Relationships and career choices are only two areas of your life where having poor self-esteem may affect you. Additionally, it could promote a downward spiral of poor mood and critical self-talk, which might make depressed symptoms worse. According to research published in 2019 ^[1*] , those who have poor self-esteem and a negative self-perception may be more likely to have depressive symptoms.

Low self-esteem and depression are two sides of the same coin. Although sadness has the power to completely destroy self-esteem, poor self-worth increases a person’s vulnerability to mental health issues. You may nonetheless take action to improve your self-esteem even if you are sad.

The strategies for increasing self-esteem and confidence will be covered in this post. To get understanding, continue reading!

What Qualifies as Low Self-Esteem?

Everybody has moments when they doubt who they are, what they have accomplished, or how good they really are. You have the freedom to say or do whatever that makes you momentarily feel angry or embarrassed of yourself. These fleeting or recurring feelings, however, are not the same as low self-esteem.

Long-term pessimism about who you are and how you show yourself to the world is a hallmark of low self-esteem. These negative feelings might linger and be difficult to get rid of. For example, if someone praises you, you may not believe them. You may choose to only give yourself credit when you reach a goal.

Common Reasons for Low Self-Esteem

Early experiences might lead to a poor sense of self-worth. If a person experienced abuse or neglect, found it difficult to live up to their parents’ expectations, or felt different from other students, they may grow to have negative fundamental beliefs about themselves. These are ingrained beliefs that a person has about oneself.

Adolescents, particularly young females, could come across negative concepts and beliefs on social media and in the media at large. These concepts may lead children to feel that their worth is based on their appearance or behavior. This might lead to low self-worth views and low self-esteem. Low self-esteem may also result from major illnesses, bad relationships, bullying, poor academic achievement, and personal losses.

Indices of Low Self-Regard

The following characteristics are often shown by those who lack self-esteem:

What Link Exists Between Self-Esteem and Depression?

For weeks at a time, people suffering from depression—a serious mood disorder—feel hopeless, sad, and numb. Our basic feeling of value is linked to our level of self-esteem, regardless of whether we think we deserve nice things or not.

When you don’t feel deserving, it’s hard to be happy with who you are and your life. And among the clinical indicators of depression is a sense of worthlessness. Depression may also be brought on by traumatic and difficult childhood experiences, which are often associated with these feelings of worthlessness.

How Can Self-Esteem Be Improved?

It’s possible for low self-esteem to seep into your personality. Taking care of oneself, however, might improve your sense of self-worth and decrease its influence on your daily activities. You might try these suggestions:

Following That

People’s opinions about themselves and their abilities might be impacted by low self-esteem and confidence. And despair might exacerbate the situation. Changing people’s perceptions of them and treating depression symptoms could be beneficial.

It’s okay to seek help from a professional if you struggle to control your low self-esteem.