Self-Esteem

What is self-esteem?

Self-esteem is how we view ourselves, what we think we offer in terms of our beliefs, ideas, opinions, values, relationships and capabilities, as well as, how we feel about simply being ourselves.

Good self-esteem is not about being perfect, or always getting things right. Self-esteem can fluctuate, we all experience good and bad days, recognising an error we made is a great skill and putting it right can actually raise our self-esteem.

How is self-esteem affected?

Self-esteem can be misread, we might see someone and think, based on appearance and actions, that they have great self-esteem, but that is not always the case. We never know how someone truly feels about themselves.

When self-esteem is low we can start to doubt and question ourselves and this behaviour, and thought process, can grow until it becomes our dominant thoughts. We can worry about:

Decision making
Our appearance
Not taking new opportunities
Blaming ourselves for mistakes or incidents
Believe we should be accepting of things we do not agree with
Allowing people to treat us negatively
Voicing our opinions
Feeling deserving of positive things
Being around friends and family

This list is not the only examples, there are many more and different events or situations, can affect us in different ways. We can work on our self-esteem and we can improve how we feel, it might be a difficult journey, but support is available.

How to seek support

Complete the self-referral on this website and you will be contacted on your school email by a mental health professional
Go to your GP
Speak to a trusted adult
Look on line for information, for example:
www.youngminds.org.uk
www.mind.org.uk

You are not alone and will not be judged, support is available.