Low Self-Esteem and Counselling

Self-esteem may be defined as the way a person feels and thinks about himself or herself, which can be positive or negative, or even a combination of both. It plays an important role in deciding the way one lives their life, the choices they make and the perspective with which they view others. In today’s world, people have become used to comparing themselves with others. This gives rise to insecurities, feelings of negativity about oneself, dissatisfaction and depression.

There are a number of symptoms which can indicate low self-esteem in an individual. Some of the most common ones are as follows:

• feeling unworthy
• not being able to recognise one’s own abilities and competency
• feeling deprived of love
• contemplating over negative thoughts and fear
• feeling impractical about goals
• getting pulled into devastating relations
• fearing change
• holding distorted views about oneself as well as others

The esteem in every individual initiates right from birth and develops slowly over time. Strong bonds and positive experiences nourish it, whereas troubled relations and bad experiences obstruct its development. When children feel that they are understood and valued and their worries can be chased away, they start to realise their own value and regard the world as a safe place. In time, they become capable enough to recognise stressful situations and negative relations and use their instincts for protecting themselves. They learn to handle tough times without getting damaged and be careful so as to avoid encountering too many problems in life. Negative experiences, on the other hand, can significantly decrease self-esteem in those people who are not strong enough to hold themselves up against difficulties. They may even become fearful or unrealistic about risks and goals, which may further hamper their self-image. However, providing them with some external source of strength such as counselling can help them greatly to change for the better.

Consulting a counsellor who is supportive can help a person with low self-esteem to take a tough look at himself or herself, and feel strong enough to alter things that give rise to negative thoughts and feelings. There are several ways by which counselling can improve low self-esteem. Transactional analysis and cognitive behavioural therapy can help to check negative self-beliefs, pessimistic assumptions and faulty thoughts, especially those things that can make the patient feel trapped all the time.

Jade Couquaux is a renowned French psychologist practising in Bondi. Book an appointment with her today to get rid of problems associated with low self-esteem.