Confidence and self-esteem are different, but by stepping outside your comfort zone to boost your confidence, you can also raise your self-esteem in the process. When we confront our fears or try new things – whether it’s through small or big steps – we challenge our model of who we are and what we thought we were capable of doing. Being confident does not necessarily mean you will have high self-esteem, but doing the things that boost confidence can help you raise self-esteem because confidence causes you to view yourself in a more positive light. The Differences Between Confidence and Self-Esteem The psychiatrist Neel Burton, in writing for Psychology Today, points out why confidence and self-esteem are not to be confused.1 He says: [...]

We often get trapped by low self-esteem because we fail to see how the judgments we make about ourselves are inaccurate. It is helpful, therefore, to use certain techniques that allow you to untangle yourself from your thoughts – to take a step back – and see that you can’t possibly justify the self-critical thoughts you’re having. Making notes about your thoughts is one way to gain this healthy perspective. In this way, you can use writing to tackle low self-esteem. Defeating Low Self-Esteem Through Writing  You don’t necessarily have to do anything formulaic when it comes to recording thoughts which impact your self-esteem. But you may want to keep a kind of ‘self-esteem diary’, where you jot down any negative – or, [...]

Low self-esteem can affect anyone, but the particular way that an individual experiences low self-esteem can also be influenced by characteristics such as race, class, age, disability and gender. In terms of gender expectations, many men carry around this idea of what it means to be a man, and if they believe that who they are – or their experiences – don’t fit into this model, then they might feel emasculated as a result. But men don’t have to let cultural expectations impact their self-worth in this way. Although it can be difficult to shake off the power of masculine norms (let alone realise the effect they have on you), it is possible to overcome this gendered experience of low self-esteem. Men’s Gendered [...]

Do you have a voice in your head that constantly puts you down? This is the critical inner voice. It says unkind things about you and paints a negative view of who you are. This inner critic can become quite powerful and authoritative, which makes you pay more attention to it. This can end up damaging your self-esteem. If you struggle with depression your inner critic may be so deeply entrenched that it becomes difficult to get past the negative chatter and realize what is valuable and positive about yourself. However, you don’t have to let this inner critic be in control. There are many effective methods for separating this unrealistic and disparaging voice in your head from your authentic voice, which only [...]

I’m Sam Woolfe, and I’m really excited to start writing on Building Self-Esteem for HealthyPlace. For a long time, I have struggled with low self-esteem, low self-worth, harsh self-criticism and even self-hatred. Thoughts and feelings related to low self-esteem have, no doubt, held me back in many ways, but they never seemed like some big issue I had to address. That was, until, certain life events, stressful situations, magnified and intensified these thoughts in a depression. Sam Woolfe’s Low Self-Esteem Everyone, to some extent, has an inner critic in his or her head. This is an internal voice which comments, judges, criticises and scolds the things that you think, feel and do. For me, however, this critical inner voice has always been quite [...]