Low Self Esteem

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Learn ways to improve your mental health and self-esteem from psychologists at Epsychiatry How to improve your self-esteem?

Self-esteem refers to the way in which you see yourself. That is to say, if your self-esteem is low you will struggle to see the good in you, be more critical of or question yourself more often. People with low self-esteem are less sure of themselves and are less happy in themselves. Epsychiatry psychologists and psychiatrists can help people improve their self-esteem and mental health.


What are some signs of low self-esteem?

  • Focussing on the negative. For example, you miss a certain opportunity, if your self-esteem is low you might fixate on that, and attach yourself and how you think about yourself to that missed opportunity.
  • Discounting the positive. Minimising positive things, attributes or occurrences around you. Lacking the ability to acknowledge the positive things that are happening in your life.
  • Viewing yourself as not good enough. You are overly critical of your appearance, choices, behaviour or work.
  • Withdrawing or avoiding social engagements, work-related opportunities because of worries that you are not worthy or the right fit.
  • Use negative terms to describe yourself. People with low self-esteem use words like stupid, fat, slow to describe themselves.
  • Don’t take credit when things go their way. Often they attribute life’s win or successes to other people or luck.
  • Struggle to accept compliments. If other people notice the good in them, they find it hard to accept or believe what is being said.
  • Faults themselves when things go wrong. If their car breaks down or bills aren’t paid on time, they fault themselves excessively. People with low self-esteem struggle to take into account factors they have no control over.

What causes low self-esteem?

Often it comes from childhood with experiences of neglect and failing to live up to the standards set by our parents. Not being cared for can lead to patterns where you struggle to care for or appreciate yourself. However, failure as children to meet the standards our parents, teachers or classmates set can leave us feeling unworthy.


Low self-esteem does reduce your confidence, and you can enter into a circle where you don’t put yourself forward. As a result, you don’t have the opportunities to have corrective experiences which can change how you view yourself.


Low self-esteem and Mental Health

We can see this diagnosis in those who feel anxious in social situations. It’s also common in depression, eating disorders and body image conditions. Moreover, low self-esteem can contribute to us subjecting ourselves to toxic work environments or abusive relationships.


How does low self-esteem affect our quality of life?

  • Fearful of taking chances. If we have low self-esteem we may be hesitant to take an opportunity, shy away from challenges and opportunities that come our way.
  • Lack of self-care. Sometimes when we have low self-esteem we may not take care of ourselves. We may not pay particular attention to our diet, neglect exercise or not care about the harmful effects of our bad habits.
  • Overwhelmed by stressors. It can be linked to low resilience. We may struggle to cope with multiple challenges because we lack that belief in ourselves.
  • Negative thoughts and emotions. People with low self-esteem have critical thoughts about themselves. This can lead to sadness, guilt and anxiety.
  • Difficult interpersonal relationships. Often when people have this disorder they may submit to or tolerate behaviour in others that puts them down. They are more likely to end up in abusive relationships.

How can we help?

There are different psychological treatments that can be used to help low self-esteem. Our telehealth psychologists and psychiatrists are experts in helping people with it, plus they can help look at overall mental health, relationships and work implications of having low self-esteem.


Often treatment for low self-esteem by psychologists covers many aspects. They will help you challenge any negative self-talk and help you talk to yourself more positively. People with low self-esteem compare themselves to others, your therapist will help you avoid that. They will also help you appreciate your special qualities and acknowledge the positives that you bring.


Contact our friendly support team to book an appointment with one of our psychologists. You will need a referral from your GP to see a telehealth psychologist at Epsychiatry.