What is Self-esteem?
Self-esteem usually refers to how we view and think about ourselves and the value we place on our selves as a person. If the value we place on ourselves is often negative, this is when we run into problems with self-esteem.
Low self esteem
Have you ever been dissatisfied or feel unhappy with yourself on the whole? Do you ever think that you are flawed useless, worthless, unattractive, unlovable a loser or a failure?
If you often think about yourself in these terms then you might have a problem with low self-esteem. Low self esteem is having a generally negative opinion on oneself / judging or evaluating oneself negatively.
Ignoring positive qualities
Frequent self-criticism - a person with low self-esteem probably says a lot of negative things about themselves or joke about themselves in a very negative way. They might put themselves down, doubt them selves or blame themselves when things go wrong.
Negative emotions
A person with low self-esteem might feel sad, depressed, anxious, guilty, ashamed, frustrated and angry.
Impact on work/study
A person with low-self-esteem might consistently achieve less than they are able to because they believe they are less capable than others. They might avoid challenges and opportunity for fear of not doing well.
Relationship problems:
In their personal relationships, people with low self-esteem might become upset or distressed by any criticism or disapproval. On the other hand they can become aggressive in their interactions with others.
Recreational and leisure:
People with low self-esteem might not engage in many leisure or recreational activities as they might believe that they do not deserve any pleasure or fun
Personal self care:
People who do not value themselves might not bother to dress neatly or style their hair. On the other hand they might try to hide any inadequacies by not allowing themselves to be seen by others unless they look perfect.
Cause or effect:
It's important to know that low self esteem is a common problem for many people –so you are not alone in any case.
The good news
While we can't change the past, we can do something about the things we do on daily basis that maintain negative core beliefs we have about our selves. This means things can be different and you can over-come low self esteem. What's important now is that you commit to making to address your unhelpful thinking and unhelpful behaviours from day to day. The good thing is that you can take steps towards developing more healthy self-esteem.
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