Sometimes life gets up down and effects how we feel about ourselves. You probably remember times in the past when you felt more confident and able to manage any stress life threw your way. Without intentional self care these feelings can dwindle over time and leave you feeling insecure, unable to do things you once did and drained by life. Anxiety and depression can creep in making getting through the day nearly insurmountable. You may project your negative feelings on to others and fear they also have negative opinions of you or that you do not matter.
The good news is that the confident and resilient person you once were is still within. Together we'll find her!
Self-esteem is a concept that speaks to how we feel about ourselves. When one has high self-esteem, they feel confident, centered, and worthy of love. People with low self-esteem often feel shame and self-doubt. They often feel critical of themselves and feel they are unworthy of love or praise.
Recognizing Low Self-Esteem - If any of these resonate with you then you may be suffering low self-esteem:
- Feeling you must accomplish to be worthy of love and recognition.
- Procrastinating in order to avoid tasks you fear will not go well and reflect poorly on you.
- Feeling things are not good enough until they are perfect.
- Pretending not to not care about what others think but fearing their judgements deeply.
- Feeling helpless about feeling better and doing better when faced with challenges.
Regardless of how low self-esteem manifests, the results are always the same:
- Depression and anxiety
- Lack of joy in life
- Anger, guilt, sadness
- Self-doubt
- A lack of resilience
- Loneliness
- Isolation
- Eating issues
- Codependency
- Self-harm
Treatment for Low Self-Esteem
The good news is that self-esteem is something that can be changed by changing your beliefs, behavior and how you think about yourself. Having said this, most people developed their self-esteem issues in childhood and have been living with low self-esteem for a very long time. For this reason, it is advised that they seek the guidance of a trained therapist.
Having a knowledgeable and supportive therapist in your corner can help you develop a healthier and more realistic sense of self. I will help you connect the dots in your life, discover where your low self-esteem came from, and provide tools so you can absolve your negative beliefs and critical self-talk and replace them with self-love and self-compassion.
If you suffer from low self-esteem and are tired of feeling this way please know that therapy can help!