Self-esteem describes the opinions or beliefs that a person has about themselves. Someone with a healthy or high sense of self-esteem feels proud of themselves and are comfortable with they are. A person with low self-esteem may struggle to view themselves in a positive light and can be very critical of themselves.
Unfortunately, women are more likely to be impacted by low self-esteem than their male counterparts. There are many factors that play a role in the prevalence of low self-esteem among women such as societal standards, childhood experiences, and relationships. However, with the right tools, women can grow their self-esteem and find all the positive qualities they have to offer in order to build their confidence.
Factors That Play a Role in Women’s Low Self-Esteem
While everyone has their own reasons for how they perceive themselves, women are often presented with both unique and common factors that can place them at a higher rate of having low self-esteem.
Societal Standards
It is no secret that society places a plethora of standards onto women that aren’t always expected of their male counterparts. Whether it’s the ever-changing beauty standards or personality traits, societal norms placed on women can have an effect on their self-esteem.
Women are often picked apart and criticized more than men. Looks are often at the forefront of a woman’s worth when it comes to society, and when they don’t fit the typical beauty standards and aren’t secure in who they are it can affect their self-esteem. There is a norm that women should be feminine and passive. When those stereotypical traits don’t reflect who a woman is, she may feel like she doesn’t fit in. When women don’t fit into the societal norm of being soft and feminine, they can be treated as invisible or degraded.
Relationships
Relationships have the power to either build a person up or tear them down depending on the quality of the connection. Women often become involved in toxic or codependent relationships that can bring on physical, mental, emotional, or psychological abuse. These relationships can include power struggles or extreme manipulation and a lack of respect for boundaries. Often, these forms of connection can bring heavy trauma and tarnish a woman’s self-esteem even long after the relationship has ended. This can lead to other issues like PTSD, substance abuse, or depression for a woman.
Social Media
Research has shown that social media plays a huge role in how people view themselves and can cause a decline in self-esteem. This is especially true for women. People can obsess over whether or not they are getting likes or views from other people on their posts.
Social media gives people access to a larger pool of people, meaning more people to compare themselves to. Women tend to judge themselves harshly when comparing themselves to other women’s looks, relationships, popularity, or financial and material status. They begin to pick themselves and their life apart because they feel like it doesn’t measure up to others’ success or beauty.
Signs of Low Self-Esteem
Self-esteem impacts many facets of a person’s life. Poor self-esteem can affect a person’s confidence, emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. Not only can it impact how a person treats themself, but it also plays a factor in how other people treat them. Poor self-esteem can cause a lack of boundaries that other people can easily take advantage of. Signs of low self-esteem include:
- Being overly self-critical
- Negative self-talk or constant self-critique
- Blaming oneself for perceived failures
- Turning down compliments
- Feeling inferior
- Fear of failure
- Lack of boundaries
- Poor outlook on life
Tips for Building Confidence
Women don’t have to stay stuck in a spiral of low self-esteem. Below are some ways you can build your confidence for a better personal outlook.
#1. Control Your Social Media Use
Social media can be used for good if you know how to work it to your benefit. Try following accounts that inspire you or build you up. These can include accounts that post positive or inspirational content. Also, limit how much you are on social media. If you find yourself constantly scrolling throughout your day, limit when and how long you’re on social media. Lastly, try to follow people you know and love, like friends or family.
#2. Self-Care
You feel the best about yourself when you’re actively taking care of yourself. Self-care is the art of caring for yourself and doing things to preserve your energy. Find activities or small practices that help you feel more calm and relaxed. This could be journaling, exercising, weekly bubble baths, skincare, or spending time with the people you love. It can feel hard to make time for yourself when you juggle multiple responsibilities but know that self-care is supposed to help you relax, not bring more stress. Self-care doesn’t have to include dramatic, expensive, or time-consuming tasks. It can be something as simple as giving yourself one free hour to do anything you choose when you get home from work before you start your other tasks.
#3. Do the Inner Work
Getting to know yourself is one of the most important tasks you can take on in this life. You can’t be fazed by others when you are strong and sure of who you are. Spend time getting to know yourself. Figure out what things you like and what things you don’t like. Learn how to speak kindly to yourself. You wouldn’t want other people to degrade you and speak harshly to you, so don’t do that to yourself. And lastly, find a way to be your own best friend and learn to enjoy spending time with yourself.
Addiction can taint many areas of your life including how you view yourself in both the past and present. It does not have to impact your future. Getting the right guidance to overcome addiction can have a tremendous impact on not only your physical health but your emotional health as well. Spero Recovery aims to help women overcome their battle with addiction and create new confidence in themselves. For our clients, we offer classes that teach life skills and how to love themselves through the ups and downs of life. When you are able to find the beauty within yourself, you are able to also see the beauty that exists around you as well. Give Spero Recovery a call at (303) 351-7888 today if you or someone you love needs a women’s residential addiction treatment center that can also boost your self-esteem.
