Self-esteem is different from person to person. By learning what self-esteem is, what affects it, and what causes it, we can then learn tips to improve low self-esteem personally. This blog post will explore Self-esteem, what affects it, and what causes low self-esteem.
What is Self-esteem? – How we value and perceive ourselves is our self-esteem. Our self-esteem can be both high or low – if high, we can feel confident and positive in our lives and own abilities. If our self-esteem is low, we can feel negative about ourselves and lives, leading us to be critical. It can affect many parts of our lives such as our family, our friendships, relationships, and work. Self-esteem can affect:
- How you deal with difficult or new things
- If you believe you are good enough or matter
- If you can move over past mistakes without unfairly judging or blaming yourself
- If you can recognise your strengths or not
- If you like yourself as a person and if you value yourself
- If you take time for yourself when needed
- Whether you believe you deserve happiness or not
- Whether you can make decisions for yourself and assert yourself, or not.
- Whether you show yourself kindness or not
What is low Self-esteem? – Low self-esteem is where we put little value to ourselves and lives. This can cause us to have a negative view on life, making us feel hopeless.
What can cause low Self-esteem? – We can have self-esteem change unexpectantly or it can be something that stays the same for a long period of time. There are lots of things in life which can contribute to low self-esteem, however, what may affect us is different for everyone. Here are some examples:
- Being abused or bullied
- Discomfort around appearance or body image
- Experiencing discrimination, prejudice, stigma, and racism
- Housing problems or money problems
- Losing a job, or having difficulty getting a job
- Mental Health problems
- Physical health problems
- Pressure to meet unrealistic expectations, such as from family or social media
- Problems at school or work
- Relationship issues, divorce or separation
How can counselling and psychotherapy help with low self-esteem? – Counselling and psychotherapy can help us to explore the way we feel and help to change how we view ourselves and others. Counselling and psychotherapy can also help us to cope with experiences which affect how we feel about ourselves. If you feel like you are finding it hard to cope and improve your self-esteem you may benefit from counselling and psychotherapy.
If you have any further questions or want to know more about counselling for low self-esteem, please feel free to get in touch.
