Low Self-Esteem Is A Common Struggle For Many People Throughout Their Lives.

According to the Dove Self-Esteem Project, “Seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.” It’s common for most people—especially women—to have issues with self-esteem at some point in their lives. While there are certain times in life, like adolescence, when we are especially vulnerable to self-consciousness and low self-esteem, sometimes our lack of confidence carries through to adulthood. When low self-esteem persists, it can lead to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.

Self-esteem is usually fostered by a sense of being loved and valued by our parents. For those of us who suffer from low self-esteem, this sense of being loved and valued may have been undermined, thereby destabilizing our sense of self. Perhaps when our parents directed critical comments toward us or negatively compared us to our siblings, we developed insecurities that we haven’t outgrown. 

In other instances, we may have experienced life events that eroded our self-esteem, such as losing a job, being overlooked for a promotion, or going through a break-up. When you add to these factors the pressure that social media puts on us to look and act perfectly at all times, it’s no wonder so many of us suffer from low self-esteem. 

Most of us struggle to overcome not feeling good about ourselves by addressing it superficially rather than examining the underlying issues. We might try to lose weight or change our outward appearance in an attempt to feel better, but we usually have to dig a little deeper to get to the root of the problem. Fortunately, counseling can help you get to the root of low self esteem. You can learn to build up your self-confidence and silence your self-doubt.  

In addition, “person-centered” therapy—where you will examine yourself from the inside out—can help reduce the intensity of the feelings associated with low self-esteem by identifying negative self-talk. Once you recognize what triggers low self-esteem in you, such as the way you look when you try on clothes, you can begin to acknowledge that your limits are self-imposed. When you learn to evaluate the situations that make your self-esteem plummet and replace the negative thoughts with new, self-affirming ones, your outlook will change. Becoming more objective and forgiving of yourself is the key to overcoming the powerful hold low self-esteem has had on you.  

Counseling fo self-esteem, can empower you to discover the confidence you’ve been missing in your life. With therapy, you can feel revitalized and ready to achieve the goals you’ve been putting off.