Information from your Primary Care Team
Self-Esteem
What is Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem is a way of thinking, feeling, and acting that implies that you accept,
respect, and believe in yourself.
- When you accept yourself, you are okay with both the good and not so good
things about yourself.
- When you respect yourself, you treat yourself well in much the same way you
would treat someone else you respect.
- To believe in yourself means that you feel you deserve to have the good things in
life. It also means that you have confidence that you can make choices and take
actions that will have a positive effect on your life.
Part of self-esteem is knowing that you are important enough to take good care of
yourself by making good choices for yourself. For example, choosing nutritious food
for your body, exercising, giving yourself time to relax, etc.
Self-esteem doesn’t mean you think you are better or more important than other
people are, it means that you respect and value yourself as much as other people.
Self-esteem needs to come from within and not be dependent on external sources such
as material possessions, your status, or approval from others.
Having self-esteem also means you don’t have to put other people down to feel good
about yourself.
Signs of Low and High Self-Esteem
* Signs of low self-esteem
- Lack of confidence
- Negative view of life
- Perfectionistic attitude
- Mistrusting others inappropriately
- Blaming behavior
- Fear of taking appropriate risks
- Feelings of being unloved and unlovable
- Dependence on others to make decisions
- Fear of being ridiculed
- Distorted view of self and others
