Self-Esteem
Noun
- Confidence in your abilities or worth.
- Self-respect.
Self-esteem is our opinion of ourselves. It can have a huge impact on our lives, especially if your self-esteem is low. We’ve all experienced low self-esteem at one time or another. Therefore, we thought it would be useful to create a blog post talking about self-esteem and how you can boost your own.
Low self-esteem can be caused by various factors…
It often begins during our childhood. Anyone can affect our self-esteem, like our parents, teachers, siblings or friends.
With the rise of technology, most people are finding themselves scrolling endlessly online more and more. Social media can have a huge impact on our self-esteem; it can give us the impression that we’re not good enough as our lives don’t compare to that of those we see online. It can make you feel as if you’re constantly falling short of what your life ‘should’ be like, no matter how hard you try.
Stress can also have a negative effect on self-esteem, along with difficult life events.
Personality can have an impact on your self-esteem. Some people are naturally more negative than others, they can’t help being that way, but it can damage their self-esteem.
How does low self-esteem affect us?
Low self-esteem can make you feel as if you need to hide away from certain social situations as you find them too challenging and don’t believe that you can get through them. This can make you feel better in the short term but can be damaging in the long term as it reinforces your fears and makes them stronger. Therefore, the next time a scary situation arises, you will find it much harder to cope with it, and avoidance will become a coping mechanism.
Low self-esteem can lead to depression and anxiety. It can also cause harmful coping mechanisms, such as smoking or drinking too much.
Ways you can improve your self-esteem:
Low self-esteem can be boosted! There are many ways you can help yourself and others boost low self-esteem levels.
1. Start a journal
You need to identify and challenge your negative thoughts to lessen the power they hold on you. You could start a journal, noting down any negative thoughts you have. Try and remember when you first started thinking these thoughts, if you can. What caused them? Did something happen or did someone say something negative to you? When you find the cause, you can start to put it behind you. Then, challenge these thoughts. Come up with evidence that proves your negative beliefs wrong.
For example, you may think you’re no good at your job, one way you could challenge this thought would be to remind yourself of all your achievements at work. You could note down a list of your qualifications and experience.
Another way to boost your self-esteem is to note down positive things about yourself, and good things people say about you. You should try and update your list regularly to keep reminding yourself that these negative thoughts are not true.
2. Recognise what you’re good at
Recognise what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. Doing more of what you enjoy can help boost your mood.
3. Build positive relationships
Try to spend less time with the people who bring you down and fill your time with people who make you feel good about yourself.
It may help to explain to them how you feel about their negative words or actions as it’s possible they don’t realise what they are saying is hurting you.
4. Be kind to yourself
You are your own worst enemy. Sometimes, when our self-esteem is low, we start to believe the negatives instead of the truth. Remember to be kind to yourself. There is only one of you. Your life is your own, and it doesn’t and shouldn’t look like what you see online.
5. Start saying ‘no’
You do not have to take that job. You do not have to run that errand. You do not always have to be helpful. You do not have to go on a night out. Low self-esteem can cause us to feel as if we have to say yes to everything, even if we don’t want to. This can then make you feel overburdened, angry or depressed.
Saying no does not make you a bad person. Saying no can improve your quality of life. Do what you can, help when you can help, but don’t feel as if you must do everything. You always come first.
6. Give yourself a challenge
Is there something you’ve always wanted to try but never felt confident enough to? Try it. It’s natural to feel nervous or afraid, but don’t let this stop you. Achieving your goals can help boost your self-esteem.
7. Practice gratitude
Start a gratitude diary where you note down a few things you’re grateful for each day. Practicing gratitude can help you improve your outlook on life. It can also help enhance positive emotions.
8. Exercise
Exercising regularly can help you feel more confident in yourself.
9. Get around 7-9 hours of sleep each night
The correct amount of sleep can help boost your levels of happiness.
Resources to help improve low self-esteem
Talking therapies – Find an NHS talking therapies services – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Best wishes from,
Claire’s School Solutions x
This information is taken from the NHS – https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/raise-low-self-esteem/
