Self-esteem is what you feel and think about yourself, your abilities, the positive and negative things about you and what you expect for your future.

A low self-esteem makes you feel negative about yourself and you will tend to focus on your weaknesses rather than your strengths.

Causes

There is no single cause but some factors that can contribute to low self-esteem include:

  • Difficult childhood experiences – Bullying, difficult family relationships
  • Difficult life events – Death of someone close, end of a relationship, long-term illness, unemployment.
  • Personality and temperament
  • Feeling ‘different’
  • Relationships where you don’t feel accepted or “good enough”
  • Stress and excessive pressure
  • Negative thinking patterns – comparing yourself to others or developing high unachievable standards for yourself.
  • Discrimination and stigma
  • Social isolation and loneliness
  • Trauma, abuse – trauma, physical, sexual or psychological abuse lead to feelings of guilt and low self-worth.
  • Mental health problems