Low Self Esteem

“Many times I would want to change something about my life but would instantly crawl back into the world I know and feel comfortable with, if I had self-esteem, my life would be so different”

What is self-esteem?

Self-esteem is a way of thinking, feeling and acting that implies that you accept, respect, trust and believe in yourself. When you accept yourself, you can live comfortable with both your personal strengths and weaknesses without undue self-criticism. When you respect yourself, you acknowledge your own dignity and value as a human being. You treat yourself well, in much the same way, you would treat someone else who you respect. Self-trust means that your behaviour and feelings are consistent enough to give you an inner sense of continuity and coherence despite changes and challenges in your external circumstances.

To believe in yourself means that you feel you deserve to have the good things in life, it also means you have confidence that you can fulfil your deepest personal needs, aspirations and goals.

Self-esteem needs to come from within, when your self esteem is low, you may latch onto something external to provide a temporary sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.

Many things cause low self-esteem, including but not limited to:

• Being bullied or abused
• Experiencing prejudice, discrimination or stigma
• Losing your job or difficulty finding employment
• Problems at work or while studying
• Ongoing stress
• Physical health problems
• Mental health problems
• Relationship problems, separation or divorce
• Worries about your appearance and body image
• Problems with money or housing.