Therapy for self-esteem focuses on freeing you from the dread, anxiety, depression, and overall feeling of not being ‘good enough’ and giving yourself permission to be confident and secure in yourself and your relationships.

Around 85% of Americans suffer from low self-esteem. While everyone struggles with bouts of low self-esteem, it can cause you to feel critical about yourself and insecure in your interactions with others.

Healing your confidence and self-esteem takes time and consistency, it requires you to identify and understand why you’re experiencing self-esteem and where your self-doubt is stemming from.

Once you’ve identified why you’re experiencing low self-esteem, you can start to do the work to heal yourself and reap the rewards of having high self-esteem with yourself and in your relationships.

Taking the first step is always the hardest, but the benefits are immeasurable.

a woman looking in the mirror struggling with low self-esteem

What is Therapy for Self Esteem?

Therapy for self-esteem or therapy for low self-esteem is the practice of increasing your self-esteem by identifying the source and recognizing the parts of yourself that are difficult to heal or difficult to relate to. You rework this negative relationship into a positive one and start to see yourself in a positive light.

Therapy can look different for everyone. The specific method is determined by your needs, for example, if you don’t have a strong enough connection between your mind & body, you may benefit from Yoga therapy for self-esteem or meditation, breath work, and journaling.

Therapy for low self-esteem does not ‘cure’ low self-esteem by attending. Instead, it allows you to be more open with yourself and find the tools you need to heal. The goal of a self-esteem therapist is to help you help yourself.

What Does it Look Like to Struggle with Self-Esteem?

Low self-esteem may look different for everyone, but there are a few common experiences that affect the majority.

Struggling with self-esteem may look like:

Constantly criticizing yourself, questioning and analyzing your own thoughts, beliefs, and actions, and wondering if they’re ‘right’ or ‘okay’
Experiencing a constant sense of inadequacy in situations, often leading to feelings of inferiority and self-doubt
Having the perception that nothing good can ever happen to you, now or in the future
Catering to the needs of others more than your own, having a sense of imbalance in relation to your personal desires and aspirations as they take a backseat to the demands and expectations of others
Feeling lonely and having a difficult time establishing meaningful relationships with others
Struggling with a lack of self-assurance and self-confidence due to a lack of belief in your abilities and skills
Taking things personally and letting them affect you emotionally, your feelings are easily hurt even by small things
Having a hard time adapting to change and have a tendency to feel uncomfortable when faced with new experiences

Low self-esteem can also lead to making rash decisions out of fear or discomfort, people please, and avoid difficult or uncomfortable situations. You may find yourself avoiding conflict and suppressing your opinions and thoughts out of fear of isolation or feeling a lack of value around yourself.

Confidence in yourself and your actions is not the only benefit of high self-esteem, meaning a lack of confidence is not the only sign of low self-esteem. Understanding the possible symptoms of low self-esteem can help you recognize when it’s becoming an unusual or out-of-the-ordinary experience and find help.

Low self-esteem can also be a part of a bigger problem and require more attention than you might think. While healing your low self-esteem should still be a priority, be prepared to really dig in and take the time to break down your symptoms and where they stem from.

7 Freeing Benefits of Healing Your Low Self-Esteem

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wake up and be confident in your decisions, in your body, and in your actions? Or maybe you want to be able to hold a conversation with a close friend without struggling with thoughts of self-doubt? That’s what you can experience when you increase your self-esteem.

The benefits are not limited to your morning routine and interactions with friends, low self-esteem impacts your decision-making, your confidence, how you deal with change, and even your perception of life.

Increasing your self-esteem can lead to healing anxiety, depression, and effects from trauma, and relationships, and improve your overall well-being.

Overall, there are seven main benefits you can expect from going to therapy for self-esteem:

a mom and her daughter acting silly without fear of judgement

#1. Be Yourself Without the Fear of Being Judged

You won’t let other people’s impressions of you impact how you perceive yourself and your own self-worth. While there is nothing you can do to stop people from judging you, you can let go of their opinions and be a more authentic you.

#2. Believe in Yourself and Your Abilities

You can let go of your self-doubt and trust yourself to do what you say you’re able to do and know that your efforts will achieve the desired outcomes. You’re able to believe you can truly do something and that it is not impossible.

#3. Feeling Confident in Your Ability to Handle Difficult Situations

You’ll be able to navigate the negative feelings associated with difficult situations and have confidence in your ability to handle the situation in the way you think is best. You can get yourself out of fight-flight-freeze mode and ground yourself to make the appropriate decisions.

#4. An Increased Sense of Security in Your Relationships

You’re able to trust your relationships and feel secure when they place their trust in you. You are able to feel safe and secure in your actions when interacting, allowing you to make decisions that don’t stem from self-doubt or stress but instead come from a place of trust and truth.

#5. Feeling Content with Life

You’re finally happy with what you have, who you are, and where you are. You’re not constantly striving for more, to do better, to keep pushing forward out of a sense of necessity. Instead, you’re able to accept and respect life as it is and as it comes.

#6. Becoming More Assertive in Expressing Yourself

You’re willing to stand up for yourself and the things you want or need, including your interests, thoughts, and feelings. You’re honest with yourself and others and are in control of how you’re expressing yourself.

#7. Being More Realistic in Your Expectations

2 women openly communicating outside on some steps

You’re not abandoning your goals, but you’re able to set expectations that are realistic in what you can accomplish and honest about your abilities. When you’re realistic in your expectations, you are able to feel personally valuable and experience successful when your goals are achieved.

The impacts left from healing your low self-esteem can appear at the most unexpected moments and interactions, reminding you just how comfortable and secure you feel in your mind, body, and life.

Why You Experience Low Self-Esteem and How to Start Healing

Although low self-esteem is common and bleeds throughout our society, it doesn’t typically appear out of thin air. Like most other mental health struggles, low self-esteem stems from somewhere - or something.

You may be experiencing low self-esteem due to trauma in your past, ongoing trauma, depression, anxiety, disordered eating, negative body image, or chronic illness and poor health.

Therapy for low self-esteem is the best way to start healing and begin to lead a more fulfilling and joyful life. You’re able to start gaining the self-confidence you need to pursue the life you’ve always dreamed of.

It won’t happen overnight, and the process is not easy, but you’re worth the work and effort. If you’re having difficulty trusting others, your therapist will focus on helping you learn to trust them and how opening up can help you feel more comfortable.

It’s important to note that you need a therapist that you feel in tune with. This is one of the most important parts of therapy and can make a huge impact on the success of your treatment and connection with your therapist - in turn affecting how you interact with them and if you’re willing to open up and be vulnerable, as this is how you identify where your low self-esteem lives.

If you’re ready to begin therapy for low self-esteem and regain your sense of self, get in touch with us and schedule your consultation. You can see a therapist virtually from anywhere in Texas or schedule an in-person appointment at our practice in Austin, TX.

What is Therapy for Self Esteem? 7 Benefits of Feeling More Confident