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Boosting Your Teen's Self Esteem

Plain Talk Series

Boosting Your Teen's Self Esteem

Everyone goes through emotional ups and downs throughout their lives, but having low self-esteem is not okay. Feeling like you are not important can make you sad and can keep you from trying new things. It can keep you from making friends or hurt how you do at school or work. Having strong self-esteem is also a very big part of growing up; as you get older and face tough decisions - especially under peer pressure - the more self-esteem you have, the better. It's important to know you're worth a lot.

If you think you might have low self-esteem, try talking to an older friend, parent, or adult you can trust to confide in about it. He or she may be able to help you come up with some good ideas for elevating and building your self-esteem up.

In the meantime, here are a few things that you can try to increase your self-esteem:

• Remember that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it is. If you are worried about your weight or size, you can check with your doctor to make sure that things are okay.

• Remember that there are things about yourself you can't change - such as skin color and shoe size - and you should accept and love these things because they are part of you.

• Remind yourself of things about your body that are cool, like, "My arms are strong and I can play tennis really well." When you hear negative comments in your head, mentally tell yourself to stop.  The critical voice inside you will soon lose its power.

• Give yourself at least three compliments every day. Don't just say, "I'm so great." Be specific about something good about yourself, like, "I was a good friend to Eugene today" or "I did better on that test than I thought I would. Good job Susan" While you're at it, before you go to bed every night, list three things in your day that really made you happy.

• By focusing on the good things you do and all your great qualities, you learn to love and accept yourself, and that's the main ingredient for strong self-esteem. Even if you've got room for improvement (and who doesn't?), realizing that you're valuable and important helps your self-esteem to shine.

Professional help is available

Talking with a trained therapist is an effective way of  treating certain types of clinical depression. Short-term therapies (usually 12-20 sessions) developed to treat depression and low self-esteem problems focus on the specific symptoms and cures.

• Cognitive therapy aims to help the patient recognize and change negative thinking patterns that contribute to low self esteem and or depression.

• Interpersonal therapy focuses on dealing more effectively with other people; improved relationships can reduce depressive symptoms.

If you feel that you are suffering from low self-esteem and or have an abnormal amount of depression, call Lorraine at 713.963.8031 immediately.