Low self esteem why

Fear of trying — the person may doubt their abilities or worth and avoid challenges. Fear of judgement — they may avoid activities that involve other people, like sports or social events, because they are afraid they will be negatively judged. Lack of self-care — the person may care so little that they neglect or abuse themselves, for example, drink too much alcohol. Self-harming behaviours — low self-esteem puts the person at increased risk of self-harm, for example, eating disorder, drug abuse or suicide.

Causes of low self-esteem Some of the many causes of low self-esteem may include: Unhappy childhood where parents or other significant people such as teachers were extremely critical Poor academic performance in school resulting in a lack of confidence Ongoing stressful life event such as relationship breakdown or financial trouble Poor treatment from a partner, parent or carer, for example, being in an abusive relationship Ongoing medical problem such as chronic pain, serious illness or physical disability Mental illness such as an anxiety disorder or depression.

Seek help for underlying self-esteem problems Chronic problems can be demoralising and lead to self-esteem issues. Self-esteem building Self-esteem is strongly related to how you view and react to the things that happen in your life. Suggestions for building self-esteem include: Talk to yourself positively — treat yourself as you would your best friend. Be supportive, kind and understanding. Make an effort to accept yourself, warts and all. Appreciate your special qualities — remind yourself of your good points every day.

Write a list and refer to it often. Forget the past — concentrate on living in the here-and-now rather than reliving old hurts and disappointments. Have fun — schedule enjoyable events and activities into every week.

Exercise — it is such a good boost to the brain for all kinds of things but especially in combatting depression and helping you to feel good. Targets need to be step by step, such as starting with a walk round the block once a day, enrolling at a local gym class or going for a swim. Be assertive — communicate your needs, wants, feelings, beliefs and opinions to others in a direct and honest manner.

Keep reading to understand self-esteem issues that may come up for your teenager and ways to help your child feel better about themselves and their capabilities. Positive self-esteem for teens is important as it allows them to try new things, take healthy risks and solve problems. In turn, their learning and development will be productive and will set them up for a healthy and positive future.

A young person with healthy self-esteem is more likely to display positive behavioural characteristics, such as:. Low self-esteem may be associated with health problems such as depression and anxiety, eating disorders, social phobia, attention deficit disorder and substance abuse.

If your low self-esteem continues, talk to your doctor , a counsellor, a close friend or a member of your family. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Self-esteem is feeling good about yourself. It helps children try new things, take healthy risks and learn.

Read about fostering self-esteem in your child. Read more on raisingchildren. Read more on ReachOut. Learn ways to help build your child's self-esteem so they grow into happy, confident and well-adjusted teenagers. Read more on Centre for Clinical Interventions website. Self esteem - It's normal to feel a bit down on ourselves from time to time, but if it hangs around that's not healthy.

Read more on Tune In Not Out website. Read more on Better Health Channel website. Young people share their stories about their self-esteem as a teenager. Building positive self-esteem in your teenager is essential. ReachOut Parents provides practical steps and strategies for parents to try with their teenagers to help with building self-esteem. At different ages, children need different support for healthy self-esteem. This is because their sense of themselves changes as they develop.

Get tips. For a long time in Australia, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex LGBTI people have been actively and passively excluded from many aspects of social, cultural, occupational, religious and family life. This can cause significant self-esteem problems for young people, as those who are supposed to care for them most may not seem to.

Negative Peers. This is very damaging to how you see yourself. Abuse — whether physical, emotional, sexual or a combination of these — often causes feelings of shame and even guilt. A person may feel that he or she did something to deserve the abuse, that he or she was not worthy of the respect, love and care of the abuser. Body Image. This can lead to feeling unattractive and inadequate, on top of the profound disempowerment that comes with seeing your body as an object for others to behold.

Many young men struggle with low self-esteem associated with weight and body composition — particularly concerning muscle mass. The body of a man is not so much treated in our culture as an object for others, but as a sign of his masculinity.

Young men may feel pressured to develop large muscles as a show of strength and manliness; they may also feel self-conscious about their height. Previous Bad Choices. Sometimes we get locked into a certain pattern of decision-making and acting. Maybe you participated in risky behaviors like drug use or unprotected sex.

Negative Thought Patterns. When you get used to feeling, thinking and talking about yourself in a particular way, it becomes habit. Your thoughts and feelings actually work in the same way sometimes. Just as our muscle memory can learn the wrong way to perform a physical activity, our thought and feeling memories can learn inaccurate patterns. Part 1 of 2.