"I Don't Like Myself" was written by band members Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman as well as Marco Daniel Borrero. It was also produced by Borrero under the alias MAG. The song was close to being removed off of Mercury - Act 2 as lead singer Reynolds no longer agreed with his lyrics of self-hatred and its sentiment. Sermon, however, wanted to include it as the song showed Reynolds' growth and was truthful to him when he wrote it.[3] In a statement, Reynolds described the specific background of the song:[1]
I wrote this song at a very low point for me. I struggled quite a bit with self-love over the years. I was in a deep rut of depression and turned to music for refuge. I’ve since spent many years in therapy working on self-love. I believe therapy is the reason I am still alive today. If it’s ever a question of whether or not you should go to therapy. The answer is always yes. Stay alive.
— Dan Reynolds
Music video
The music video for "I Don't Like Myself" was released October 10, 2022 and was directed by Matt Eastin.[4] The video features various clips of Dan Reynolds in a black hat and "Enemy" sweatshirt walking through various European cities while singing to the song. The video is also intermittent with clips of Reynolds performing on the Mercury World Tour. It was filmed during the European Leg of the tour. In the description of the video, a phone number for the Crisis Text Line was included.
Personnel
Credits for "I Don't Like Myself" adapted from Apple Music.[5]
