Self-esteem is how much you value yourself, the pride you feel in yourself, and how worthwhile you feel. It is important: feeling good about yourself can affect how you act. A person who has high self-esteem will make friends easily, is more in control of their behaviour, and will enjoy life more.
Are you used to putting yourself down? As a teen, you’re going through many changes in your body, and as your body changes, so does your image of yourself. Lots of people have trouble adjusting, and this can affect their self-esteem.
For many people, especially those in their early teens, body image can be closely linked to self-esteem. As youngsters develop into teens, they care more about how others see them.
What influences our self-esteem?
- puberty: the body goes through many changes, which combined with a natural desire to feel accepted, mean it can be tempting for people to compare themselves with others such as the people around them or celebrities they see on TV, in movies, or in magazines.
- people may experience negative comments and hurtful teasing about the way they look from classmates and peers. Sometimes racial and ethnic prejudice is the source of such comments. Although these often come from ignorance, sometimes they can affect someone’s body image and self-esteem.
- a positive, optimistic attitude can help people develop strong self-esteem — for example, saying, “Hey, I’m human” instead of “Wow, I’m such a loser” when you’ve made a mistake, or not blaming others when things don’t go as expected.
Source: teenshealth.org
Tools
Read more
- Savvy Self-Esteem Lessons From J.K. Rowling @ Savvy Self Esteem
Excerpt: Self-Esteem doesn’t magically appear. Nor is it created by wishing alone. Self-Esteem comes from getting in there, rolling up our sleeves, and uncovering who we are. This includes what we can do, how we handle things, what feels congruent for us, what we do have, and what we actually want.
- How to increase your self-esteem @ Mind
Excerpt: Everyone holds opinions about the type of person that they are. These opinions are at the heart of self-esteem and they affect how you feel about and value yourself. Self-esteem is not static and fixed; your beliefs about yourself can change throughout your life as a result of circumstance and experience. Your beliefs make the difference between high and low self-esteem. It is important to realise that these are only opinions, they are not facts. They can be biased or inaccurate, and there are steps you can take to change them.
Photo: Hand mirror by Desi under Creative Commons license
