Self-esteem describes how much a person values themselves regardless of circumstance. Many defining factors can include your self-confidence, sense of belonging, and feeling of competence. In childhood, there is a tendency to have low self-esteem, increasing during adolescence and adulthood. Self-esteem eventually reaches a stable level, making it similar to the stability of personality traits in the vicissitudes of time.
Healthy self-esteem motivates people to reach goals, while low self-esteem risks acquiring mental disorders, such as anxiety and depressive disorders. In a study observing secondary students from Vietnam, self-esteem was associated with anxiety, depression, and academic stress and greatly affected students’ quality of life and links to suicidal ideation.
To start building your self-esteem, identify yourself. Who are you? What do you consider your positive and negative traits? Challenge these beliefs! Do those around you negatively influence how you identify? Should they be allowed? Try writing three negative things you catch telling yourself and then follow up with three things that prove them false. These affirmations can effectively improve self-esteem every day, whether repeated aloud or written on post-its stuck to your bathroom mirrors.
This process of building self-esteem does not occur overnight, and it takes many steps to achieve long-term improvements. You cannot go from poor to excellent self-esteem without experiencing the ups and downs in your journey, so never beat yourself about falling back down. Having healthy self-esteem is vital to be mentally healthy, so build it up!
References
Burd, K. B., & Burrow, A. B. (2017). Conceptualizing similarities and differences between purpose in life and self‐affirmation. WILEY, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12366
Cherry, Kendra. “What Are the Signs of Healthy or Low Self-Esteem?” Verywell Mind, Inc. (Dotdash), 9 Apr. 2021, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868. Nguyen, Dat Tan. “Low Self-Esteem and Its Association With Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation in Vietnamese Secondary School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.” Frontiers,
Nguyen, Wright, Dedding, Pham and Bunders, 27 Sept. 2019, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00698/full. (c) Copyright skillsyouneed.com 2011–2021. “Improving Self-Esteem | Skills You Need.” Skills You Need, SkillsYouNeed.com, www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/self-esteem.html. Accessed 26 Oct. 2021.