Putting some "steam" into self-esteem

Even seemingly confident and happy people can be suffering with nagging doubts and the sometimes debilitating beliefs associated with low self-esteem. It's possible for a person to be able to list their accomplishments and acknowledge what they've achieved in their personal and/or professional life, but also suffer with low self esteem. It's not whether we can recognise what we are and what we have achieved; it's about the value we place on what we see in ourselves.

In fact it's often those we see striving for the next step, the next challenge, the next success or perhaps always reaching for perfection, that can all too easily be harbouring feelings of low self-esteem.

The very real and painful truth about low-self esteem is that a person can feel they're NEVER quite good enough, no matter what they achieve. There are 8 main reasons why this tends to come about. Some of them may seem more obvious than others.

Uninvolved / neglectful Parents

Negative peers and their influence

Trauma of any kind

Poor Body Image Feeling like a Small Fish in a Big Pond

Unrealistic Goals

Previous Bad Choices Negative Thought Patterns

Don't forget just how brilliant and powerful the subconscious mind is at taking on lessons in our formative years. Our subconscious has the sole purpose of keeping us safe, so when we we're significantly impacted by a comment, event, experience or situation in childhood, a response is locked down to protect us in the future. This could be as simple as a child feeling humiliated at school for getting the answer to a question wrong. If the emotions attached were significant enough due to the circumstances and response of others, this could prove to be the foundation for low self esteem to build. The subconscious only seeks to confirm what it has already learnt, even if that is a FALSE-TRUTH, such as "I'm stupid".

If you see a kitten in the mirror and you want to see a lion, get in touch with the false messages you believe may be holding you back, those nagging self doubts in the subconscious that seem to win out, when you really want to take a big step forward. What messages would you like to replace those with? Self affirmations can be a great start.

Decide the messages you'd like to embed in your mind

Write them down

Repeat them morning and evening

Make a note of the small positive steps you take every day and celebrate every success

I plan to run a retreat this year focussing on self esteem, and would love to hear from anyone who feels this may be of interest. Whether you're looking to

- be more self accepting of your body

- lift your self confidence and self value

- find your voice and be heard

I'd love to hear from you. For any questions or support on how hypnotherapy can help with self esteem please get in contact by message or phone.