Did you know that low self-esteem is almost always curable? But it can be the toughest thing that can be cured, some stay for all their lives dealing with low self-esteem. Because it is usually not caused by hereditary or ancestral influences, the cause of low self-esteem can be treated by removing it from the picture. So they say 🙁
But the problem is, if you are a child? It can be worse if you are removed from your family and placed in a foster home.
Most psychologists agree that when people have a critical or negative view of themselves, the cause is usually environmental. So you simply remove the environment that is causing a low self-image and healthy self-esteem begins to blossom.
For instance, stop a bully from physically and mentally abusing a child, and with help, you can build backup your self-esteem.
Being someone who once had to deal with low self esteem, I understand how it can be caused and some ways to help yourself.
Psychology Today has pointed out several key influence’s of low self-esteem. Are any of the following factors present in the life of a child or adult you know that has a poor self-image?
Look over the list, are you dealing with any of these yourself?
My words, comments & thoughts. Will look like this
•Emotional, sexual or physical abuse. I do not really want to comment on this one, but to say I was lucky it wasn’t sexual abuse. I grew up in the time where parents hit their children and noone thought anything about it. The damage was done.
•Parents constantly in conflict – Children often blame themselves for parents that are always arguing and fighting, leading to a poor self-image and undeserved guilt. My parents hated each other, till one day my mom just left. Would then go on to get remarried and my step-father wasn’t much better.
•Critical authority figures and teachers (my teachers hated me because I felt so low, I was a very smart-ass teen.) – This happens more frequently with children and teens. Young people look up to authority figures, and when the field they do not measure up, which can cause the child or teen to wonder, what is wrong with me?
•Poor performance in the classroom combined with a lack of parental and teacher support. For example – Big brother or sister gets straight A’s and the little brother/sister gets just passable grades. I got good grades, my little sister got better grades.
•Bullying behavior from peers- now it can be cause by cyber-bullying which in a lot of ways can be worse. Cyber-bullying can get so bad that the child feels life would be better without them. Add being bullied by their parents, and or older people in the family. If being bullied by parents and friends won’t help the child poor self-image.
•Guilt caused by belief systems or religions – When a person constantly feels guilty because of a particular set of beliefs, it is difficult for that person to have a positive self-image. True story! Fighting about what you were raised to believe in and talking with a priest about it? He told me I was going to Hell, my answer? I told him he was coming along with me..Smart-ass teen at it again – sigh I never did learn how to keep my thoughts to myself.
•Media and other societal influences that paint unrealistic expectations. Hello? TikTok anyone? Look in any beauty magazine to just make you feel like you will never be thin enough, blemish free skin, look amazing in a bathing suit. The list goes on and on.
This is by no means a complete list of factors that may be causing low self-esteem in someone you know. If you noticed, all of these top causes of an unhealthy, poor self-image originate outside of a person’s behavior.
Think about someone you know who suffers from a constant feeling of failure, the inability to “measure up” and other areas where they lack self-confidence.
Discuss your concerns, and constantly foster a positive, high level of self-esteem in the individual in question. Counseling can be helpful in helping you learn how regulate a healthy self-image, it can causes wonders for someone’s self-esteem.
The answers to helping on getting over dealing with low self-esteem can take years to over-come. Therapy is a good idea if you can.
Get involved with any program that will make you feel better about yourself by helping others. Big Brothers/Big Sisters was help for me.
Feel better, you can do it!
