–
Low Self-esteem is something that everyone battles with at some point in his or her life. For many of us, especially those who suffer from a neurological condition or mental illness, low self-esteem is an often-present part of our lives and something we can’t easily shake.
Low self-esteem is not in itself a mental illness, but it works in combination with other symptoms and can point to conditions including (but not limited to) anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and personality disorders.
When we discussed low self-esteem last night, we all agreed that it’s a serious issue and contributes to a number of mental health problems that will end up affecting us at some point, whether directly, as the person suffering from the mental illness or a loved one of someone who is battling low self-esteem.
I had a big bout with it earlier this week that took me off my game for about 24 hours. It’s done and over, yet 36 hours later, I’m still feeling residual effects. The thing is, what caused the low self-esteem wasn’t anything I could control.
It was a new PC laptop (I’m a Mac guy) that I needed for a new part-time job editing the audio in audiobooks. My new PC needed a few changes to the settings that I didn’t know about, due to the new software and me being a Mac guy.
I lost 24 hours with it getting fixed and then worked for six hours on the audio only to find out that the guy who was in a rush to train me forgot to give me steps three-five in a seven step process.
Once I was done with the six hours of work, nothing saved and I lost all that work (and pay) and now not able to meet the deadline, I went into a panic and my self-esteem dropped. Stupid, huh?
The last thing we talked about last night was a quote from the Journal of Psychology.
“We found that self-esteem changes were guided not only by whether other people like you, but were especially dependent on whether you expected to be liked.”
 
We set ourselves up for failure and low self –esteem when we care too much about what a particular person or group of people thinks of us and our actions.
So what about you? How do you cope with self-esteem? Use the comments section and start a dialogue. This is one conversation everyone needs to have.
—
RSVP for Mental Wellness Calls
Join the Mental Wellness FACEBOOK GROUP here.
*******
—
Photo credit: Photo courtesy Unsplash
—