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Dr. Lalitaa

How self-esteem affects your life and how to improve it

Are you constantly critical of yourself? Do you downplay or ignore your positive qualities? You may have low self-esteem.

You are not alone in these thoughts and feelings; 85% of individuals admit having low self-esteem. Everyone must get to the heart of the problem and build their confidence to live a happier life.

Self-esteem is the opinion we have of ourselves. When our self-esteem is low, we tend to see ourselves and our lives negatively and critically. When we move towards healthy self-esteem, we tend to feel positive about ourselves and life in general. It allows us to be able to deal with life’s ups and downs.

If you have low self-esteem, you may hide from social situations and avoid things you find challenging. In the short term, avoiding challenging situations may make you feel safe. However, in the longer term, this can backfire because it reinforces your underlying doubts and fears.

Living with low self-esteem can harm your mental health and lead to problems such as depression and anxiety. 

Everyone lacks confidence occasionally; however, people with low self-esteem are unhappy or unsatisfied with themselves most of the time. It takes attention and daily practice to boost low self-esteem.

Some of the characteristics of low self-esteem are:

  • Extremely critical of yourself
  • Judge themselves to be inferior to their peers
  • Assumes that luck plays a role in all their achievements and doesn’t take credit for them

We are not born with low self-esteem; it develops through the experiences we have throughout our lives. These feelings are our personal beliefs of ourselves, which means; they are not true.

There are many ways to improve your self-esteem. You should talk to yourself positively, treat yourself the way you would your best friend, start being kind and understanding. Challenge that negative self-talk – every time you criticize yourself, stop and look for objective evidence that the criticism is true.

One of the key practices that help with improving self-esteem is not to compare yourself to others. Allow yourself to identify your strengths and recognize that everyone is different. Make a conscious effort to accept yourself.

Remember you can improve your self-esteem at any time!

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