Self Esteem Issues You Should Know About

When talking about self esteem issues, people often refer to low self esteem. However, there are two sides of the coin, and many ignore the too high self esteem problem. It is true that low self esteem can have a negative effect on a person’s life, but being too confident in qualities and abilities you don’t possess can have negative consequences too.

Some people say that having high self esteem is narcissistic. This is not true at all, because the self esteem can be the reflection of true qualities the person possesses. What some might consider high self esteem might actually be a healthy self esteem, a case in which you can fairly appreciate yourself for who you are and the qualities you possess.

Since low self esteem is the most troublesome case, we will focus on this "side of the coin".

Many people tend to consider childhood difficulties or traumas to be one of the major causes of low self esteem. And it is quite true – in some cases, things that happened during childhood can affect life as an adult too and cause the self esteem issues. However, this shouldn’t be generalized. Not all people who lack self confidence, who have a pessimistic view on life and who are afraid of taking decisions went through traumatizing events when they were very young.

According to some psychologists, self esteem issues, come up when linked to three factors:

Culture. In some cultures, the perception on self esteem is different than in others. Moreover, some say that the self esteem is closely correlated with life satisfaction. Leading a satisfying life has always got to do with the culture we belong to.
Financial possibilities. Nowadays, frustrations come, in many cases, from financial causes. People feel that they can never afford what they want and start thinking they are incapable of making enough money to provide for themselves and their family. This leads to lack of confidence, shame, and fear and, consequently, to self esteem issues.
Class. Belonging to a culture influences our life a great deal, but so does the walk of life we come from. In some cases, coming from a low walk of life can determine people to feel and behave in a certain way. Pessimism tends to be the general way of thinking about life, accepting abuse from others becomes natural, and the low esteem installs for long periods of time. This also has to do with education (or lack of it). Education allows people to feel confident in their powers. Acquiring knowledge during the school years can make us become more confident in our future and in the possibility of overcoming our flaws.

Dealing with the effects of low esteem is not very difficult to do if one is open to receiving help. What one must understand is that, without acknowledging that there is a problem, it cannot be solved. So, if you know someone who exhibits low self esteem symptoms and has all the signs of becoming a person with low self esteem, let him or her know there are many solutions to the problem. The process of overcoming low self esteem issues can be a long one, but the results are totally worth it.