Do you often find yourself doing a monologue of how unattractive, stupid and useless you are? If yes, then it is likely that you are one of the many people who need a little help with their self confidence levels. It is normal for us to occasionally feel a little disappointed and discontented with ourselves but if your natural description of yourself contains mostly of negative adjectives, then this implies an unhealthy level of self confidence.
Poor self confidence can be more serious than many people believe it to be. Having low self esteem implies more than having a quiet social life. Studies have linked low self worth to serious consequences like mental illness, violence and suicide. Despite the fact that this problem is very common, not many know a lot about it or its gravity. To give you a better understanding about its possible consequences, I have put together a list below:
Development of emotional and mental health problems. Poor self confidence has long been associated with emotional or mental health problems like depression, substance dependency problems, eating disorders, self-destructive behaviors and other mental illnesses. Many people who have very low regard for themselves fall into depression or can resort to suicidal behavior because they do not see themselves capable of overcoming setbacks in life. Others become substance abusers or become mentally ill because they would rather suppress and forget their problems than face and resolve them.
Poor performance or underachievement. Your doubts in your abilities will reflect in the decisions that you make and actions that you take. People who have poor self confidence are likely to have trouble excelling and achieving great things. Why? Because they tend to think they are not capable of doing something even before they have started doing anything. This actually creates a vicious cycle--low self-esteem leads to poor performance or failure and poor performance or failure reinforce the feeling of being inadequate, ultimately fueling the feelings of low self worth.
Lack of interpersonal relationships. People who have poor self confidence often fail to form a strong and healthy social network because of their painful self-consciousness and intense feelings of inadequacy. A person suffering from low self esteem would often find it hard to go out there and meet new people or form bonds because of their deep-rooted feelings of distrust and inescapable fear of rejection. They would often be filled with thoughts like, “They won’t possibly like me.”or “I don’t deserve their company.” The very same factors also make it difficult to maintain such health interpersonal relations.
Vulnerable to manipulation and control by others. Low self esteem makes people vulnerable and gullible. Living with an acute sense of incredulity and hardly believing that they are worth anything, they often allow others to do their way them. In an effort to gain love, affection and approval, they let other people influence their decisions and actions--often leading to a bad case of manipulation.
In conclusion, having poor self confidence can reduce the quality of a person’s life in many different ways. You are unlikely to live a life of happiness and fulfillment if you do not have a healthy perception of who you are. Low self confidence can lead you to constantly criticize yourself which can lead to persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger, shame or guilt. These feelings would lead you to have relationship problems, career issues and even cause you to be at increased risk of self-harm.
The great thing about our self confidence is that it is not written in stone. How you perceive and feel about and yourself right now can be changed. However, the process of
improving your self confidence is not an ove
ight affair or a breezy walk in the park, it would take time, dedication and a whole lot of work. But all your effort would lead you to a happier and more fulfilling life.