Having doubts about yourself and what you’re capable of?
Finding you have persistent negative thoughts and feelings about yourself?
We can be all self-critical from time to time. When we make a mistake, we often think back on it and wonder what we could have done differently. When we say things we don’t mean, we often feel bad about what was said, and wish we hadn’t, or had said it differently.
However if you talk yourself down too much of the time, or call yourself names like ‘silly’ or ‘stupid’ your self-esteem may suffer. Low-esteem affects your quality of life, so it’s important to know the signs, and what you can do about it. If you often have negative feelings such as sadness, guilt, shame or anger about yourself, if you avoid trying something new in case you fail, or deny yourself opportunities for growth, change, or love – take our checklist below to see if low self-esteem is overly affecting you.
You have:
- Persistent, negative and self-critical thoughts
- Low resilience: you give up too soon
- Fear of trying: you don’t try at all
- Relationship problems with friends or family
- Perfectionism or a need to “over-achieve”, and “over-compensate” in areas you perceive you’re lacking
- Minimal self care, e.g. drink accessible amounts of alcohol, avoid exercise
- Self-harm, e.g. drug abuse, binge eating or drinking, punishing yourself
- You tend to reject or dismiss genuine compliments from others
- You are afraid to give your opinion in a conversation
Find that more than half of these sound like you, and don’t know what to do?
Some additional support to better understand your low self esteem, where it’s coming from, and how you can move forward to improve your quality of life may be needed. Reach out to one of our team.
