We all struggle with self esteem from time to time but what if this feeling persists. What if you wake up feeling low and struggling with self-image, self-esteem and self-worth. How would that impact your day to day life or how you function?
What is self-esteem?
Self esteem is the general opinion that you hold about yourself. It is related to the confidence you have about your own value, worth and beliefs. Having good self-esteem is essential for good mental health. How you feel will vary and depend on where your life is and your environment. There are many different factors that can influence your self-esteem and it will be subjective and unique to you.
What is self-image?
Self-image is the view you have of yourself and includes your body image and gender. It relates to how you perceive yourself and how you think others perceive you. It is how you see the concrete, measurable aspects of yourself for example your physical appearance, personality, skills and values.
What is self-worth?
Self-worth is the value you put on yourself as an individual. Do you see yourself as a good person worthy of love and respect? Deserving of consideration, compassion and support? Or do you feel that you are not worthy and suffer with low confidence and persistently feeling bad about yourself. People with high self-worth tend to have higher levels of confidence and self-belief.
How can this impact?
Having low self-esteem, low self-worth and issues with self-image are often interlinked. This can lead to a negative view of yourself which can impact your mental health quite considerably. The persistent feeling that you are not good enough, don't fit in, or feeling inadequate or incompetent can really drag you down. You may notice that you avoid people or social situations, you can miss out on opportunities or new experiences because you are holding back. It can lead to issues with your health such as experiencing anxiety, depression or both. It can stop you from enjoying and living your life to the full.
Ways of improving self-esteem?
The good news is that there are many ways of improving your self-esteem, self-worth and self-image. Think about what boosts your mood? Is it an activity, hobby, person or experience? Can you do more of it?
Being assertive and saying no to things you do not want to do or feel comfortable with can be really helpful to enable you to feel more in control.
Listen to how you speak to yourself? What language do you use to describe yourself? Would you speak to a friend or loved one in the same way? Can you offer yourself some self-compassion and kindness? It can go a long way to shift how you feel about yourself and begin to accept you for you.
Talking can really help to bring the issues into focus, understand why you feel and act the way you do and identify where you can make changes in your life and how you feel about yourself.
There is only one you and you are worth the time and investment. If this resonates with you and you would like to explore how therapy can support you please get in touch.