Boosting Your Self-Esteem – and Keeping It Up!

The way we tend to view ourselves has a huge impact on the way we feel. Beyond that, it can start to take over our lives in such a way that a negative image of ourselves can lead to things like depressive thoughts, poor relationships, and more. It’s easy to brush away thoughts of low self-esteem for some people. Unfortunately, it’s much harder for others to let those thoughts go, and they can really take a toll you.

The good news? There are so many ways to help rebuild your self-esteem. Of course, these techniques and tips are different for everyone. It all depends on why you might be feeling low about yourself in the first place. Together, we can find ways of boosting your self-esteem so you can begin to see your own value again.

If you’ve been trying to handle a low self-esteem mindset on your own, understand that you don’t have to. Ignoring it can be extremely dangerous and harmful not only to yourself, but to your relationships. Let’s take a look at a few ways in which low self-esteem can impact your life negatively.

How Does Low Self-Esteem Affect Your Life?

Unfortunately, many of the ways low self-worth can impact your life are either ignored or not fully recognized. Even if you understand some of the negative effects of a poor image of yourself, you may not be thinking of all the ways you could be damaging your own mindset, as well as your relationships. Below are some of the unexpected ways in which low self-esteem can impact your life:

You avoid social situations: Not everyone is always comfortable in certain social situations. But, if you find yourself avoiding them altogether because of how you feel about yourself, it could lead to damaging relationships. It may also eventually contribute to feelings of loneliness.

Your relationships lack intimacy: When you don’t feel good about yourself, it’s easy to push people away. Even relationships you’ve been invested in for years can start to feel distant because you’re unwilling to let anyone in.

You are defensive: In order to protect yourself from feeling even worse, you may become overly-defensive toward others. If anyone says anything about you (good or bad), you might be quick to argue with them.

Underlying fear: One of the biggest ways in which low self-esteem impacts your life is bringing fear into it. A constant fear of rejection or not being good enough can really start to take over. When you’re so worried about being rejected, you’re likely to close yourself off even more. Again, this can damage your relationships, your career, and so much more.

Is it Possible to Rebuild Self-Esteem?

It is absolutely possible to build up your self-esteem. The important thing is getting to the root of what might be causing you to feel so unworthy to begin with. It’s not enough to simply give yourself a boost here and there. It can take time and consistent effort to really rebuild your image of yourself from the ground up.

Together, we can use these skills to help you see yourself in a more positive light. It’s not about a quick fix or feeling better for a few minutes. It’s about a long-term solution that will allow you to sustain a positive image of yourself for life. When you start to feel better about yourself, you’ll start to notice the negative effects of self-esteem don’t have as much of an impact on your day-to-day life or your relationships.

Anna M. Hickey, Licensed Professional Counselor practices Counseling in Macomb Michigan. Anna’s practice, Life Transitions specializes in Counseling and Divorce Mediation.