Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is your overall feeling of worth and value as a person. It includes how you feel about yourself, your skills, and your place in the world. Healthy self-esteem is important for good mental health, strong relationships, and overall happiness. Low self-esteem, on the other hand, can lead to mental and social problems.

 

Table of Contents | Jump Ahead

What Is Self-Esteem?

Types of Self-Esteem

Signs of Healthy Self-Esteem

Signs of Low Self-Esteem

Factors That Influence Self-Esteem

Building Healthy Self-Esteem

Cognitive Strategies

Behavioural Approaches

Self-Esteem and Relationships

Self-Esteem Across Life Stages

Common Self-Esteem Challenges

Professional Help for Self-Esteem

Cultural and Social Factors

Self-Esteem and Mental Health

Parenting and Self-Esteem

Technology and Self-Esteem

Maintaining Healthy Self-Esteem

Related Terms

References

---

 

 

What Is Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem is your personal judgment of your own value. It shows how much you like and appreciate yourself. It includes both thinking about your abilities and feeling good about your worth. Healthy self-esteem doesn’t mean thinking you’re perfect, but having a realistic and positive view of yourself.

 

Key parts of self-esteem:

• Self-Worth: Your basic belief about your value as a person.
• Self-Confidence: Trust in your skills and decisions to meet life’s challenges.
• Self-Acceptance: Recognising your strengths and weaknesses without harsh criticism.
• Self-Respect: Treating yourself with kindness and dignity.
• Personal Agency: Believing you can control your life and affect outcomes.
• Resilience: Bouncing back from difficulties while keeping a positive view of yourself.

 

 

Types of Self-Esteem

• Global Self-Esteem: Your overall evaluation of yourself in many areas of life.
• Specific Self-Esteem: How you feel about yourself in specific areas like school, relationships, or looks.
• Stable Self-Esteem: Consistently steady feelings of self-worth over time.
• Unstable Self-Esteem: Self-worth that changes a lot depending on events or feedback.
• Contingent Self-Esteem: Self-worth that depends on meeting certain goals or conditions.
• True Self-Esteem: Genuine self-acceptance that does not rely on outside approval or achievements.

 

 

Signs of Healthy Self-Esteem

• Self-Acceptance: Accepting yourself as you are while still aiming to grow.
• Realistic Self-Assessment: Knowing your strengths and areas to improve.
• Confidence in Abilities: Trusting your skills and judgement while recognising limits.
• Resilience: Recovering from setbacks without harsh self-criticism.
• Healthy Relationships: Building relationships based on respect, not constant approval.
• Personal Boundaries: Setting limits and standing up for yourself appropriately.

 

 

Signs of Low Self-Esteem

• Negative self-talk: Frequently criticising yourself and doubting your worth and abilities.
• Perfectionism: Setting unrealistically high standards and feeling crushed by any failure.
• People-pleasing: Constantly seeking others’ approval and struggling to say no.
• Social withdrawal: Avoiding social situations due to fear of judgment or rejection.
• Comparison: Regularly comparing yourself to others and feeling inadequate.
• Fear of failure: Avoiding new challenges or risks because you fear not succeeding.

 

 

Factors That Influence Self-Esteem

• Childhood experiences: Early relationships with parents, caregivers, and friends play a big role.
• Social relationships: Your current social interactions affect how you see yourself.
• Life experiences: Successes, failures, and life events shape your self-worth.
• Cultural factors: Society’s values and messages about worth and success influence self-esteem.
• Physical health: Your wellbeing and body image impact how you feel about yourself.
• Mental health: Conditions like depression and anxiety are both causes and effects of low self-esteem.

 

 

Building Healthy Self-Esteem

• Self-awareness: Understand your values, strengths, and areas to improve.
• Challenging negative thoughts: Question self-critical ideas and replace them with balanced views.
• Setting realistic goals: Create achievable aims to build confidence.
• Celebrating achievements: Recognise and appreciate your successes, big or small.
• Learning from mistakes: See failures as chances to learn, not as proof of low worth.
• Practising self-compassion: Treat yourself kindly as you would a close friend.

 

 

Cognitive Strategies

• Thought monitoring: Notice your inner dialogue and spot negative patterns.
• Cognitive restructuring: Challenge and change unhelpful thoughts about yourself.
• Positive affirmations: Use realistic, positive statements to counter negative self-talk.
• Strengths focus: Regularly recognise your positive traits and abilities.
• Growth mindset: Believe you can improve your skills through effort and learning.
• Perspective taking: View situations from different angles to develop balanced self-views.

 

 

Behavioural Approaches

• Skill building: Develop abilities important to you to build true confidence.
• Gradual challenges: Take on manageable tasks that promote success and growth.
• Self-care activities: Engage in actions that support your physical and emotional health.
• Social connection: Build relationships with supportive, positive people.
• Helping others: Volunteering or supporting others can boost your sense of worth.
• Creative expression: Try creative activities that let you show yourself and feel accomplished.

 

 

Self-Esteem and Relationships

• Healthy boundaries: People with strong self-esteem can set clear, appropriate limits in their relationships.
• Mutual respect: Healthy self-esteem supports relationships based on equality and respect.
• Independence: Maintaining your sense of self while staying close to others.
• Communication: Expressing your needs and feelings clearly and respectfully.
• Conflict resolution: Managing disagreements without attacking yourself or others.
• Avoiding toxic relationships: Recognising and steering clear of relationships that harm your self-worth.

 

 

Self-Esteem Across Life Stages

• Childhood development: Self-esteem forms in childhood through interactions with parents and caregivers.
• Adolescent challenges: Teenagers face unique self-esteem issues as they grow and change.
• Adult maintenance: It is important to nurture and protect self-esteem throughout adulthood.
• Life transitions: Managing self-esteem during major changes like career moves or relationship shifts.
• Ageing and self-worth: Maintaining positive self-esteem as physical and mental abilities change.
• Recovery and rebuilding: Rebuilding self-esteem after trauma or mental health struggles.

 

 

Common Self-Esteem Challenges

• Imposter syndrome: Feeling like a fraud despite clear achievements and abilities.
• Body image issues: Negative feelings about your appearance affecting your self-worth.
• Social comparison: Frequently comparing yourself with others, especially on social media.
• Perfectionism: Setting impossible standards that lead to constant feelings of failure.
• Rejection sensitivity: Being deeply affected by criticism or perceived rejection.
• Achievement addiction: Basing your worth entirely on success and external approval.

 

 

Professional Help for Self-Esteem

• Therapy Options: Various therapeutic approaches that can help improve self-esteem and self-worth.
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Therapy that addresses negative thought patterns affecting self-esteem.
• Humanistic Therapy: Approaches that focus on self-acceptance and personal growth.
• Group Therapy: Working with others who have similar self-esteem challenges.
• Support Groups: Peer support for people working on building healthier self-esteem.
• Specialised Programs: Programs specifically designed to address self-esteem and confidence issues.

 

 

Cultural and Social Factors

• Cultural values: Different cultures have unique ideas about what counts as worth and success, which influence self-esteem.
• Gender expectations: Society’s views on gender roles affect self-esteem in distinct ways for men and women.
• Socioeconomic factors: Your economic status and social class can shape how you feel about yourself.
• Media influence: Media and social media often send messages that impact self-esteem, positively or negatively.
• Discrimination: Experiencing prejudice can lower self-worth.
• Community support: Feeling accepted and supported by your community helps maintain healthy self-esteem.

 

 

Self-Esteem and Mental Health

• Depression: Low self-esteem and depression are closely linked and can feed into each other.
• Anxiety: Problems with self-esteem can both cause and result from anxiety disorders.
• Eating disorders: Low self-esteem plays a role in developing and sustaining eating disorders.
• Substance abuse: Poor self-esteem may lead people to use substances to cope.
• Personality disorders: Self-esteem issues often relate to symptoms of certain personality disorders.
• Recovery: Rebuilding self-esteem is a key part of mental health recovery.

 

 

Parenting and Self-Esteem

• Building children’s self-esteem: Parenting styles that encourage healthy self-worth in kids.
• Avoiding damage: Recognising parenting behaviours that can harm children’s self-esteem.
• Praise and criticism: Giving feedback in ways that help rather than hurt self-esteem.
• Modelling: Parents showing healthy self-esteem for children to learn from.
• Supporting struggles: Helping children face challenges while keeping their self-worth intact.
• Individual differences: Understanding that children need different approaches to build self-esteem.

 

 

Technology and Self-Esteem

• Social media impact: Knowing how social media can affect self-esteem both for better and worse.
• Online comparison: Managing the tendency to compare yourself with others’ often idealised online images.
• Digital detox: Taking breaks from technology to focus on real-life self-esteem.
• Positive online communities: Finding supportive digital spaces that boost rather than harm self-worth.
• Self-esteem apps: Using apps designed to promote positive self-talk and confidence.

 

 

Maintaining Healthy Self-Esteem

• Regular self-reflection: Periodically checking in on your self-esteem to see where attention is needed.
• Ongoing self-care: Keeping up habits that support your physical and emotional health.
• Continuous learning: Embracing chances to grow and develop new skills.
• Social support: Maintaining relationships with people who value and support you.
• Stress management: Handling stress in ways that don’t harm your self-esteem.
• Professional support: Seeking help when self-esteem issues become hard to manage on your own.

 

 

Related Terms

• Self-Confidence - Trust in your abilities, which is related to but distinct from self-esteem
• Body Image - How you perceive and feel about your physical appearance
• Perfectionism - Setting unrealistically high standards that can damage self-esteem

 

 

References

ScienceDirect. (2024). Self-esteem Interventions in Adults – A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656621000684

PMC/NCBI. (2023). Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion: A Narrative Review and Meta-Analysis. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10406111/

Psychology Tools. (2021). Learn About Low Self-Esteem. https://www.psychologytools.com/articles/learn-about-low-self-esteem

Centre for Clinical Interventions. (2025). Self-Esteem Self-Help Resources. https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/looking-after-yourself/self-esteem

MDPI. (2024). Positive Psychology Interventions to Increase Self-Esteem. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/4/2/55

---

 

This information is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If low self-esteem is significantly impacting your life, consider seeking support from a qualified mental health professional.