50 Self-Pity Quotes to Inspire Your Ascension

Learn to release negativity and rise above your obstacles with these self-pity quotes.

Self-pity is one of the most powerful human emotions. 

Learn how to make this emotion work for you with our self-pity quotes below.

What is self-pity?

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Why does everything bad always have to happen to me?”

If not, that’s fantastic, but you are not alone if you have. 

Self-pity is when we feel self-centered and sorry about our internal or external experiences.

Self-pity aims to attract attention, help, or empathy from others. 

Check out these interesting self-pity facts below:

• Self-pity is not the same as self-compassion. 
• Self-pity makes authentic self-reflection difficult. 
• People with self-pity deflect criticism of themselves.

Is self-pity really that dangerous?

The short answer is yes.

Self-pity can start an avalanche of negative emotions, which can keep us in a self-imposed prison.

Many researchers and scientists have been paying particular attention to self-pity as depression and suicide rates rise nationwide. 

Self-pity is a common response to stressful events.

However, recent studies have shown that self-pity strongly correlates with neuroticism and depression. 

People with high amounts of self-pity tend to see themselves as controlled by chance and the power of others. 

Strong connections were also found with individuals with high self-pity, anger, loneliness, and worrisome attachments. 

Women were found to report more self-pity than men. 

How do we deal with self-pity?

Self-pity is an avoidance strategy many people use to run from responsibility or fear.

Our thoughts are compelling.

Scientists have found that patients who experience self-pity find relief by thinking happy thoughts and being mindful of what they consume in terms of entertainment. 

Many found that feelings of self-pity go away when replaced with reminders of positive aspects of life. 

Life is an ebb and flow, so it is natural to feel down sometimes. 

However, perpetually wallowing in pity for our internal or external conditions does not help us solve our problems. 

To learn more, check out our self-pity quotes below. 

Short self-pity quotes about loathing

Check out these short and sweet self-pity quotes. 

1. “Self-pity shortens your life.” — Joan Rivers

2. “Self-pity makes people callous.” — Mason Cooley

3. “Self-pity is the simplest luxury.” — Rita Mae Brown

4. “Self-pity comes so naturally to all of us.” — Andre Maurois

5. “Self-pity can make one weep, as can onions.” — Jerry Fodor

6. “Self-pity dries up our sympathy for others.” — Mason Cooley

7. “What poison is to food, self-pity is to life.” — Oliver C. Wilson

8. “Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” — Don Marquis

9. “The opposite of having faith is having self-pity.”— Os Guinness

10. “Self-pity is a sin. It is a form of living suicide.” — Charles J. Shields

The top self-pity quotes about wallowing in guilt

These quotes remind us of the destructive power of self-pity. 

11. “Self-pity is very unattractive.” — Patty Duke

12. “I tell people to monitor their self-pity.” — Patty Duke

13. “Self-pity is the most destructive of all narcotics.” — Sebastian Horsley

14. “Self-pity is an acid which eats holes in happiness.” — Earl Nightingale

15. “Honesty is as rare as a man without self-pity.” — Stephen Vincent Benet

16. “This life is not for complaint, but for satisfaction.” — Henry David Thoreau

17. “Self-pity is a disease which does not kill but corrodes.” — Aidan Chambers                

18. “Sympathy is never wasted except when you give it to yourself.” — John W. Raper

19. “Self-pity is never useful. It tends to distort like a fun-house mirror.” — Anne Roiphe

20. “If you’re not careful, you can fall into a destructive cycle of self-pity.” — Victoria Osteen

The best self-pity quotes about regret

These quotes remind us why regret fuels self-pity. 

21. “It’s so easy to fall into the self-pity trap.” — Amy Morin

22. “People often use self-pity as a way to gain attention.” — Amy Morin

23. “Mistakes are a drag because you get in the area of regret and self-pity.” — Carrie Fisher

24. “Self-pity can consume you until it eventually changes your thoughts and behaviors.” — Amy Morin

25. “If you allow self-pity to take hold when you’re dealing with stress, you’ll put off working on a solution.” — Amy Morin

26. “It’s all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are finished.” ― Debbie Macomber

27. “Self-pity becomes your oxygen. But you learned to breathe it without a gasp. So, nobody even notices you’re hurting.” ― Paul Monette

28. “If self-pity is so destructive, why do we do it in the first place? And why is it sometimes so easy and even comforting to indulge in a pity party?” — Amy Morin

29. “Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the nonpharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure, and separates the victim from reality.” — John Gardner

30. “Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure, and separates the victim from reality.” ― John Gardner

Self-pity quotes and sayings from Amy Morin

Amy Morin is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist who wrote 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.

31. “Self-pity can also provide a reason to avoid responsibility.” — Amy Morin

32. “Feeling sorry for yourself won’t move you any closer to a solution.” — Amy Morin

33. “Unfortunately, misery loves company, and sometimes self-pity becomes a bragging right.” — Amy Morin

34. “If five good things and one bad thing happen in a day, self-pity will cause you to focus only on the negative.” — Amy Morin

35. “Feeling sorry for yourself is self-destructive. It leads to new problems and can have serious consequences.” — Amy Morin

36. “A conversation can turn into a contest, with the person who has experienced the most trauma earning the badge of victory.” — Amy Morin

37. “To alleviate feelings of self-pity, you need to change your pitiful behavior and forbid yourself from indulging in pitiful thoughts.” — Amy Morin

38. “For people who fear rejection, self-pity can be an indirect way of gaining help by sharing a woe-is-me tale in hopes it will attract some assistance.” — Amy Morin

39. “Once you allow it to take hold, self-pity will ignite a flurry of other negative emotions. It can lead to anger, resentment, loneliness, and other feelings that fuel more negative thoughts.” — Amy Morin

40. “Sometimes self-pity becomes an act of defiance. It’s almost as if we assume that something will change if we dig in our heels and remind the universe that we deserve better. But that’s not how the world works.” — Amy Morin

Famous self-pity quotes from mentally strong people

Check out these self-pity quotes from those who learned to beat it. 

41. “Gratitude is a dialysis of sorts. It flushes the self-pity out of our systems.” — Max Lucado

42. “Self-pity is spiritual suicide. It is an indefensible self-mutilation of the soul.” — Anthon Maarten

43. “If you keep a journal, refer to it and read it whenever self-pity begins to set in.” — Amy Morin

44. “Optimism and self-pity are the positive and negative poles of modern cowardice.” — Cyril Connolly

45. “But the day I can’t shrug off a twinge of self-pity is the day I’m washed up for keeps.” — Jonathan Lethem

46. “Self-pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” — Helen Keller

47. “Identity is not inherent. It is shaped by circumstance and sensitivity and resistance to self-pity.” — Dorothy West

48. “To feel sorry for oneself is one of the most disintegrating things the individual can do to himself.” — Winifred Rhoades   

49. “Try to avoid complaints. Self-pity, even when legitimate, never fails to undermine your strength.” — Mariane Pearl

50. “Practically all the sadness we experience in life comes from our feeling sorry for ourselves.” — Marty Rubin

Do not let self-pity stop your growth

Self-pity is one of the biggest forms of self-sabotage we can do to prevent our evolution.

How do you avoid self-pity?

Please be sure to let us know in the comments below.

Share this list of self pity quotes with your friends and family.