How you think and feel about yourself can greatly impact your life choices. Low self-esteem can hold you back in life and promote feelings of worthlessness. Our modern world, in which social media plays a growing part, can lead to people constantly comparing themselves and their achievements with others, often unrealistically. As a result, this can highlight our insecurities. We may begin to see ourselves negatively, losing sight of what makes us unique and valid. We can begin to feel inadequate and dissatisfied. Low self-esteem often begins in childhood. Different people (teachers, friends, siblings, parents) and the media send us both positive and negative messages about ourselves. However, the negative messages tend to be the one that stay with you. Living with low self-esteem can impact on your mental health and lead to problems such as depression and anxiety. At The Eaves, our counsellors and psychologists can help you to gain a sense of your own self-worth, enabling you to feel more content. They can help you recognise unhelpful patterns of thinking and challenge them.
Low self-esteem is when someone lacks confidence about who they are and what they can do. They often feel incompetent, unloved or inadequate. People who struggle with low self-esteem are consistently afraid about making mistakes or letting other people down.
There are many things in life that may contribute to low self-esteem, including, being bullied or abused, losing your job, health issues, financial issues, problems within your relationship, worries about your appearance and body image, to name a few.
Low self-esteem isn’t a mental health problem in itself, however mental health and self-esteem can be closely linked. It might feel harder to cope or take steps to improve your self-esteem if you struggle with your mental health.
