Self-Esteem & Confidence
Low self-esteem often begins in childhood when we pick up negative messages from those around us. Our confidence in ourselves diminishes. Years later, you may find you’re hiding away from social situations, not trying new things, and generally withdrawing from uncomfortable settings. In the short-term, avoiding challenging and difficult situations might make you feel safe. In the long-term, this can backfire because it reinforces your underlying fears and doubts about yourself. It teaches you the unhelpful rule that avoiding things is the only way to cope. Therapy for low self-esteem and confidence can help!
Are you feeling stuck in not liking who you've become?
You're not seeing the real you!
Your Worst Critic
- YOU.
If only I could lose 5 kilos, be more outgoing, finish my studies, buy a house, get my parents approval, learn to cook, save the whales... Then I’ll be happy! There’s always something else you need to do, that will make life better. Simply put – you don’t feel like you’re enough. Those critical voices in your head can get louder, bad habits can creep in, and you can feel yourself falling into a pit of self-loathing. Often how we see ourselves is based on our assumptions and beliefs about the world and our life experiences. But these assumptions are not facts. You are your own worst critic unfortunately.
Having low self-esteem may mean you’re at the mercy of that annoying inner critic who constantly berates you. If you listen too often to this strong negative internal voice, you start to focus only on your mistakes in life and ignore all the positives. You start to expect the worst, avoiding situations where you might be judged by others. You start to believe you don’t deserve anything good in life. Feelings of anger, anxiety and sadness can consume you. It’s hard to feel any confidence in how you interact with the world. You might become shy, have difficulties communicating, experience social anxiety and find it hard to be assertive with others.
It’s tough living like this. But you don’t have to.
Moving Forward
Recognising the causes of negative beliefs and self-doubt can help to alleviate painful feelings and enable you to push forward in a more positive direction. Therapy for confidence and low self-esteem can help guide you to a more realistic sense of self, as well as encourage you to take some risks, while focusing on the life that you truly want to live. This will all help you to overcome the grip that low self-esteem may have on you.
By challenging your assumptions and finding their root cause, your self-perspective and sense of worth can become more realistic. Therapy will help you see that you can live with confidence, knowing you are an amazing human being, loved, needed and strong. You can get out there and SHINE!
"One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself."
- Shannon L. Alder
Do you have questions?
Beginning therapy can be a big step. Please see the FAQs page for more information on getting started.