Self-esteem/Self-acceptance
My View of Myself
Self-esteem is made up of factors such as self-worth, self-competence, and self-acceptance. When a person is severely or chronically depressed their self-esteem is diminished. Part of the difficulty with depression is that one perceives everything from the dark or negative side and this offers little hope of change. This affects how a person views him or herself. If their self-esteem has been lost they view themselves as worthless and cannot imagine what others could see in them. This feeling of unworthiness and failure as a person can play a large role in a person considering suicide to be the answer to that worthless existence.
Taking Responsibility
This may all seem a bit heavy but it is true to say that not all people who suffer with low self-esteem are depressed. People who take responsibility for their own existence tend to generate healthy self-esteem. It might be time to take an honest, objective look at your accomplishments. Your accomplishments will include the things you have done in efforts to obtain goals as well as things you have done to help other people. Self-esteem is an active process so it is related to behaviours and thoughts that are promoting growth and change.
Doing it.
A person with good self-esteem is a person who does not just talk about it-they do it. The activity of ‘doing it’ affirms a sense of worthiness through accomplishment. In other words by getting out and doing something particularly an activity which involves doing something for someone else brings a sense of pride and accomplishment. It is from acknowledging to yourself that you have done something positive that you reinforce positive self-esteem. It does not matter how small the step is as long as it is a step forward.
Do not be a Victim
Avoiding self-responsibility makes you a victim. It leaves you feeling helpless and hopeless. You give away your personal power to everyone else. Sometimes when this occurs you may feel frustrated and blame others for the losses in your life. When you take responsibility for your feelings you quit being passive and start taking the necessary action to reclaim your life.
You need to realise that nothing is going to get better until you change the way you look at things, the way you choose to feel about things, and