Self-sabotage is a behavior that creates problems in daily life and interferes with long-term goals. It can manifest in many forms, such as procrastination, self-medication with drugs or alcohol, comfort eating, and even self-harm. Mental health professionals have identified common signs of self-sabotage, including procrastination, perfectionism, and self-medication. At its core, self-sabotage is rooted in counterproductive mentalities such as negativity, disorganization, indecision, and negative self-talk.
Perfectionism and imposter syndrome are also forms of self-sabotage. People may also engage in meaningless distractions that prevent them from achieving their goals. Self-sabotage can affect almost every aspect of life, from relationships to professional goals to personal goals like weight loss. It's a frustrating cycle of behavior that reduces self-confidence and makes people feel trapped.
The cause of this behavior is often a lack of faith in oneself. If someone is struggling with self-sabotage, they may be engaging in behaviors or thought patterns that slow them down and prevent them from doing what they want to do. Postponement can be a constant challenge if someone has ADHD symptoms, but it can be managed. Self-sabotage is the result of faulty conditioning of the subconscious mind.
Programming creates self-sabotaging thoughts that give rise to sabotage beliefs and behaviors. People's relationship with success and failure can be complicated, and self-sabotage occurs when the subconscious mind interferes with the conscious mind.
