How to boost your self esteem

Self-esteem is the way we see ourselves, it is how positively you feel and think about yourself and life in general. 

Low self-esteem is normal 

It’s normal to sometimes struggle with your feelings and everyone worries from time to time – whatever your age, race or gender. 

How does it affect me? 

The way you feel may affect how you behave, you might not want to take part in activities if you don’t think you can do them well, or you might struggle to go out and talk to others. This itself is normal and many people have the same feelings. The key to working through it is identifying what affects your self esteem and finding ways to boost your self esteem.  

What can I do? 

There are many ways to work towards increasing your self confidence: 

• Look after yourself – try eating healthy foods, getting a good amount of sleep, exercising even if it’s just walking the dog. 
• Beware of negative thoughts and try to replace them with positive thoughts. If this is hard, create a notebook or list on your phone with some examples. 
• Build positive relationships, try and share your feelings with a friend or someone close who you can talk to about it.
• Spend time with friends and family who are positive and appreciate you.
• Do things you enjoy.
• Create goals have something to aim for. Achieving them will increase your self-esteem.
• Start saying ‘no’. Don’t feel you have to say yes to other people if you do not want to. This can lead to you feeling angry and overrun. 
• Recognise what you are good at and write them down. Keep them to hand. 

Non-urgent advice: Other support available 

Childline has some great advice about building your confidence and self-esteem. 

Young Minds has some good suggestions for coping with life. 

Alternatively, speak to a trusted person about how you are feeling; this could be family, friends or even a school counsellor. You could also try speaking to your GP who may be able to recommend some ways for you to boost your self-esteem. 

Kindly provided by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

See more wellbeing articles from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust: 

• Five ways to wellbeing 
• Relaxation techniques 
• Understanding and coping with depression 
• Understanding and coping with anxiety 
• Understanding and dealing with poor sleep 
• Taking charge of autism and anxiety 
• Good reads 
• Cool apps 
• Videos 
• Useful links