Self-hatred often functions as a mismanagement of guilt — projecting sin onto an "other self" to adopt victim mentality instead of genuine repentance.

Winger draws on youth ministry experience to suggest that "I hate myself" frequently involves "othering" oneself — treating one's own sinful actions as things being done to you rather than by you. This allows guilt to be expressed as victimhood rather than repentance. He cites Cain (Genesis 4) as a biblical example: after murdering Abel, Cain immediately shifts to victim language ("whoever finds me will kill me") with no sign of repentance. He also notes that Amnon (2 Samuel 13) projected his guilt onto Tamar after raping her, converting love into hatred. True self-love, Winger argues, is already assumed by Scripture — no one is actually happy when bad things happen to themselves. The solution is not self-hatred but repentance and hope in Christ's forgiveness. Human beings are simultaneously the most glorious creatures (made in God's image) and the most wicked (having defaced that image through sin).