 27th, 2016 12:09am
You need to accept that you made a mistake, and try not to make the same mistake again. You're not a bad person because of it :)
dancingPillow85
March 31st, 2016 11:19pm
Deal with it, admit it and move on. Hating yourself won't help or change things anyway, just make sure you never do this again.
Lovelyymee
April 29th, 2016 1:14am
Accept that no one is perfect a d that you made a mistake . Everyone makes mistake and its not worth tearing yourself down.
heavenlySong29
April 29th, 2016 3:08pm
Move on and forgive your self if you want to stop hating your self start over and love your self learn from your mistake
Sassy001
May 6th, 2016 2:28pm
You have to forgive yourself to stop hating yourself.Learn from it so you can be a better partner and have a better,stronger relationship.
Angi3
May 7th, 2016 6:16am
After cheating, try thinking of them reasons you did it. First you have to accept yourself, then you can forgive yourself.
NymphadoraTonks22
May 19th, 2016 2:13pm
Answer is simple: dig deep into your soul and try to find the reason why did you cheat in the first place. Are you insecure? Jealouse? When you found the reason why did you cheat your love one, you will feel a little bit better. Or simply dont cheat
Sketcher24
May 27th, 2016 9:00pm
You need to validate yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, if you want to be forgiven, you first need to apologize to and forgive your self
Anonymous
June 4th, 2016 11:30pm
just forget the past and move on, and also focus on the future. And say what is done I'd done and I can't change the past.
ratboi
June 5th, 2016 4:58am
know that even though what you did was wrong, you're not a bad person. understanding that what you did was wrong can help. as long as you understand what you did was wrong and why what you did was wrong, you're a perfectly good person who just made a bad choice.
Avene
June 10th, 2016 11:56pm
Recognise that everyone makes mistakes. See if you can find why you cheated, and how to fix or avoid these things in the future. Sometimes cheating happens because there has been too much alcohol; other times there might be something that isn't working within the relationship.
divinewillpower86
June 11th, 2016 12:36am
cheating happens if you are lured by someone or attracted to someone extremely. I guess you are now focusing on trust factor the other person has have on this relationship. and this making you feel suffocated. you can either forget past and move away with relationship or think if you are going to repeat something again then better to leave the relationship. your heart knows the answer
Anonymous
June 11th, 2016 4:53pm
If you want to stop hating yourself. You've got to start loving yourself. You must focus on self-improvement and not dwelling on things that have happened. Learn from the mistake. I
Supergirl94
June 16th, 2016 8:26am
Admit it to yourself, admit what you did, why you did it, and how you want to fix it. Whether with the person you cheated on or fix something with yourself
Anonymous
July 1st, 2016 1:19pm
Be honest wit your partner if you havent told them. Forgive yourself, you are human and humans make mistakes. It will take time, but give yourself a chance
StayPawsitive
July 1st, 2016 10:13pm
Everyone has either done it or thought about it at least once; don't beat yourself up over it! Honestly you shouldn't stress about it. Just stay calm and try not to do it again.
Anonymous
July 2nd, 2016 7:43pm
What's done is done. You did something, you accept it. Maybe it's not something you are proud of but that doesn't mean you are a bad person!
PatientOwl
July 16th, 2016 6:59pm
Recognise that everyone makes mistakes from time to time. Explore the reasons and behaviours that compelled you to cheat and actively work on those so they may not be repeated in any future relationships
usefulLight67
July 19th, 2016 3:42am
Convince yourself that whatever have you did is done and nothing can be done about it. Ask for forgiveness from the person you cheated on and most important forgive yourself we are humans and mistakes ca. Always be done. Finally love yourself more !!
charmingSmiles16
July 28th, 2016 3:52am
Understand that everyone messes up. You just weren't ready for something that serious in your life .