A healthy self-esteem is an important component to mental health. In today’s world, where society is moving more and more towards individualization, it is more important than ever.
What is self-esteem?
The term self-esteem stands for our own internal assessment in terms of our personality, skills, talents, strengths and weaknesses. The term self-esteem stands for our own internal assessment in terms of our personality, skills, talents, strengths and weaknesses. It is largely fed by experiences we have throughout our lives. Those who are taught in childhood to be a valuable person develop a basic trust in other people that makes their later life easier. Self-esteem is not a static state. Through every new experience, whether positive or negative, the self-image changes. It is essentially made up of three components:
Self-observation: someone who has had positive experiences in certain situations trusts his or her abilities and handles situations more calmly than someone for whom these situations are more anxiety-provoking. Knowledge of one’s own physical attractiveness can also strengthen or weaken self-confidence. Social comparisons: In addition to introspection, we are constantly comparing ourselves to other people. Do others behave similarly in certain situations? Who is better and why? This in turn has an impact on self-esteem. Feedback: When we are recognized, admired and praised, self-esteem is strengthened. Criticism from others and problems with them can undermine self-esteem.
Function and task
Positive self-esteem is a source of strength for our everyday life. We want to know: Who am I? What am I capable of? How valuable am I? People who know a positive answer to these questions have a strengthening foundation. A sense of one’s strengths is an important key to a person’s life satisfaction, health and success. Poor or fluctuating self-esteem, on the other hand, can paralyze and weaken a person to the point of depression. A reliable psychological foundation helps us to better withstand everyday demands, from illness, separation/divorce, unemployment to coping with (natural) disasters. To remain capable of acting, one needs a certain inner confidence. Especially in times of increasing individualization, a stable inner self is important in order to become aware of one’s own value. A positive self-esteem can be paraphrased as self-respect, self-confidence, self-assertion, etc. No matter what terms are chosen, the effect remains the same. People with good self-esteem have good confidence in their own abilities and therefore find it easier to take risks than insecure people. They too can fail, but they look for the reason for failure not only in themselves, but also in external circumstances over which we have only limited influence. Because they have the feeling that they can also express wishes and needs, they feel more satisfied overall than self-confident people. People who lack self-confidence are not sure of their abilities and strengths. For this reason, they tend to shy away from risk and tend to avoid difficult tasks, as they are not so well able to cope with defeats and usually attribute them to their own inadequacies. They have little confidence in themselves and resign easily. Because their low self-confidence makes them all the more in need of external recognition, they do not show what they are made of and are therefore often underestimated by those around them. They also do not want to attract unpleasant attention.
Illnesses and complaints
To some extent, as social beings, we are all dependent on the recognition of other people. However, those who make their intrinsic value fundamentally dependent on external recognition put themselves under immense pressure to always please others and are willing to make almost any concession in order to receive that recognition. If this recognition is not forthcoming or if criticism is expressed, these people react very easily and interpret it as a rejection of their person. This makes them feel inferior, and a pronounced inferiority complex can even develop.As a result, an inner compulsion can be felt to compensate for this inferiority and to convince others all the more of one’s own achievements. In men, this feeling often leads to an unhealthy workaholism because they are more status-dependent than women. When self-esteem is tarnished, it is difficult to appear self-confident to the outside world. There is always the fear of not being able to meet the demands of others or of embarrassing oneself. In some people, these fears go so far that they develop a real social phobia and avoid other people. By withdrawing, however, they aggravate their problem because the external recognition that is so important to them is then completely missing. The result is a vicious circle that often leads to severe depression and even suicidal tendencies. In these cases, the advice of a doctor should be sought urgently. In this safe framework, the patient can ideally even learn to open up in his imperfection, which ultimately every human being possesses. However, our current optimization society is increasingly sawing away at the self-esteem of people with a generally positive sense of self. Due to the permanent demand to always give their best everywhere, otherwise to be considered a failure, even people with a positive self-confidence are often systematically pushed into a burnout.
