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The Impact of Low Self Esteem

Irrational thinking may have led you to develop a negative self–image which kept your
self–esteem lowered and make you feel bad about yourself.
The repression and denial of feelings may have made it difficult for you to identify your true
feelings today. Another problem could be that your feelings were only expressed in
exaggerated or explosive ways. Distorted feelings, be they repressed, denied, exaggerated or
explosive, result in withdrawal and depression, common feelings experienced by people with
low self–esteem.

Distorted thinking and feelings result in like behaviours with consequences that reinforce low
self-esteem, so the cycle continues until you break it.

Repressing or denying feelings of love, grief, anger, fear or any important emotion results in
feelings of unresolved loss. Because of feeling the need to "look good'' for others, you may have
never gone through the wrenching emotional response to a death of a loved one, denied
yourself the exquisite joy of a truly loving relationship, suffered the pain of a lost relationship or a
major failure experience. You may have denied the inappropriate way you were treated by
others, or your nagging doubts about the quality and happiness of your life. A void is created in
your life by the lack of accepting and letting go of losses, fully giving and accepting love, any
one of which may have created emotional barriers which affected your thinking, feelings, and
behaviours resulting in lowered self–esteem.

Self destructive behaviours both contribute to and are the result of low self esteem. Many self
destructive behaviours such as overuse of alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, or sex may need
specific and direct help to overcome.
Such behaviours are often only the visible symptom of the bigger problems emanating from your
low self esteem. These behaviours require a lot of energy, persistence, and self love to deal with.