How can I convince myself that my friends don't hate me? I have this irrational fear that they actually hate me.

Focus on where these thoughts are emanating from. Have they shown signs that they hate you? What have they done to leave you feeling this way. Has anything significant happened that could have made them feel this way? Look inwardly and seek to address the source of these feelings of insecurity. Focus on your positive attributes, as you contribute to the friendship, and that is why they are your friends. Place emphasis on your strengths, and acknowledge the positives that you bring to the table. If the feeling is out of control, and you feel comfortable to do so, perhaps approach them about your feels and whether they are founded or unfounded.

Self-talk is everything. It's a very important aspect of our mental health that a lot of people often struggle with. First, know that you're not alone and these thoughts are normal. Redirecting your thoughts can be helpful in changing your mindset. Although it may be a lot easier said than done, reminding yourself that those intrusive thoughts aren't real is a great first step. You can actually reprogram your brain by replacing negative self-talk with positive affirmations. So when the thought "My friends hate me" pops up in your mind, acknowledge that thought and cancel it out. Some people do this by literally repeating "cancel, cancel, cancel" in their head and then replace the statement by saying along the lines of "My friends love me" or "I appreciate having such great people in my life".

Irrational fears can be very convincing if we give them time to stew. I think the best thing to do in this situation is communicate. If you're feeling like you have no value to your friends, then do something to nourish that value. Perhaps ask them how they are, or think of something that matters to them and invite them to talk about it. I find that nourishing a friendship is the best way to reassure yourself that you are a valuable and loved friend. I always feel better about myself when I do something nice for someone else. I also always feel better when I take the focus off myself and put it on someone else.

I have felt the same way so many times! But there's one thing I've learnt and it is that a lot of what you are thinking isn't usually true. If you're friends hated you, it would be obvious enough for you to know for sure, but if you have never been 100% sure then it probably isn't true! Little things like them whispering to each other, or giggling at a joke you don't understand is usually nothing and if you really do feel this way, it's always best to bring it up and ask them about it. This will help to clear any confusion or miscommunication and will make you feel better!

This is a common thing firstly, so don't judge yourself for thinking like this. So you don't have to convince yourself for anything.. rather observe why this thought originates.. do they belittle you, trest you badly or are you projecting your past onto them? You really have to go on a journey of self discovery and observation. You will find your answer with that. Also, start taking care of yourself and loving yourself so their opinion of you doesn't even matter. You can also focus on building your self-esteem and confidence by achieving targets which you set for yourself. Stay blessed, you are an awesome person and I wish you all the best :)

First you start loving yourself, your irrational fear starts from the way you perceive yourself. And even after that if you feel the same, it might be paranoia. You can seek professional help for the paranoia. I too once had a similar fear, I had a feeling that everyone is plotting against me. But seeking professional help helped me identify the root cause of my irrational fear and get it resolved. If the feeling is just related to your friends I would also suggest you to try out having an open conversation with them. Good luck and be strong!

It's not going to be a one-and-done type of answer. You're going to have to work on this over time. But you clearly *know* it isn't true, you said so your self that it's irrational. Meaning you know that they actually like you -- How do you know? Even though knowing doesn't always help the other feeling to go away, keep reminding yourself, look at the evidence that points to them liking you and reinforce that to battle that feeling. Do they remember your birthday or the things that you like? Do they make plans to hang out with you? Try to cheer you up? Text you, send you gifs and memes, call you, snap you? And then beyond that work on proving to yourself that you are, in general, a worthy and likeable person! One thing that always helps for me is: animals. I have this belief that if they like you, there's no ulterior motive there. Well, okay, maybe they're hoping you'll feed them treats, but they're not going to pretend to like you and then ditch you. If the average dog wags their tail at you (I mean there's always going to be some that have their own issues and won't want anything to do with anybody) or cats generally don't hiss at you, you're golden. You are, at a very basic level at the core of your being, a likeable person. Look for all the signs that you are likeable. No matter how small or trivial they may seem. And repeat them to yourself. Eventually you'll see that whatever nice gestures you are seeing from your friends are because they genuinely like you and not some niceness-act they put on to mask their hate for you. You'll believe that they like you when you believe that you're likeable.

Well, the universe has a very simple rule. You attract what you believe to be true. This is why you have to start looking at yourself in a different light. Spend time on the things you enjoy doing. Recognize what your strengths are. If you feel positive about yourself, other people will want to be around you and never judge you. If you feel negative, however, people will begin to judge you for your qualities. You have to look inwards for the right answer. At the end of the day, if you can't love yourself, who will? It's the harsh truth of life.

If they actually hated you they would tell you, avoid you ect. If they haven’t done these things assure yourself. You know you are worthy of friendship, because you are a good person. Make a list of good reasons your friends have to like you. Make another list of reasons why your friends might hate you. Use your intelligence and cross off any negative irrational responses. Hopefully the longer list will be all the good reasons full of facts that may help you convince yourself. If not, try again except making a list of only positive reasons that prove you’re a likable person and worthy of friendship. So that there isn’t anyway your friends could possibly hate you.

I had a similar struggle when I was slightly younger. I am twenty years old now and have found that the best way of dealing with this feeling is to try and think very rationally. Really strip this feeling down to the basics. If your friends hated you or didn't like you, why would they want to be your friend? No one is forcing them to be around you and as easy as it is to worry about this, you have to try and remain rational about the feeling. So next time you're anxious about this, ask yourself, What would they gain from being around a friend they 'hate'?