To begin with, how do you identify Low self esteem?
You feel unworthy so you accept low value treatment from people. You allow people treat you poorly, undervalue you, yet you still remain with them.
You compare yourself with others and forget to see your own light, thereby making you go back into your shell or even give up before trying.
You struggle with Negative self-talk as you only seem to highlight only the imperfections you have, forgetting all your good sides.
You always put the feelings of others before yours, despite how uncomfortable it may seem for you.
The list of symptoms can be very long, but these are some of the major signs.
Cambridge Dictionary defines Self-Esteem as belief and confidence in your own ability and value. This means that if the belief and confidence in your own ability is low, or you by any means doubt how valuable you are, then you may be experiencing poor self esteem.
Low self esteem can rob you of opportunities, waste your time and leave you feeling miserable for a long time. The worst thing is, it slowly creeps in… disguising as imposter syndrome, in trying to be humble, in trying to control what others think about you; and before you know it- you have become what a complete shadow of yourself.
In science, they say every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So can we say low self esteem is a reaction to an action directly or indirectly?
The answer is Yes.
Studies show that events or occurrences from our past have a way of staying in our minds and causing us to judge ourselves by how those events turned out. Most especially, if the effect of those events were severely negative. Some typical examples of such events can include:
Having an unhappy childhood where parents or teachers were extremely critical of you.
The experience of coming from an unstable home where you may have lacked basic necessities as opposed to your friends.
Poor performance in academics, sports or other activities, resulting in a lack of confidence
An abusive relationship
Past traumatic experiences etc
Stress from challenges of life etc
These experiences can have a negative effect on how we see ourselves, thereby leading to low self esteem. But it doesn’t have to remain that way and we will guide you on what to do in the next steps.
How can you Boost your self esteem?
By Constant Practice.
Convince your mind to believe all the best things about yourself, and this is how you do it:
Challenge every negative self-talk with a positive response.
Be Assertive, speak up when you don’t like or appreciate something.
Fill up your day with positive affirmations.
Accept yourself the way you are, your story is unique and beautiful in its own way.
Practice self care and self love
Get support from a therapist
Read books on self development
Identify your what your ideal self will look like and show up as them
Surround yourself with genuine friends who truly care about you
Stay around people who value you- like family.
Believe in your abilities.
We hope this post has given you some insight into Self esteem and how you can build a healthy one, so you can live a more fulfilling and successful life.
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