My latest theory is that we "hate" ourselves to stop ourselves from examining uncomfortable truths.
For instance, if I go into a social situation and do not perform according to what I would like, I'll end up with the "I hate myself" mantra running through my head on the way home. This prevents me from analysing the mistakes (and good points) that occurred and masks some uncomfortable emotions.
This brings sense to the idea that you have to accept something before you can change it.
I have also realized that I don't really "hate" myself (despite what the voices in my head say). I know this because I don't hate other people and I don't consider myself worse than other people so it would make no sense that the only person I would hate should be myself. Knowing this doesn't always help though...
Finally, because of my
posture experiment, I believe that some of the problem is due to improper body positioning.