Twelve signs of low self-esteem and self-worth

Welcome back, everyone. I would like to discuss twelve signs of low self-esteem or self-worth in this week’s newsletter. If you are anything like me, you pick up on certain things about people when interacting with them.

I have noticed that many of my interactions with others reveal that so many people in this world have low self-esteem, and just as many have no clue of their worth to the people around them or society. This is why I will discuss low self-esteem and self-worth this week so that you can see for yourself whether or not you struggle in this area.

If you are, you will be given ways to begin healing these areas toward the end of this week’s newsletter. So, if you are ready to take those next steps with me towards becoming positively improved, stick with me as I start things off with simple definitions for self-esteem and self-worth. 

Self-esteem and self-worth – Defined.

Before jumping into this week’s newsletter, it is important to understand the definition of the topic we will be learning about. So allow me to give you the best descriptions I can for the meaning of self-esteem and self-worth.

Self-esteem – confidence in one own ability or when you respect yourself.

Self-worth – The internal sense of being good enough or worth of love.

Now that we have a better understanding of the topic, why don’t we just jump into the topic of this week’s newsletter.

Twelve signs of low self-esteem and self-worth

1. Poor boundaries – this is where you will find yourself saying yes when you want to say no. or giving in to demands you really do not want to.
2. Social withdrawal – This is where you decline invitations, avoid social media, and reject relationships with people due to the constant feeling that you cannot do anything right or meet anyone’s expectations.
3. Self-doubt – This is when you are constantly second-guessing yourself or doubting your judgment.
4. Self-criticism is when you tend to put yourself down or treat yourself harshly for preserved mistakes or failures.
5. Negative feelings – This is when you tend to be depressed, anxious, angry, shameful, or feel shame for your thoughts or actions.
6. Blaming others – this is when you are always defensive, allowing other people’s words to trigger a strong emotional reaction, projecting your issues onto other people, or thinking that you are good enough for other people and that you are to blame for their problems.
7. Sensitive to criticism – is when you feel a constant feeling of disapproval or acceptance from others or become easily upset by your or other people’s opinions or expectations of you.
8. People Pleasing – When you seek validation from others to make you feel good about yourself through your actions or gifts.
9. Self-deprecating – is defined as the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest.
10. Difficulties with intimacy – this is when you struggle to trust yourself or others with any personal vulnerability you have or when you feel threatened by others if they get too close emotionally.
11. Low resilience – Is when you find it hard to cope with daily life’s challenges or disappointments. When faced with these challenges, you tend to feel hopeless or like it is the end of the world.
12. Feeling unloved – This is when you blend in with others as a coping mechanism, tend to be overly passive or submissive, have difficulty trusting others with your authentic self, or feel constantly insecure around others.

How to start healing.

The first step is always to identify the core problems. You can only begin the healing process once you identify the problem and then the reason that the problem was caused in the first place.

Step two would be to notice how you talk to yourself and pay attention to how you think. Do your thoughts and words build you up or tear you down?

To raise your esteem and self-worth, you have to be kind to yourself; even if you need to be completely honest with yourself, do so with grace and kindness for yourself. 

Step three would be to learn how to put your needs at the forefront of your mind. I am not saying to be selfish, but you always need to care for yourself before giving the best care possible to others. One of these requirements is to know when to say no, when to be assertive, and when not to.

Step four is to challenge yourself to do better. Start with small, very doable goals and challenges, and then, as you become more confident in yourself, make the goals a little more challenging. Creating moments of success is one of the best ways to raise your self-esteem and for you to truly see your self-worth.

Final thoughts

Now that you can see the signs of low self-esteem and self-worth and, even better, how to raise them if you or someone you know struggles in these areas. I will bring this week’s newsletter to its close.

However, let me pause for a moment and point out that if you struggle in these areas, it is important that you understand two things: one that there is literally nothing to be ashamed of; it is just a sign or cue that you need to give yourself attention, love, support and lots of grace so you can begin to heal. And two, you are not alone. Millions of people all over the world struggle just as you do. More people understand how you feel than you will likely ever know.

With that, I hope you got some value out of this discussion topic. If you know someone who could use this information, please share it with them. If you have anything more you want to add to the discussion, please do so below in the comment section. 

Thank you, as always, for joining me as I took this next step toward becoming positively improved. Until next week, namaste.