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Detox Your Mind: Releasing Hate in a World of Hot Takes

Detox Your Mind: Releasing Hate in a World of Hot Takes

Plus, the surprising opposite of hate and steps to transform it.

Sol TV
November 02, 2023

This Newsletter at a Glance:

🌪️ What Is Hate?

🔄 TL/DR: The Real Opposite of Hate

✨ Sol Bites: 4 Steps to Get Rid of Hate

🎥 Video Bite: Mathura on Identifying relationship with rage

💭 Words of Wisdom

Hate is widely thought of as an emotion, but it also can be an attitude or sentiment. Some psychologists believe hate is an extreme version of anger, while others describe it as a mix of emotions that include anger, contempt, and disgust. Some experts think of hate as a distinct feeling.

Extreme hatred can inspire violence. We’ve all experienced hatred at some point, especially after being betrayed or hurt—physically or emotionally—by someone. It’s normal to have hateful feelings occasionally. However, feeling hatred over a long time and holding on to hate can harm the mind and body.

Whatever your definition of hate, psychologists agree that it is almost always rooted in fear, shame, and humiliation. Because of those complex feelings, you may try to predict an opponent’s behavior as part of a defense mechanism. Playing potential scenarios out in your mind can lead to further anxiety, restlessness, paranoia, and obsessive thinking—which can affect your nervous, immune, and endocrine systems. Extreme emotions trigger the release of stress hormones in the brain, and over time, those hormones increase inflammation in the body, resulting in serious health consequences.

TL/DR: The Real Opposite of Hate

Most people think love is the opposite of hate, but that’s not true.

When you hate something, it means you have an attachment to it. So the opposite of hate is actually emotional detachment.

One power of hate is that it falsely inflates your ego and makes you feel superior and self-righteous in relation to the person or thing you hate. That just leads to more emotional pain.

Your goal, however, should not be to suppress hateful feelings—there are many situations where hate is an appropriate and necessary response. The goal is to find a way to release your feelings without harming yourself or others.

Sol Bites: 4 Steps to Get Rid of Hate

If you want to eliminate hate and channel that energy into something positive, try this process:

Acknowledge that you feel hateful. That prevents you from ignoring the feeling or blaming others for your hate.

Stop comparing yourself to others. Keep your focus on yourself and your values.

When you feel hatred, take a pause and avoid reacting. Separate yourself from the situation. Take a walk, play with your pets, or find something that you like to do.

Find the origin of your hate and face it. Is it stemming from fear, insecurity, or mistrust? Something else? Talk about it with someone you trust, or write about it in your journal.

Video Bite

When anger arises, our identities can shape how we respond, shares Sol TV Creator, Mathura. As a woman of color, she has complex feelings around expressing rage in a society that stigmatizes it.

She experiences meta-emotions - feelings about her feelings - like fear of hurting others or shame for having anger at all. To cope, Mathura found healthy outlets for her rage, rather than internalizing it. Activities like running, singing, dance, and lip-syncing provide acceptable, non-harmful ways to release the energy.

The goal isn't suppressing rage, but channeling the power into acts of self-care and creation. By honoring her emotions while protecting her spirit, Mathura moves through anger without being defined by it.