YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

I've been struggling a lot lately with invasive thoughts of self-loathing. Every time I hang out with someone or otherwise have a social interaction, I get obsessed with the idea that they don't like me; I wasn't funny enough, I was boring, I'm annoying.
People tell me that I can't depend on others for approval and need to focus on loving myself, but I struggle with this so much. When I'm by myself I have intense thoughts of self-hatred. I imagine that if I were another person sitting next to me, I would hate to be around that person.
I'm currently in a support group, am on medication, and have tried several therapists. None of them have been able to give me concrete advice on how to start loving myself, or even liking myself, more to the point I'm not having these invasive thoughts.
I intensely wish I could like myself, but every thought I have strikes me as dumb, pretentious, weak, self-destructive, etc. I've been at the end of my rope lately and don't know where to start.

The advice that worked for me was always to give myself the same slack that I would give to a stranger, if I had to judge a stranger by his actions alone. I wouldn't hate a stranger who did the same actions that I am doing today, so why would I hate myself instead of cutting myself some slack? Fair is fair, and I know the real outcome of self-hatred is to debilitate myself and keep myself from being the greatest force for good in the universe that I can be.

Please take care, Frootsy Collins.