Low Self-Esteem: Spotting the Signs and Getting Treatment

Low self-esteem is a common but often overlooked problem that can have a significant impact on an your mental health and quality of life. However with the right understanding and treatment, you can learn to improve your self-esteem and cultivate a more positive self-image. In this blog post, we’ll explore what poor self-esteem is, common symptoms, effective treatment options, and how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can help you overcome low self-esteem.

What is Low Self-Esteem?

Low Self-Esteem is having a negative overall view of yourself, judging and evaluating yourself negatively, and holding negative beliefs about yourself as a person. Common beliefs include not feeling good enough or feeling unloveable. People with self-esteem issues experience frequent self-criticism. And they tend to ignore any positive qualities they have or that others notice.

If your self-esteem is low it can often create negative emotions and you’ll often find yourself in cycles of anxiety and/or depression. It’s not uncommon for poor self-esteem to have a big impact across several areas of your life. For example work, relationships and self-care.

Signs of Low Self-Esteem

Have you ever found yourself wondering ‘do I have low self-esteem?’. Here are the most common symptoms of low self-esteem I see in my clients:

Being highly self-critical and never feeling like you’re good enough. And often ignoring any positive or compliments and claiming any successes are fluke or luck.
Difficulty prioritising your own needs and neglecting yourself and self-care. Often falling into the trap of people pleasing and not wanting to ‘rock the boat’.
Feelings of anxiety and depression. Frequently leading to either fear and avoidance of challenging situations, or avoiding and withdrawing from social events.
Difficulty making your own decisions and sometimes asking others for reassurance. Along with often saying sorry and feeling guilty due to blaming yourself when things go wrong.
Struggling to like or accept yourself. And thinking other people are better than you or that you don’t deserve positive things.

Low Self-Esteem Treatment

Fortunately, there are several effective treatments available. These include:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: CBT is really effective for treating low self-esteem. It focuses on identifying and challenging negative thought patterns and beliefs about yourself, and helps you develop more self-compassion and acceptance.
Compassion Focused-Therapy (CFT): CFT is a type of CBT, and is particularly helpful for reducing self-criticism and shame. Self-compassion practices involve treating yourself with kindness, understanding, and acceptance, especially in moments of difficulty or failure.
Mindfulness Based-Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): MBCT helps you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions without judgment, allowing you to cultivate a greater sense of self-awareness and acceptance.

How to Overcome Low Self-Esteem with CBT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is highly effective in improving self-esteem by targeting the underlying thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to negative self-perception. CBT provides you with the tools and support you need to develop healthier self-esteem and and lead a more fulfilling life free from anxiety and low mood.

Key components of CBT for low self-esteem may include:

Psycho-education: Learning about the nature of low self-esteem, its causes, and treatment options.
Formulation: Understanding how your low self-esteem developed, how it presents itself, and what maintains it.
CBT Tools: Identifying and challenge negative beliefs. Building self-confidence and self-worth. Learning practical coping strategies to manage self-worth challenges and navigate difficult situations. Assertiveness training. Addressing root causes to accept yourself and move to healthy self-worth.
Relapse Prevention: Putting together a plan at the end of therapy to help you continue progressing towards your goals and to minimise any setbacks.

The Power of CBT for Low Self-Esteem

CBT offers numerous benefits for individuals struggling with self-esteem issues, providing tools and support needed to challenge negative beliefs and build self-confidence. By developing healthier coping strategies, you can learn to value yourself more fully and live a life without low self-worth.

Here are some of the therapy benefits my self-esteem clients find most powerful:

Actually believing that you’re good enough and stop feeling worthless
Being able to make decisions without always doubting yourself
Stopping self-criticism and start being kind and compassionate towards yourself
Building more positive relationships with healthier boundaries
Stopping people pleasing and learn how to say no and put yourself first
Overcoming any symptoms of anxiety and depression once and for all

If you or someone you know is struggling with self-esteem problems, consider reaching out to a qualified therapist who can provide support and effective treatment. With the right help and support, it is possible to overcome low self-esteem and live a life free from the constraints of anxiety and low mood.

Find Out More

I specialise in working with perfectionists. It’s very common for perfectionists to have self-esteem issues, even if it’s ‘dormant’ and sometimes not always as noticeable. As a result I have lots of experience in helping clients successfully overcome low self-esteem. If you’re looking for a BABCP Accredited Senior CBT Therapist you can book an appointment here.