You Are Good Enough- Build Self-Esteem With These Steps!

09 Feb You Are Good Enough- Build Self-Esteem With These Steps!

The term self-esteem boils down to the opinion you hold of yourself and your abilities. It is how you feel about yourself. Self-esteem also reflects our perceptions about who we are and what we are capable of. Your feelings of self-esteem can be low, high or even somewhere in the middle. People with good self-esteem usually feel more positive about themselves and life experiences, making them more resilient and better equipped to cope with the challenges in their life. 

While everyone has doubted themselves at some point in time, prolonged bouts of low self-esteem can lead to a number of symptoms of mental illnesses like anxiety, signs of depression, feelings of insecurity and a lack of motivation among other mental problems. To add to this, oftentimes, you might be unable to identify the factors that are contributing to your views of a negative self-image. However, those with low or poor self-esteem find themselves being much more critical. They find it more challenging to bounce back from obstacles and setbacks which may lead them to avoid such situations altogether. This, in turn, could decrease their self-esteem leading to mental problems. A lack of self-esteem can influence and serve as an indicator of how people may behave in certain situations and what they achieve in their lives. 

There are a number of reasons that contribute to why someone might have low self-esteem which might also lead to depression. Stressful life events and situations like bereavement or divorce can have adverse psychological problems and negative effects on one’s self-esteem. However, this often stems from one’s childhood, with feelings of being unable to live up to set expectations. It can also be the result of difficulties faced in one’s adult life in a personal or work setting. Having low self-esteem can negatively affect every facet of your life, for instance, your job, health, and social relationships. It could also be one of the signs and symptoms of depression along with symptoms of mental illness. Low self-esteem can be tackled by harnessing the power of your beliefs and thoughts to change the way you view yourself. Here are some of the tips and steps that can help boost your self-esteem:

 

1. Identify conditions and situations of challenge: One of the most critical steps to boost your self-esteem includes thinking or identifying those situations or conditions that seem to deflate your self-esteem. Some common triggers can include crises at work or home, challenges in your social relationships, or stressful cases like losing a job.
2. Become aware of your worrisome beliefs and thoughts: It is only once you have identified these situations or conditions, you can pay attention to your thoughts about them. Stress and anxiety symptoms and the thoughts associated with them may also be worrisome in nature. This focus could include indulging in self-talk (what you tell yourself about these conditions) and your interpretation of what these situations might mean. Your beliefs and thought may be based on rational or irrational facts and may be positive, negative or neutral. 

 

3. Challenge your inaccurate and negative thoughts: Once you are aware of your worrisome and negative thoughts, the next step is to challenge these beliefs you hold about yourself. You may soon discover that your initial thoughts may not be the only way to view that particular situation- in such cases, you can test the accuracy of your thoughts. Question yourself if your view is consistent with logic and facts or whether other explanations for the same situation might be plausible. It could be hard to recognize inaccuracies in your thinking, especially when it comes to long-held beliefs and thoughts. However, challenging it takes you a step closer to actually trying to change these inaccuracies. 

 

4. Adjust and modify your thoughts and beliefs: Replacing your negative or inaccurate statements and thoughts with constructive, positive and accurate ones is the next step in boosting your self-esteem. This can be done using a number of strategies like forgiving yourself, using hopeful statements, avoiding ‘should’ and ‘must’ statements, focusing on the positives, relabelling upsetting thoughts, and encouraging yourself. 

 

5. Do things you enjoy with people that make you happy: Start by making a list of things that you like and enjoy doing. This ensures that you are more likely to think more positively. Try to schedule in a little you-time to do something from the list every day. Additionally, you should find people who make you feel good about yourself and treat you well, while avoiding those who tend to trigger your negative thinking. 

 

These steps could seem a little difficult at first, but they get easier with practice. As you start recognizing your beliefs, anxiety signs and thoughts that contribute and add to your low self-esteem, you can counter or modify the way that you think about them. This can aid you in accepting your value as a person, and in turn boost your self-esteem. As your self-esteem begins to improve and get better, your sense of well-being and confidence are more likely to soar too. 

 

If you feel that you are suffering from low self-esteem, get your depression diagnosis done without any further delays. Professional help is always better than suffering quietly. We at AtEase house the top mental health experts in India and provide the best counselling in India. Get in touch with us today. For complete details and to book a session reach out to us at www.mentalhealthatease.com