Low self esteem

June 9th, 2011 by Lorraine Balfe MA MBACP (Accred.) UKRCP Reg.Ind. Counsellor/Psychotherapist

There can be many reasons for a person to feel low self esteem.  Often, messages from childhood get stuck in a loop and a person may repeat such beliefs, consciously or subconsciously, to oneself. Messages such as, 'you're stupid, can't do anything right, won't come to much, will fail, you're ugly' etc, can be believed and therefore form your internal picture of self.  Bullying from childhood can cause deep wounds and also bullying in adulthood can make you believe that you are in some way inadequate. 
Perhaps mistakes you have made in life have been so significant, that you can't forgive yourself and so suffer depression.  

Counselling integrating cognitive skills, can be beneficial in helping you build up your self esteem, identifying any of these self harming beliefs, examining them and then forming a different way of seeing yourself.