Low self-esteem and low confidence

Low Self-Esteem and Low-Confidence

Self-Esteem is a phrase that is used to describe the beliefs you have about yourself. Self-Esteem can be influenced by life events, experiences, and the relationships we have had and have with others.  This is ever-evolving over time in response to our life experiences.  Self-Esteem can influence how we think, feel and behave.

Self-Confidence is about trusting your own abilities and judgements and behaving accordingly.  Someone can have high Self-Esteem but a Low-Confidence to perform a certain task, and vice versa. However, it is common for one to influence the other. 

Experiences of low Self-Esteem and/or low Self-Confidence are very common amongst young people, with 75% of all young people acknowledging the experience of not feeling confident.  If you struggle with your Self-Esteem you may not place a lot of value on yourself, magnifying the mistakes you make, and minimising your personal achievements.  This can impact on your ability to recognise and acknowledge what you are good at, or the things you like about yourself which can then influence behaviours that may not be helpful.  You may hold some negative beliefs about yourself such as “I am worthless” or “I am not good enough”.

Overtime these negative self -beliefs can have a big impact on our mental health and emotional wellbeing so it is important to try to break this cycle and challenge our beliefs.  The below sites have some really useful ways in which to help you examine your own Self-Esteem and ways to improve this;

• GetSelfHelp self-help guide for self-esteem
• Issues with self-esteem? self help guide- Wellbeing services south Glasgow