Holistic Virtual Psychotherapy & Counselling
Self Esteem Counselling
If you often question yourself, put yourself down or fixate on the things you don’t like about yourself, you’re likely dealing with low self-esteem or low confidence. When you don’t feel good about yourself, you might find it hard to form healthy relationships, feel comfortable in your body, which can lead to missing out on opportunities and experiences.
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Self-esteem issues can come from many different sources and can often accompany many other mental health issues like depression, anxiety and trauma. It can greatly impact our well-being, work and academic success and interpersonal relationships. Issues with self esteem can take many forms. Here are some of the most common self-esteem challenges I can support you with:
Self Criticism and Negative Self Talk
Negative self-talk is when your mind focuses on everything that is going wrong when it points out your flaws or things that you don’t like about yourself. It’s like having a mean voice in the back of your mind, like an inner critic that follows you around all day. Your inner critic might be telling you things like “I’m not good enough,” “I’m not smart enough” or “no one will ever love me.” Through our work together, we’ll help silence this inner voice and replace it with a kinder and more encouraging way of speaking to yourself.
Body Dysmorphia (BDD)
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If you find yourself constantly fixating on your appearance, obsessing over what you don’t like about parts of your body and face, you may be dealing with symptoms of body dysmorphia (BDD).
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While we all experience highs and lows in our confidence in our appearance, having BDD is a distressing and persistent experience that really gets in the way of living your life fully. If you have symptoms of BDD or body image issues, your thoughts can feel like your worst enemy;
You might spend hours analyzing your face or body in the mirror or trying to decide what to wear, only to feel discouraged in every outfit.
You might cancel plans at the last minute because you dislike your appearance.
Perfectionism
Do you often feel like your best isn’t good enough? Do you find yourself struggling to meet your extremely high standards?
Do you find you can take feedback a little personally? Then, it’s possible that perfectionism can be a factor in your life. If you’re someone who takes a lot of pride in your achievements, then perfectionism may have felt like a superpower to you in some ways.
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At the same time, perfectionism can also lead to many barriers to your success, such as procrastination, all-or-nothing thinking, burnout and low self-worth.
Imposter Syndrome
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Perfectionism and imposter syndrome can sometimes be linked. Imposter syndrome is when you feel underqualified for your roles or opportunities. It’s like having a secret fear that you’re not as capable as others think you are.
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You might even worry constantly that one day, people will find out you’re not good enough or that you’ll be exposed as a fraud.
These thoughts and feelings can show in many situations in our lives but can be especially common at work or in school.
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Treatment for Self-esteem
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Self-esteem issues can often be a source of discomfort and shame - it might be hard to open up about them to others. Talking through the sources of the negative self-talk, fears and doubts in a non-judgmental therapeutic relationship can make a huge difference.
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Therapy we’ll draw from a variety of evidence-based therapeutic approaches to build strong coping skills and strategies.
These approaches include
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We’ll work together to identify and use your unique strengths to build your confidence, so you can pursue your goals with ease, set healthier boundaries, and feel empowered to live life on your own terms.