Self-esteem is your opinion of yourself. People with healthy self-esteem appreciate themselves and value their achievements. While everyone lacks confidence at times, people with low self-esteem feel unhappy or dissatisfied with themselves most of the time. This can be remedied, But it requires attention and daily practice to increase self-esteem.
If you think you have low self-esteem, don't shut yourself up, you can change that and overcome it. You just have to do your part and really want to be better with yourself. The opinion you have of yourself can change, as long as you realize how much you are worth. If you notice that you have too much difficulty improving your self-esteem, or if low self-esteem causes you problems such as depression, do not hesitate to go to your doctor to tell him how you are doing.
Symptoms of low self-esteem
Next we are going to discuss some of the symptoms of low self-esteem so that you can be attentive in case it happens to you. In this way, if you realize that your low self-esteem begins to cause you too many problems, you can go to a professional to help you overcome it in case you cannot on your own.
Some of the symptoms of low self-esteem are:
- You are extremely critical of yourself
- Put down or ignore your positive qualities
- You think you are inferior to others
- You use negative words to describe yourself
- You belittle yourself
- You have conversations with yourself in a negative way
- You don't trust your own possibilities
- You blame yourself when things go wrong and if they go well, you think you've been lucky instead of feeling worth inside.
- When someone congratulates you, you think that they do it to comply, that they do not really do it
- You don't trust your own opinion
- You always think too much
- You are afraid of facing challenges and you worry about not overcoming them
- You are hard on yourself and forgiving of others
- You tend to have emotional confusion
- You tend to have frequent anxiety
Possible causes of low self-esteem
In the vast majority of cases, low self-esteem is accompanied by some causes that caused it, which little by little were making a dent in the personality of the affected person. In this sense, do not miss some of the possible causes, in this way you will be able to know if it is true that any of these things happened to you ... The most common causes are usually (although there may be many others):
- Unhappy childhood where parents (or other important people like teachers) were extremely critical
- Poor academic performance in school resulting in a lack of confidence
- Ongoing stressful life event, such as relationship breakdown or financial problems
- Abuse by a partner, parent or caregiver, for example being in an abusive relationship
- Ongoing medical problem such as chronic pain, serious illness, or physical disability.
- Mental illness such as an anxiety disorder or depression.
And if the cause is due to a bad childhood, they are often found in the past:
- Frequent punishment
- Frequent neglect
- Chronic abuse
- Harsh parental rules
- Being bullied / boycotted
- Being on the receiving end of someone else's stress or despair.
- Lack of praise, warmth, and affection
- Staying in a family or group where other members are prejudiced
Childhood is when we form our way of seeing life, this affects the way we think, This is why all negative early experiences can have a very long-lasting effect in our adulthood.
How to overcome low self-esteem and negativity
When you have low self-esteem and you get into a negative spiral, you may feel like you can't get out of there. This can actually hinder you from seizing opportunities or avoiding new challenges. This, therefore, will make you unable to have satisfactory experiences in life, which will make your self-esteem worse and you will fall sooner or later, in the grip of depression. It can even cause you to lose important relationships in your life.
Low self-esteem affects your emotions, yourself and your close environment. Your thoughts and behavior are also subject to low self-esteem and your perception of the world is distorted. But not everything has to be so bad, there are some things you can do to overcome low self-esteem and be able to live your life in the best possible way. Next we are going to give you some tips so that you can overcome low self-esteem.
Surround yourself with positive people
If you have low self-esteem and surround yourself with pessimistic or overly critical or toxic people, It is possible that this affects you very negatively, so it is very important that you surround yourself with people who give you good energy and who make you feel good about yourself and the world around you. These positive people should value you for who you are and recognize what your qualities are.
Become your best friend
You don't need anyone to feel good, you just have to provide yourself with all the support you really need. You are the best person there is and you must feel that every day of your life. You are valuable and you deserve to feel good about yourself. So spend time alone and take the time you need to get to know yourself. This will allow you to have a better appreciation of yourself. Make a list of all your qualities and strengths and each time you need it, review it to realize that you are a valuable person.
Recognize what you need to change
We all make mistakes, no one is born perfect. You need to recognize this in order to keep your head high whenever you need to. It is important to recognize where you need a change in order to do it. If you do not recognize it and you always remain anchored in the same thing, then you will not be able to improve your present. You need to become aware of what you need to change and make an effort to improve it.
Remember that your thoughts should always be positive-oriented and never, never! Compare yourself to others ... each one is what he is and we are all equally valuable!