Low Self-Esteem is having a negative overall view of yourself, judging and evaluating yourself negatively, and holding negative beliefs about yourself as a person. Common beliefs include not feeling good enough or feeling unloveable. People with low self-esteem experience frequent self-criticism and they tend to ignore any positive qualities they have or that others notice.

Low self-esteem can often create negative emotions and people often find themselves in cycles of anxiety and/or depression. It's not uncommon for low self-esteem to have a big impact across several areas of someone's life such as work, relationships and self-care.

The first step to overcoming low self-esteem is to understand what self-esteem really is, the signs of low self-esteem, how cbt for low self-esteem works, and how low self-esteem therapy can help you.

What is Low Self-Esteem?

Struggling to like or accept yourself, and often thinking other people are better than you or that you don't deserve positive things.

Difficulty making your own decisions and sometimes asking others for reassurance, along with often saying sorry and feeling guilty due to blaming yourself when things go wrong.

Feelings of anxiety and depression, often leading to either fear and avoidance of challenging situations, or avoiding and withdrawing from social events.

Difficulty prioritising your own needs and neglecting yourself and self-care, often falling into the trap of people pleasing and not wanting to 'rock the boat'.

Being highly self-critical and never feeling like you're good enough, often ignoring any positive or compliments and claiming any successes are fluke or luck.

Here are the most common signs of low self-esteem I see in my clients:

Signs of Low Self-Esteem

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Low Self-Esteem begins with understanding how your low self-esteem developed, how it presents itself, and what maintains it.

We then work on tackling biased expectations and any anxiety, along with reducing negative self-evaluations and any low mood. using a variety of CBT tools and techniques (and I can include Mindfulness and Compassion Focused Therapy techniques too if useful).

And lastly we focus on adjusting any negative rules and  core beliefs, so that you can learn to accept yourself and move to a place of healthy self-esteem.

CBT for Low Self-Esteem

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overcome any symptoms of anxiety and depression once and for all

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Stop people pleasing and learn how to say no and put yourself first

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Build more positive relationships with healthier boundaries

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Stop self-criticism and start being kind and compassionate towards yourself

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Be able to make decisions without always doubting yourself

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Actually believe that you're good enough and stop feeling worthless

Benefits of Therapy for Low Self-Esteem