Self-esteem is basically how we value ourselves, our sense of self-worth including our perceptions on how much value we feel we bring to the world and to others. Self-esteem is a fundamental factor that actually has a huge impact on almost all areas of our life - our ability to trust, our relationships, our professional successes, our lifestyle and goals, our sense of happiness and more… 

 

Positive self-esteem gives us psychological and emotional resilience to feel empowered, confident, to help make decisions and to learn from our mistakes. It is an internal voice and relationship that is loving, supportive, compassionate and kind.

 

Low self-esteem on the other hand can be an incredibly debilitating state that has origins in our history, our early childhood and family, that by adulthood cannot only severely hold us back from reaching our full potential, but also has huge implications for our mental and emotional health. 

 

Somebody with low self-esteem often feels depressed, worthless, anxious, lacking in confidence, incapable and incompetent. Feeling bad about yourself often maintains and worsens the cycle of self-criticism, self-blame, mistrust and negativity. The impact of low self-esteem can be devastating and is sometimes at the root of problematic behaviours like alcohol abuse, addictions and sexual promiscuity. Low self-esteem also impacts on stress, isolation, relationship issues and physical health.

 

How we feel about ourselves is dependent on a wide range of factors including our early childhood and overall life experiences. Low self-esteem can often build over time and addressing and identifying the origins of this can be a helpful way to reach some understanding. If low self-esteem is impacting your life, your mood or relationships it may be important to seek professional help. 

 

There are many ways in which to help build good, healthy self-esteem and this may include self-care, affirmations, assertiveness training, work on codependency, relationship issues, or working with a therapist to explore the origins, the thought processes, negative self-talk and beliefs that almost always fuel a sense of low self-esteem. In time you can find practical steps to challenge and change these in order to build positive self-esteem. Addressing and shifting long-held beliefs that relate to self-esteem, with support and compassion, can be done.