Self-Esteem can be defined as an attitude possessed about our skills and abilities and how we see or value ourselves. It can mean acceptance toward yourself with a sense of trust. It can also be a sense of knowing your strengths and vulnerabilities with a positive view of yourself within it. Which isn’t alway easy to do. Confidence and self-worth is a really precious mental resource that can be linked with achievements, healthy relationships and overall well being. On the other hand, having low self-esteem can lead to a lower mood which may be a little more consistent which can impact your full potential at work, play or other environments.
There are many factors which can impact self esteem such as self acceptance, relationship with family and friends, upbringing, traumatic events, significant changes in life, and societal or cultural expectations, These are some of the things that impact the way we see ourselves, and the relationship we have with ourselves and others impacting our expectations or goals in life.
There are various practical methods that can be practiced to rebuild a sense of self compassion and wisdom around reframing or rebuilding confidence. With the right help, you can suppress negative thoughts and move toward positive outcomes. In conjunction with evidence based approaches that can be achieved in therapy, there’s hope, here’s some things you can do to build up your self esteem and manage the inner critic:
- Surround yourself with positive, affirming people
- Be kind to yourself with self care and mindfulness
- Talk to yourself kindly and tell your negative inner voice to stop
- Use positive affirmations
- Set achievable goals
- Write down what you like about yourself
- Think about what you are grateful for
What Low Self-Esteem may look like:
- Being socially withdrawn or avoidant of family or friends
- Focussing on the negative or blaming yourself when things don’t go to plan
- Thinking you don’t deserve happiness or joy
- You worry about what others think and seek approval regularly
- You feel uncomfortable with eye contact
- Any criticism or judgment can have severe emotional impacts