Psychology Facts

▲ Self Esteem/Confidence ▲

》According to psychologists, self-esteem and confidence are different. Self-esteem is our opinion about ourselves — how much we like ourselves. Confidence is how sure we are of this judgement.

》Confidence (or lack of it) is usually quite fluid and can change daily, even hourly.

》Being an introvert is not the cause of one's low self-esteem. Many introverts have healthy confidence. However, people who lack self-assurance are, more often than not, introverted, due to seeking social aversion

》Self-confidence brings about more happiness. Typically, when you are confident in your abilities you are happier due to your successes.

》Self-esteem is one of the basic human motivations in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs

》Higher self-esteem is not necessarily better. Ideally, your self-esteem should be high but not too high. Narcissists tend to have high feelings of self-worth but their self-esteem is also brittle and unstable.

》Self-esteem is unrelated to physical attractiveness. Studies found that people with low self-esteem were judged to be just as attractive by others as people with high self-esteem

》People with low self-esteem are resistant to positive feedback.

》Positive affirmations make people with low self-esteem feel worse. Sadly, the very people with low self-esteem, who need positive affirmations most, tend to feel worse about themselves when they recite them

》Higher self-esteem functions like an emotional immune system. When our self-esteem is higher, we are less affected by stress and anxiety, we experience rejections and failures as less hurtful, and we recover from them more quickly.

》Three-fourths of girls with low self-esteem engage in negative activities, such as disordered eating, bullying, smoking or drinking.

》Only 2% of women think they are beautiful.

》Characteristics of genuinely low self esteem:

Social withdrawal

Anxiety and emotional turmoil

Lack of social skills and self confidence.

Depression and/or bouts of sadness

Less social conformity

Eating disorders

Inability to accept compliments

An Inability to see yourself 'squarely' - to be fair to yourself

Accentuating the negative

Exaggerated concern over what you imagine other people think

Self neglect

Treating yourself badly but NOT other people

Worrying whether you have treated others badly

Reluctance to take on challenges

Reluctance to put yourself first or anywhere.

Reluctance to trust your own opinion

Expecting little out of life for yourself.

》Healthy Self-Esteem:

Are friendly.

Have lots of energy.

Smile lots and lots and lots.

Feel good most of the time.

Talk positively to themselves.

Draw positive people to them.

Are independent and able to take risks.

》People who were abused as children (physical beating or sexual abuse) are more likely to suffer low self esteem as adults

》61% of teen girls with low self-esteem admit to talking badly about themselves (compared to 15% of girls with high self-esteem)."

》Seventy-five percent of 8- and 9-year-olds who said they liked their looks. That figure dropped to 56 percent among girls ages 12 and 13.