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Everyone, at some point or another, is uncertain about themselves, lacks self-confidence, doubts their abilities, or thinks negatively of themselves.
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Introduction 2 What is Self-Esteem 2 What is Low Self-Esteem 2 Impact of Low Self-Esteem 3 The Problem of Low Self-Esteem 4 What You Can Expect from this Information Package 5 Module Summary 7 About This Module 8
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entre for linical nterventions (^) Module 1: What Is Low Self-Esteem
Everyone, at some point or another, is uncertain about themselves, lacks self-confidence, doubts their abilities, or thinks negatively of themselves. However, if you think that you might have problems with low self-esteem, or are not sure if you have this problem but want to find out, then this information package might be helpful to you. In this module, we will discuss what low self-esteem is and what kind of impact low self-esteem might have on a person and their life.
Before we talk about what low self-esteem is, let’s start with understanding the term “self- esteem.” You might have heard and seen similar words like “self-image,” “self- perception,” and “self-concept.” All these terms refer to the way we view and think about ourselves. As human beings, we have the ability to not only be aware of ourselves but also to place a value or a measure of worth to ourselves or aspects of ourselves. So, self- esteem usually refers to how we view and think about ourselves and the value that we place on ourselves as a person. Having the human capacity to judge and place value to something is where we might run into problems with self-esteem.
Before we go further, take a few minutes to write a short description of yourself.
How did you describe yourself? What words did you use? Is your description of yourself generally positive, balanced, or negative? What value did you place on yourself or aspects of yourself? Is that value positive, balanced, or negative?
Have you ever been dissatisfied or unhappy with yourself on the whole? Do you ever think that you are weak, stupid, not good enough, flawed in some way, inferior to other people, useless, worthless, unattractive, ugly, unlovable, a loser, or a failure? Everyone uses these words on themselves at times, usually when they experience a challenging or stressful situation. However, if you often think about yourself in these terms, then you might have a problem with low self-esteem.
Low self-esteem is having a generally negative overall opinion of oneself, judging or evaluating oneself negatively, and placing a general negative value on oneself as a person.
Here are some examples of what people with low self-esteem might say about themselves:
“I get nervous talking to people I don’t know at parties. I’m socially inept and I hate it!” “I couldn’t understand a lot of what the instructor was saying today. I must be really stupid.” “I’m overweight. I am so fat and ugly.” “I’m unimportant.” “I’m a loser.” “I’m unlovable.” “I’m not good enough.”
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If you have problems with low self-esteem, take a few minutes to write down how having low self-esteem has affected your life.
Low self-esteem can be part of a current problem. If you’re experiencing clinical depression, low self-esteem can be a by-product of your depressed mood. Having a negative view of oneself is a symptom of depression. So is feeling very guilty and worthless almost all the time. Here are some other symptoms of depression:
If you have experienced 5 of these symptoms, which include low mood or loss of pleasure or interest, and they are present on most days for the past 2 weeks or more, then it is possible that you are clinically depressed. We encourage you to seek help from your doctor or a mental health professional and get treatment. There are many effective treatments available for depression and the research has shown that when depression has been treated successfully, low self-esteem is no longer a problem.
Have you been depressed lately? Have you experienced any of those symptoms described above? If so, take note of those that have affected you most significantly.
Low self-esteem can be a result of other problems. Low self-esteem can sometimes be a result of current difficult and stressful life circumstances such as prolonged financial hardship, persistent illness, an accident that has caused some kind of impairment, chronic pain, relationship difficulties, or a problem situation that is difficult to solve. Sometimes when a problem is experienced over an extended period of time, one can become discouraged and demoralised. Self-confidence can be undermined and low self-esteem can develop. Experiencing other psychological problems such as panic attacks, chronic worrying, or social phobia can also chip away at a person’s self-esteem.
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What are your personal circumstances like at the moment? What sorts of difficulties might you be experiencing now? How long have these been going on for? Take a few minutes to jot these down.
Low self-esteem can be a problem in itself and be a risk factor for other problems. Sometimes low self-esteem can be a problem in and of itself because it puts the person at risk for experiencing other problems such as depression, having persistent suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, and social phobia. You may recognise that while things might be okay at the moment and you don’t feel very depressed or anxious, or experience other difficulties, things might not have been that well in the past. If your mood often fluctuates depending on your circumstances or you have experienced depression in the past, and you recognise that you might have low self-esteem, then this could put you at risk of experiencing depression again. We call this a ‘vulnerability factor.’ Low self-esteem as a vulnerability factor is like something that is hiding in the background that could jump out and bite you when you least expect it.
Have you had problems with depression, anxiety, or any other mental health problems in the past? Do you think low self-esteem might put you at risk for any other problems in the future?
Whether you are experiencing low self-esteem as a result of other problems or as a problem in itself, this information package can begin to help you address this. Whether you are getting treatment for a clinical problem, learning strategies to manage your mood, or are wanting to tackle this problem of low self- esteem, this information package can be useful to you.
We have begun with discussing what low self-esteem is and what impact it can have on one’s life. In the next two modules, we will explore and discuss how low self-esteem develops and what keeps it going. The modules after these will focus on addressing the problem of low self-esteem.
When using self-help materials, some people might skip sections or complete things in a different order. The modules in this information package have been designed to be completed in the order they appear. We recommend that you work through the modules in sequence, finishing each module before moving on to the next one in the series. We believe that by doing this, you will maximise the benefits you might receive from working through this information package.
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Module 1: What is Low Self-Esteem Module 2: How Low Self-Esteem Develops Module 3: How Low Self-Esteem is Maintained Module 4: Biased Expectations Module 5: Negative Self-Evaluations Module 6: Accepting Yourself Module 7: Adjusting Rules & Assumptions Module 8: Developing Balanced Core Beliefs Module 9: Healthy Self-Esteem
In the next module, you will explore and learn more about how low self- esteem develops.
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CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Louella Lim (DPsych^1 ) Centre for Clinical Interventions
Paula Nathan (MPsych^2 ) Director, Centre for Clinical Interventions Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Dr. Lisa Saulsman (MPsych Neuroscience, The University of Western Australia (^2) , PhD (^3) )
Centre for Clinical Interventions
(^1) Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) 2 Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) 3 Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology)
BACKGROUND
The concepts and strategies in the modules have been developed from evidence based psychological practice, primarily Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT). CBT is a type of psychotherapy that is based on the theory that unhelpful negative emotions and behaviours are strongly influenced by problematic cognitions (thoughts). This can be found in the following:
Beck, A.T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B.F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guildford. Clark, D. M. (1986). A cognitive approach to panic. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24 , 461-470. Clark, D. M. & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In R. Heimberg, M. Liebowitz, D.A. Hope and F.R. Schneier (Eds), Social Phobia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Treatment. New York: Guidlford.
REFERENCES
These are some of the professional references used to create the modules in this information package. Fennell, M. (1998). Low Self-Esteem. In N. Tarrier, A. Wells and G. Haddock (Eds), Treating Complex Cases: The Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Approach. London: John Wiley & Sons. Fennell, M. (2001). Overcoming Low Self-Esteem. New York: New York University Press. Fennell , M. & Jenkins, H. (2004). Low Self-Esteem. In J. Bennett-Levy, G. Butler, M. Fennell et al (Eds), Oxford Guide to Behavioural Experiments in Cognitive Therapy. Oxford: Oxford Medical Publications.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
Burns, D. (1993). Ten Days to Self-Esteem. New York: Quill William Morrow. Dryden, W. (2003). Managing Low Self-Esteem. London: Whurr Publishers. Field, L. (1995). The Self-Esteem Workbook. An Interactive Approach to Changing Your Life. Brisbane: Element Books Limited. McKay, M. & Fanning, P. (1987). Self-Esteem. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications.
“IMPROVING SELF-ESTEEM”
This module forms part of:
Lim, L., Saulsman, L., & Nathan, P. (2005). Improving Self-Esteem. Perth, Western Australia: Centre for Clinical Interventions.
ISBN: 0-9757995-0-9 Created: July 2005
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