Why do we self-sabotage?

According to Rochelle Knowles, founder of Mindful Eyes coaching, it all boils down to fear.

“There is a part of our brain, the ‘critter brain’, also known as the brain stem, which doesn’t like change, which prompts our compulsion to slip into destructive patterns and essentially self-sabotage,” she tells Stylist.

“When it senses change, the critter brain has the limbic system load up feelings of fear and worry, so the cortex (or ‘human brain’) has to come up with a logical reason to justify those emotions.”

In many instances, we self-sabotage because we desire acceptance. We don’t actually want to go out, but we do because our friend needs a wing-woman and she doesn’t want to go alone. We put ourselves forward for extra responsibilities at work because we know that our boss wants us to.

“Our critter brain just wants to keep us safe,” Knowles continues, “so if we’re socially anxious, we’re likely to do something that makes us feel accepted again. ”

So what can these behaviours look like?

From the workplace to your relationships, how to spot even the most subtle signs of self-sabotage