What is Self-Esteem?
Development of Self-Esteem
What can happen when you have Low Self-Esteem?
What is Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem is what you think of yourself. We all have self esteem and we all have an opinion of ourselves. The manner in which you think of yourself can be based on many things. For example:
- How you were brought up and treated as a child
- How you did at school
- Your relationships with other people (friends, family, partner)
- The job you have
- Where you live
- How successful you think you are, or can be
- Your strengths and weaknesses
- What you believe others think of you
People can find that how they feel about themselves can change from time to time. Yet some people find they don’t feel good about themselves a lot of the time and these people may have low self esteem. Your childhood and teenage years are very important for your self-esteem. What happened to you and how you were treated during that time will affect how you think of yourself as an adult.
Development of Self-Esteem
High Self-Esteem can develop from:
- Being listened to
- Being praised
- Being given attention
- Being loved
- Having good friends
- Success with school, hobbies or sports
- Being treated with respect
- Having had chances to do things
Low Self-Esteem can develop from:
- Being criticised a lot
- Being ignored, neglected or abused
- Being bullied or made fun of
- Made to feel that not being perfect was a weakness
- Not doing so well at school, or in sports
- Being different to those around you
- Living in a bad area
What can happen when you have Low Self-Esteem?
Your self-esteem will affect how you feel, think and act. It can affect your confidence, how you get along with others, and how you do at work.
Some common Thoughts that you can have with Low Self-Esteem:
- You may feel that you are not good enough
- You may worry what other people think of you
- You think straight away that you can’t do something
- You might think you are too fat, ugly, or old
- You may blame yourself for things that have happened, even though they may not be your fault
- You may dwell on criticism and mistakes you have made
- You may get frustrated at yourself, or others. You might feel angry
- You may feel shame
