Self Esteem is how you value and perceive yourself – it brings together your opinions and beliefs about your worth as a person. Someone with low Self Esteem, will tend to be overly critical of themselves, full of negative self-talk and a belief that they are ‘not good enough.’
Self Confidence is your belief in your ability to succeed in specific situations or tasks. Someone with low Self Confidence may struggle to belief that they are able to handle a challenge or achieve a goal they have set, dwelling on times in the past that they have made mistakes or failed, rather than thinking about all the times they have made a success of something.
Both low Self Confidence and low Self Esteem bring about feelings of worthlessness, inadequacy and pessimism. This can manifest in negative self-talk (‘I’m worthless’ ‘I always get it wrong’) and avoidance of certain challenges or situations but it can also lead to difficulty in forming healthy relationships with others.
Luckily both can be worked on and there are ways to learn how to be more self-compassionate, celebrate small wins and challenge negative thought patterns.
