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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
Linda Ritchie, PhD
How Do You See Yourself?
Center For Life Strategies
. http://centerforlifestrategies.com/

How Do You See Yourself?

“I struggle with low self-esteem all the time. I think everyone does. I have so much wrong with me, it's unbelievable.” Angelina Jolie

Wikipedia defines self-esteem as “a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, 'I am competent') and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame. Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for example, 'I believe I am a good writer, and feel proud of that in particular') or have global extent (for example, 'I believe I am a good person, and feel proud of myself in general').”

Author Alison Finch has a much simpler definition. Self-esteem is “the extent to which we like and respect ourselves.” The extent to which we like and respect ourselves depends largely upon how we envision ourselves in our own mind's eye; how we think about ourselves. The thoughts that run through our mind constantly, throughout the day, about ourselves, create or destroy our self-esteem.

Most psychologists agree that a healthy self-esteem is central to good mental and physical health. Research shows that there is a high correlation between self-esteem and overall life satisfaction. One Gallup survey indicated that self-esteem played a crucial role in motivating people.

It's easy to feel insignificant and flawed. All it takes is picking up a magazine filled with impossibly beautiful, perfectly formed men and women, or watching TV, or reading the newspaper, or surfing the web.

There seems to always be someone, somewhere, doing something wonderfully fabulous that can make your life seem dull, boring and unimportant. If you view your life as dull, boring and unimportant, it's pretty hard to like and respect yourself.

If you are constantly criticizing yourself and comparing yourself to others, you are setting yourself up for self-dislike. Not liking yourself can be a primary contributing factor to many conditions such as depression, anxiety, excessive worrying, substance abuse, and even psychosomatic illnesses like headaches, stomach aches, and digestive tract upset.

If you are experiencing physical or emotional problems, talking to a health care professional about how you think and feel about yourself may be time well spent.

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