Self-esteem

It is important to look at ways of being able to see your competency and up your self worth to increase your self-esteem. Everyone has something they are good at so it is about being able to believe this and see it.

Here are some quick tips to improve your self-esteem:

• Treat yourself
• Give yourself time to relax
• Plan something to look forward to
• Learn to pat yourself on the back
• Have hobbies and enjoyable things to do in life
• Allow yourself time to care for yourself
• Practice accepting compliments
• It is ok to say no
• Start up some exercise

Traditionally, goals may be set once a year, during lent or around birthdays, for example.

It is good to have a goal to work towards throughout your life. The benefits are that it gives you a track to run on and a path to follow, it keeps you motivated, and it helps give you a sense of achievement and self worth.

Some examples of goals are:

• To plan and go on a holiday
• To join a new club
• To eat more healthily

Building up and learning techniques to be more assertive will increase your self esteem.

We can think about our body language. Maintain good eye contact, stand tall and act confident, even if you are not feeling this way inside.

If you want to get a point across, preparation is key. Set a time and place, write down what you want to say, and be clear and concise with no padding.

It is important to look after yourself when you are feeling down. This will boost your mood and improve your self-esteem.

Try to eat a healthy balanced diet, remembering food is there to enjoy. Bananas and chicken are high in Tryptophan, which is a natural chemical to improve how you are feeling. Fruit and vegetables are good, too — and try to vary the colours. Remember to treat yourself occasionally.

It is important to keep a good routine of sleep to enable you to feel less tired and happier in the day. Keep the room fresh, and try and block out the light and noise.

Exercise is good earlier in the evening to tire yourself out more. Warm milky drinks and a reduction in caffeine can help too.

You may be an active (climbing, walking, dancing) or inactive relaxer (reading, meditating, having a bath), but giving yourself time to do things you enjoy will improve your self-esteem.

Looking after your hair, teeth and appearance can increase how you are feeling inside and improve your self-esteem.

Remember: be kind to yourself.

When people have low self-esteem their thinking styles can become distorted. They may have negative thinking styles or negative beliefs about themselves.

It is important to try and start identifying your thinking and beliefs and look at ways to try and challenge the way you talk to yourself.

Detective Columbo usually caught his murderer by finding evidence that didn’t fit with the obvious suspect. He looked for evidence that did not fit and by doing so found a different way of thinking about the crime he was investigating. Sometimes our thinking leads us to an obvious conclusion without properly looking for the evidence that does not fit.

If you start looking at some of your negative beliefs and start to look for evidence that does not fit, you can start to challenge some of your beliefs.

In order to increase our self-esteem, we need help. We need to surround ourselves with people who care about us, want to spend time with us and can tell us the truth when we are unsure about our behaviours.

Overall, we need people to support us.

People with high self-esteem often belong to a group of people with high self-esteem. A support network can provide practical help, reduce the sense of isolation and provide someone to disclose information to.

Think about starting something new or doing something you have stopped doing that you used to enjoy. Attending a club or meeting can open up social opportunities allowing you to build up your
support network and increase your self-esteem.

If you are interested in more help to improve your self-esteem, you can speak to a clinican from NHS Talking Therapies.