Tips for low self confidence – If you are experiencing low self esteem you may be also experiencing a lack of confidence in yourself and your abilities.
What is healthy self- confidence and self-esteem?
When we have healthy self-esteem we feel positive about ourselves and about life, we tend to also have confidence in our self and our ability to deal with problems in life.
When our self-esteem is low we are more negative about ourselves and abilities and we have less confidence in our ability to deal with problems.
What causes low self-esteem and confidence?
There can be lots of reasons why we might have low self-esteem, it could have started in childhood when we received negative messages about ourselves from our parents, teachers, friends or siblings. Those messages said we were not good enough or we had failed to live up to someone else’s expectations. Or we might have gone through a traumatic event, like an illness or assault that rocks our belief in ourselves and makes us doubt our ability to cope.
How does low self-esteem and confidence impact our daily lives?
Having low self-esteem and confidence can mean that we also live with feelings of depression and anxiety. We can avoid doing things that we might enjoy because they are too challenging, we may end up missing out on relationships, job advancements, friendships or adventures.
How can you improve your self-esteem?
- Avoid coffee, smoking and drinking as these things can increase your anxiety in the long term.
- Try to make exercise as part of your daily routine as this can improve your resilience.
- Make sure you keep hydrated and eat healthy as this will help your body regulate itself.
- Be compassionate with yourself and develop a practice of compassion, the more negative you are towards yourself the more you compound the problem.
- Connect with positive people and if necessary connect with a therapist to help you work towards better self-esteem and confidence.
- Learn to be assertive and say no – being able to put in boundaries with yourself and other people is key to feeling more confident and it will help you to not exhaust yourself trying to live up to other people’s expectations.
Below are some online resources to help you improve your self-esteem and self-confidence. If however you would like to speak to a professional ou might find it useful to talk to Paul Carter. He is an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) practitioner as well as a counsellor, psychotherapist. If you are looking for support, call Paul Carter now to book an appointment or to discuss your issues further. At the moment, Paul is only working online or the telephone due to COVID. To make an appointment please call Paul on 07843 813 537 or fill in the form on the Contact Page, if he doesn’t answer he is probably in a session, please leave him a message and he will call you back as soon as he can.
Exercise and Mental Health – Developing a Practice
Self Compassion – Fostering a Practice
Keeping Hydrated for Better Mental Health
