Information
Michelle Suzanne Scott

Registered Social Services Worker

Email

Michelle@MichelleSuzanneScott.ca

Phone

905.244.9123

Michelle Suzanne Scott

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Low Self-Esteem

Because a person’s self worth is developed during childhood, there may be several factors that contribute to low self esteem:

  • Every child needs attention and love.  If you grew up in an environment where there was childhood abuse and/or neglect, chances are you struggled with a good self-image.  You may have learned that you didn’t deserve more than you got.
  • “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me” may have been a common phrase you heard as a child.  It’s a lie.  Criticism (by family, peers, teachers, etc.) plays a big part in low self-worth.  Being bullied and peer pressure interfere with healthy child development.                                                                                            
  • Being compared to others leads to a feeling of not being good enough and contributes to our self-image. 

This may lead to the following characteristics when a person becomes an adult: 

  • A high sensitivity to criticism, possibly leading to perfectionism.
  • Being overly defensive possibly with an inability to accept responsibility.
  • Developing the habit of over-analyzing and over-thinking everything.
  • Negative thought patterns and judgements of self and others.
  • A tendency to try and please people.
  • A failure to recognize one’s own potential and good qualities.

Self-awareness and self-worth are life-long pursuits and can be improved.  Understanding how and when low self-esteem developed allows us to: 

  • Build on our “good” qualities
  • Transform negative thoughts
  • Accept ourselves and develop resiliency (not being happy all the time, but rather learning to go with the flow and adapt to life’s challenges & having the confidence to do that.) 

I encourage you to go on a journey of increasing your self-esteem.  As you are learning and growing, please remember a few important things: 

→        Your past does not define you.

→        Your emotions are not you.

→        You are an adult, you do not need approval from anyone.

Check out this video on understanding self-esteem:

The Psychology of Self-Esteem

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed on Actualized.org are not necessarily the opinions of Michelle Suzanne Scott.  The video below on self-esteem is well explained and appropriate, however viewer discretion is always advised.

 

 

Resources:
www.growing-self-esteem.com, www.self-esteem-experts.com, www.actualization.org

HOW TO RAISE YOUR SELF-ESTEEM, the proven, action-oriented approach to
greater self-respect and self-confidence. Author: Nathanial Branden.

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