What do we talk about when we talk about “self-esteem”? Tips to understand its importance.
Talking about self-esteem, in general terms, is talking about the individual assessment that each person has of themselves. Up there, everyone agrees. But that assessment is not a unique image we form of ourselves, but a whole set of perceptions and behaviors that point towards us. So, the multiple moods, feelings, opinions, sensations and attitudes that we have accumulated throughout our lives They are important pieces when putting together that kind of puzzle of self-perception What we commonly call “self-esteem.”
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In addition to as a set, it may be convenient think about self-esteem as a living organism, as a dynamic phenomenon, that is, a condition that changes and develops in relation to our personal cycle. Therefore, it does not make any sense to think of self-esteem as a good or as a belonging, as something that “you have or you don’t have”, since it is, rather, an inherent dimension of the human being, and, like him, changing and alive. Thus, the question ““How do I improve my self-esteem?” It will have much less to do with a step by step to follow, and more to do with a way of understanding our own person.
And, of course! We must not overlook that we are social beings, and our self-esteem is also related to the (almost always hostile) environment in which we live: our society.
What is it for?
A living organ, the heart or kidney, remains healthy to the extent that it functions optimally. Our self-perception in relation to own abilities, achievements, capabilities, values, conception of success, personal imageand a long etcetera, must work in the best way so that we have welfare. But, be careful, illnesses or accidents always come, and that is when something can be affected and it will be necessary to review and adjust what has broken down.
We know that the better nourished the perception of these qualities and characteristics is, the more optimal the functioning of our self-esteem will be. A reasonably strong degree of self-esteem will be considered an important ingredient of mental health, while a weakened self-esteem and its accompanying symptoms (feeling of little use or value, frustrated, incapable, powerless) can be related to mood problems or pathologies such as depression. ().
They have been pointed out as possible ways of identifying a weak self-esteem, among others, behaviors such as:
- Distrust
- Jealousy
- Tendency towards fundamentalism
- Inability to self-question
- Overvaluation of physical appearance
- Too high self-demand
- superiority behaviors
Identifying some of these traits and evaluating them in relation to what was mentioned above can serve as an important indicator to improve the health of our self-esteem. Structuring and questioning those negative thoughts we have about ourselves and considering replacing them with more balanced and lucid ones can be another way to keep our mind healthy. self-esteem and therefore a good mental health.
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Is excess self-esteem bad?
This question is common but may not be the appropriate one, since identifying self-esteem with believing that we are superior, or violating others as a consequence of feeling more than others, is not an indicator of an excess but of a deficiency of self-esteem.
Self-esteem allows us to deal with pessimism, it helps us to adequately handle difficult or stressful life situations, which is why robust self-esteem will never be a problem, rather, it can help with the solution.
How is your self-esteem? We invite you to take our test so that you understand and know it better.