There are certain psychological buzz-words that have become so overused that the people who actually suffer from them end up being a cliché not to be taken seriously. Low self-esteem is usually said to be a common thing among teenagers in general, but specifically teenage girls. I disagree. I think that the search for a comfortable self-image is confusing enough as it is and with peer pressure and other outside factors interfering constantly, it is very easy to confuse the confusion itself for low self-esteem. Confusing?
I'm not saying that low self-esteem among young 'uns doesn't exist, I'm simply saying that I don't think it is as widespread as people claim it to be. I used to think I had low self-esteem, but that wasn't the case. It was actually more a case of damaged pride because of years of childhood bullying because I was always a fatty. However, I then realised that I esteemed myself highly enough to be offended by the comments as a child. Nowadays I couldn't give a rat's arse about my self-image most of the time and I make fun of myself constantly. Self-deprecation being a form of pride, let's say I'm over the whole low self-esteem business.
So what to do if you think you have low self-esteem? How can you tell if you have it at all? If people's comments at your expense get to you, then you don't. Simple as that. If you had little or no self-esteem, why would you care what other people say about you? It wouldn't hurt you at all because you wouldn't have invested any care in yourself. If you do actually have low self-esteem, my only advice is to surround yourself with positive people that make you feel good. You won't start to feel good about yourself instantly, but feeling good for periods of time will eventually make you feel good about yourself also. Positivity spreads, you see. Like butter. Maybe.
Until then, smile. Even if it's forced, just smile. You will notice that if you receive even the faintest smile back, you'll already feel a little bit happier. Plus you'll be making other people happy too. How nice.
Good morning, the interwebz
[The comments section is under this P.S.]
Until then, smile. Even if it's forced, just smile. You will notice that if you receive even the faintest smile back, you'll already feel a little bit happier. Plus you'll be making other people happy too. How nice.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've read that somewhere before.
ReplyDelete'If people's comments at your expense get to you, then you don't. Simple as that. If you had little or no self-esteem, why would you care what other people say about you? It wouldn't hurt you at all because you wouldn't have invested any care in yourself.'
ReplyDeleteI don't really agree with this bit. If they do make comments and you are offended, it means that what they are saying is true. If they make comments and you aren't offended it means that YOU believe that the negative they say about you is false.
I don't get how your argument went from reality to perception. What if you are genuinely a beautiful person, yet the jealous bitch calls you ugly and tells everyone how ugly you are. You believe her and are offended, doesn't mean it's true does it?
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't get offended when people call me fat. Doesn't mean I'm not, by all means, I am overweight. Just means I don't give a shit.
Write an article on the topic of 'friends'
ReplyDeleteHow cute.
ReplyDeleteWrite about your political ideology.
ReplyDeleteThough it would be inadvisable to write about my own ideologies, I'll see what I can say about said ideologies in general and how bullshit they tend to be.
ReplyDelete'Low self-esteem is usually said to be a common thing among teenagers in general, but specifically teenage girls.'
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the above lines, low self-esteem is just a cover up for what is going on in reality in the physical body. We all know that teenagers go through hormonal phases, i.e. when the body is growing up and a series of conflicts arise such as coming to accept physical yearnings and preferences. That it is more prevalent in girls is because girls unfortunately go through 'hell' until they realise who they are. During the teenage years, a girl matures and all those body chemicals affect her in becoming more maternal until the age of 25-30. A girl takes longer to settle. This does not mean that boys don't. Boys unfortunately have been taken for granted for a long time that they are the stronger ones, yet they go through much of the hormonal troubles in different ways. This causes signs of depression, rebelliousness and sometimes can cause low self-esteem if the problem is not properly taken care of. The real problem is that many people are uneducated about the physical factors that teenagers go through when their bodies are climbing the ladder of physical and moral maturity. The best cure? A loving and caring adult (especially parents) who can explain, and to whom they can open their hearts and talk about their fears and inhibitions in this phase. Therefore, 'low self-esteem' is just a word that very coarsely groups all the above in a very sterile way. Not just my opinion...just give it a search on the net.
Isn't that expanding on what I said right after the sentence you quoted? A quote taken out of context can make any point but the post in general is pretty much agreeing with what you said but in much less detail. I agree with you 100% and thank you for the comment.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you. Yes it is expressing what you said on your blog entry. What I meant to do was to support and corroborate your point. Great blog btw
ReplyDeleteCheers
ReplyDelete@ Anon, November 5, 2011 2:35 PM
ReplyDeleteNonsense, maybe that's how you react to true/false comments, but not everyone.